History Main / FilmSerial

* ''The Fighting Devil Dogs'' (1938, Republic): notable for including the very first costumed villain, The Lightning, who's said to be the main inspiration behind DarthVader.

Eventually, the genre petered out against the competition of television. Furthermore, a common criticism during the genre's waning years was that the focus had shifted from plot and character development to action and stunts, highlighting the importance of the Cliffhanger as a gimmick tool (and also underscoring said gimmick's [[CliffhangerCopout flaws]] to boot). But the spirit of the Film Serial lives on whenever a TV show episode cuts to commercial with a cliffhanger -- and even more so in the modern era of arc-based plots, or whenever a last-second twist at the end of an episode entices viewers to keep watching. Of those, the first incarnation of ''Series/DoctorWho'' (1963-89) is the early example of this programming format with the stories' serial format.

* ''Zombies Of The Stratosphere'' (1952, Republic): [[BillingDisplacement "starring"]] [[Franchise/StarTrek Leonard Nimoy]]! Though technically part of the Commando Cody franchise, note again the absence of the actual character Cody.
* ''Commando Cody: Sky Marshal Of The Universe'' (Republic, 1953): Aired on [[UsefulNotes/{{Syndication}} syndicated]] television and starred Judd Holdren, who was also the lead in ''Zombies Of The Stratosphere'' and ''Captain Video''.

* ''King Of The Rocketmen'' (1949, Republic): kicked off the [[JetPack Commando Cody]] franchise, even though "Cody" himself does not appear in this film.

* ''Franchise/{{Fantomas}}'' (1913, Gaumont): There was another one made in the United States in 1920, which is now lost.

The basic structure is a film that is presented in consecutive installments in a theatre, with the expectation that the audience would come each week to see the whole story through. As such, it was famous for its {{fight scene}}s and its [[{{Cliffhanger}} cliffhangers]]).

The basic structure is a film that is presented in consecutive installments in a theatre, with the expectation that the audience would come each week to see the whole story through. As such, it was famous for its {{fight scene}}s and its [[{{Cliffhanger}} cliffhangers]] (most of which were [[CliffhangerCopout notoriously poor]]).

The influence of these serials also led to film series such as ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/IndianaJones''.

* AsYouKnow: Characters would routinely remind one another about the overarching plot in order to keep audiences up to speed.

* ''The Crimson Ghost'' (1946, Republic) -- 12 part serial telling the story of the eponymous SuperVillain and his attempts to steal - and later, recreate - the "Cyclotrode X", a primitive EMP device that will aid in his plans for World Domination. Notable for featuring Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger himself, as the Crimson Ghost's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. The image of the Crimson Ghost's distinct skull mask was eventually adopted by Music/TheMisfits as part of their iconography.

* ''The Phantom Empire'' (Mascot, 1935): GenreBusting effort combining [[TheWestern Western]], [[TheMusical Musical]] and SpeculativeFiction elements. Also notable as the first theatrical starring role for Music/GeneAutry, the Singing Cowboy.

* ''Film/BuckRogrers'' (1939, Universal): Buster Crabbe plays another serial hero.

* ''The Crimson Ghost'' (1946, Republic) -- 12 part serial telling the story of the eponymous SuperVillain the Crimson Ghost, and his attempts to steal - and later, recreate - the "Cyclotrode X", a primitive EMP device that will aid in his plan for World Domination. Notable for featuring Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger himself, as the Crimson Ghost's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. The image of the Crimson Ghost's distinct skull mask was eventually adopted by Music/TheMisfits as part of their iconography.

* ''The Crimson Ghost'' (1946, Republic) -- 12 part serial telling the story of the eponymous SuperVillain The Crimson Ghost, and his attempts to steal - and later, recreate - the "Cyclotrode X", a primitive EMP device that will aid in his plan for World Domination. Notable for featuring Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger himself, as the Crimson Ghost's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. The image of the Crimson Ghost's distinct skull mask was eventually adopted by Music/TheMisfits as part of their iconography.

See {{Featurization}} for the practice of editing a serial down into a single feature film.

* BMovie / ExploitationFilm: Many serials were genre stories such as [[TheWestern Westerns]], SpaceOpera, MadScientist etc., or were based upon pulp/genre characters (ComicStrip/FlashGordon, [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] etc.).

* SharpDressedMan / BadassInANiceSuit: Also a product of the genre's era, a time when men generally wore suits, ties and hats as a matter of course (at least, for works that were contemporary in setting). TheHero, in particular, never seems to get his suit smudged no matter what he goes through -- which gets particularly notable when the Hero wears [[LimitedWardrobe the exact same outfit]] throughout the story, in order to facilitate StockFootage.

* BMovie / ExploitationFilm: Many serials were genre stories such as [[TheWestern Westerns]], SpaceOpera, MadScientist etc., or were based upon pulp/genre characters (ComicStrip/FlashGordon, [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] et al).

* ''Franchise/{{Fantomas}}'' (1913, Gaumont): There was another one made in the United States in 1920, which is now lost.