"The King of Serials...VCI Entertainment ~ Ace Drummond (1936)"
VCI Entertainment and Universal Pictures present "Ace Drummond" (1936) (Dolby digitally remastered), featuring 13 Chapters based on the newspaper comic strip of the exploits of America's WWI Aviation Ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker (America's beloved Ace of Aces, the inspiration of Youthful Airmen the World over)...who is this mastermind who calls himself "The Dragon", and why is he trying to stop a certain airline of International importance...is there a treasure that is just waiting to be plucked from a nearby mountain...why is Ace Drummond (King) traveling to Mongolia and will his secret identity be discovered before his work is done...what is the real reason Peggy Trainor (Rogers) has entered the picture, could her archaeologist father be the answer..why is Jerry (Beery) and Little Billy (Morrow) enlisting the "Holy One" (Post) to join the fight against this evil villain....who can explain Lon Chaney Jr's performance as the oriental henchman without the aid of a full moon to rely on...don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "The World Akin"....just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss a single spine thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter.

Under director's Ford Beebe and Cliff Smith two of the best in the serial genre, producer Bud Koenig and Barney A. Sarecky, Original screenplay by Wyndham Gittens, Norman S. Hall, Ray Tramps and Eddie Rickenbacker (character), musical score by Clifford Vaughan, Arthur Morton, Sam Perry and Heinz Roemheld, Franz Waxman, the song "Give Me A Ship and A Song" by Kay Kellogg ...the cast include John "Dusty" King (Ace Drummond), Jean Rogers (Peggy Trainor), Noah Beery Jr (Jerry), Guy Bates Post (The Grand Lama), Lon Chaney Jr ( Ivan-henchman), Jackie Morrow (Billy Meredith), Selmer Jackson (William Meredith, Sr.), Robert Warwick (Winston), James B. Leong (Henry Kee), Chester Gan (Kai-Chek), Arthur Loft (Chang-Ho, The Dragon), James Eagles (Johnny Wong, Radio Operator), C. Montague Shaw ( Dr. Trainor), Edmund Cobb (Nicolai-henchman)....the great stuntman Eddie Parker (stunt double for John "Dusty" King and Noah Beery Jr)....after appearing in the serial "Ace Drummond" (1936), John King was signed as one of the trio leads in Monogram B-Westerns "The Range Busters" (1940), as "Dusty" for 18 films that gave us many thrill...Jean Rogers was a leading lady in 30s and 40s in Hollywood, but best remembered as Dale Arden, the hero's girlfriend, in two of the three "Flash Gordon" serials...must make mention the great flying sequences, outstanding vintage aircrafts with plenty of action...meanwhile back to our Universal Serial which is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Where East Meets West
2. Invisible Enemy
3. Doorway of Doom
4. The Radio Riddle
5. Bullets of Sand
6. Evil Spirits
7. The Trackless Trail
8. The Sign in the Sky
9. Secret Service
10.Mountain of Jade
11.The Dragon Commands
12.Squadron of Death
13.The World Akin

BIOS:
1. John "Dusty" King (aka Miller McLeod Everson)
Birth Date: 7/11/1909 - Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: 11/11/1987 - San Diego, CA
2. Jean Rogers (aka Eleanor Lovegren)
Birth Date: 3/25/1916 - Belmont, Mass.
Died: 2/24/1991 - Sherman Oaks, CA
3.. Noah Beery Jr
Birth Date: 8/10/1913 - New York New York
Died: 11/01/1994 - Tehachapi, CA
4. Cliff Smith (Director)
Birth Date: 8/22/1894 - Richmond, Indiana
Died: 9/17/1937 - Los Angeles, CA
5. Ford Beebe (Director)
Birth Date:11/26/1888 - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Died: 11/26/1978 - Lake Elsinore, CA

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
4. Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
5. The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
6. Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
7. Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
8. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
9. Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
10.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)
11.Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
12.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
13.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
14.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)

If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above...check out another release from VCI Entertainment and Republic Pictures present Zane Grey's "King of the Royal Mounted" (1940) (digitally remastered), 12 Chapters of vintage serial loaded with action sequences...is there a discovered substance called "Compound X", which may cure infantile paralysis...has Tom Merritt stumbled on such a rare find...is there a war between Canada and sources known later as the "Father Land".....get out there as they're going fast, this is the one you've been waiting for.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "Ace Drummond" (1936), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s, '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 250 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1716 ~ (10/31/2000)

The most self-important, and annoying serial hero yet
This guy even sings! If I'd written the script, when he bursts into song on an airplane (in the first chapter), the passangers would've ganged up on him and threw him, sans parachute, off the plane. Then, of course, Noah Beery, Jr. would've had to battle the Dragon all by himself...That would've made for a more entertaining 13 chapters in my mind.

Actually, this is the first serial I've seen where I was hoping, starting with the 2nd chapter, that the hero failed to survive the preceding chapter.

Okay, there are some great aerial sequences here, and if you can stomach the hero, it's a fair action serial. But there are a lot of better ones around.