Pearl White, William Duncan, William Desmond, Ben Wilson, Walter Miller, Francis Ford, Charles Hutchinson, Jack Dougherty, and Eddie Polo are just a few of the stars to start up a whirlwind of enthusiasm among serial devotees. They offered a thrill-a-minute world of ridiculous plots, weird disguises, hair-raising escapes, hidden treasures, diabolic scientific devices, wild animals, depraved men, runaway trains, and an endless procession of knock-down, drag-out fights. Who could resist? This reference work highlights 446 serial performers who thrilled generations. Each entry includes the performer’s birth and death dates, serial credits, major films and details of life before and after the movies.

The late Buck Rainey wrote scores of articles for Western and serial fanzines and several books. He lived in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.

Buck Rainey

Format: softcover (7 x 10 in 2 vols.)
Pages: 863
Bibliographic Info: 305 photos, filmographies, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013 [2005]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7529-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0311-7
Imprint: McFarland

Abbreviations      xii
Preface      1
The Dictionary      3
Bibliography      809
Index      827

“fascinating”—ARBA; “most impressive…valuable…informative and enjoyable…a worthy addition”—Wrangler’s Roost; “excellent and indispensable”—Classic Images; “nothing like it has been offered before regarding serials”—Serial Report.