| S O S Coast Guard | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alan James William Witney |
| Produced by | Sol C. Siegel |
| Written by | Franklin Adreon Morgan Cox Ronald Davidson Edward Lynn Winston Miller Lester Scott Barry Shipman |
| Starring | Ralph Byrd Bela Lugosi Maxine Doyle Richard Alexander Lee Ford Herbert Rawlinson John Picorri |
| Music by | Raoul Kraushaar |
| Cinematography | William Nobles |
| Editing by | Helene Turner Edward Todd |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 28 August 1937 (serial)[1] 16 April 1942 (feature)[1] |
| Running time | 12 chapters (224 minutes) (serial)[1] 71 minutes (feature)[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $107,217 (negative cost: $128,530)[1] |
S O S Coast Guard (1937) is a Republic film serial. It was the seventh of the sixty-six serials made by Republic. The plot concerns the mad scientist Boroff (Bela Lugosi) attempting to sell a superweapon to the highest bidder, opposed by Coast Guard Lieutenant Terry Kent (Ralph Byrd), for both personal and professional reasons.
The main stars were Bela Lugosi and Ralph Byrd. It was made during the 2-year period when the Hayes Office put a moratorium on horror movies, Lugosi's usual genre, and in the midst of Byrd's notoriety for the highly popular Dick Tracy serials.
Contents |
Boroff is a mad scientist who has invented a "disintegrator gas" and plans to smuggle it to his buyers in Morovania. When his ship, the Carfax, gets stranded on outlying rocks in the first chapter, the Coast Guard comes to rescue him. Recognised by the reporters, Jean and Snapper, Boroff runs and kills the pursuing coast guard Ensign Jim Kent, who turns to be Lt Terry Kent's brother.
As the gas is made from the rare substances Arnatite (which is radioactive) and Zanzoid, Boroff attempts to acquire more of these materials to create more (including salvaging supplies of arnatite from the sunken Carfax). Hot on his heels are the Coast guard, led by Lt Kent, and the two reporters, with the expert aid of Jean's chemist brother, Dick.
Eventually Terry finds, and leads a squad against, Boroff's cave-based hideout, with disintegrator gas bombs exploding around them.
S O S Coast Guard was budgeted at $107,217 although the final negative cost was $128,530 (a $21,313, or 19.9%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1937 and the most expensive of all Republic serials until the release of The Lone Ranger in 1938.[1] It was filmed between 10 June and 15 July 1937.[1] The serial's production number was 422.[1]
Director William Witney met his first wife, Maxine Doyle, while working on this serial.[3]
The serial's special effects were created by Jack Coyle and the Lydecker brothers.
SOS Coast Guard's official release date is 28 August 1937, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1] A 71-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together with some additional scenes shot during its production, was released on 16 April 1942. It was one of fourteen feature films Republic made from their serials.[1]
| Preceded by The Painted Stallion (1937) |
Republic Serial S O S Coast Guard (1937) |
Succeeded by Zorro Rides Again (1937) |