- Bruce Gentry
Infobox Film
name = Bruce Gentry
image_size =
caption =
director =Spencer Gordon Bennet Thomas Carr
producer =Sam Katzman
writer =Lewis Clay George H. Plympton Joseph F. Poland Ray Bailey "(character)"
narrator =
starring =Tom Neal Judy Clark Ralph Hodges Forrest Taylor Hugh Prosser Tristram Coffin
music =Mischa Bakaleinikoff
cinematography =Ira H. Morgan
editing =Dwight Caldwell Earl Turner
distributor =Columbia Pictures
released = Flagicon|USA10 February 1949
runtime = 15 chapters
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0041212"Bruce Gentry" (1949) is a Columbia movie serial based on the Bruce Gentry comic strip created by
Ray Bailey . It may contain the first cinematic appearance of a Flying Saucer, here the secret weapon of thevillain ous "Recorder".Plot
Dr Benson, a friend of charter pilot Bruce Gentry, kidnapped by the
masked mystery villain The Recorder (who only issues orders through recordings) in order to perfect thevillain 'sflying saucer s. Industrialist Paul Radcliffe hires Bruce to investigate the saucers as he thinks they may have a commercial use.Necessary for the production of the flying saucers is a mineral called Platonite. The Recorder's only source, an abandoned mine on the land belonging to Jaunita and Frank Farrell, has run dry and he needs to steal supplies from the US Government.
Cast
*
Tom Neal as Bruce Gentry, "Daredevil of the Skies" and charter pilot
*Judy Clark as Juanita Farrell, Young rancher whom "The Recorder" is trying to chase away from her land
*Ralph Hodges as Frank Farrell, Young rancher whom "The Recorder" is trying to chase away from his land
*Forrest Taylor as Dr Alexander Benson, Kidnapped scientist
*Hugh Prosser as Paul Radcliffe, Industrialist who hires Bruce Gordon to investigate
*Tristram Coffin as Krendon, Leadhenchman of "The Recorder"
*Jack Ingram as Allen
*Terry Frost as Chandler
*Eddie Parker as Gregg
*Charles King as Ivor
*Stephen Carr as Adrian Hill
*Dale Van Sickel as Gregory, US Government AgentProduction
The flying disc is described by Harmon and Glut as "an embarrassingly bad animated cartoon drawn over the action scenes." Animation also appears in the resolution of a cliffhanger, in which an animated Gentry is used instead of a stuntman.cite book
last = Harmon
first = Jim
coauthors=Donald F. Glut
authorlink = Jim Harmon
title = The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury
origyear = 1973
publisher = Routledge
isbn = 9780713000979
pages = pp. 158-159
chapter = 7. The Aviators "Land That Plane at Once, You Crazy Fool" ]The flying disc may, however, be the first cinematic appearance of a Flying Saucer [ [http://www.magonia.demon.co.uk/arc/00/ms18.htm Bruce Gentry, Serial Filler] , retrieved 20/04/07] ,
Cliffhangers
At the end of chapter fourteen, Gentry drives over a cliff on a motorbike. In the resolution at the beginning of chapter fifteen, Gentry is replaced by an animation which shows him escaping death by use of a parachute hidden under his jacket.
The cliffhangers, and their resolutions, in chapters one and twelve are almost identical.
Critical reception
According to Harmon and Glut, "Bruce Gentry" was "one of Columbia's closest attempts at imitating the serials of Republic, a studio known for superbly staged action sequences" but it did not equal Republic's standards.
Cline describes the serial as a "pretty good airplane adventure."cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 27
chapter = 2. In Search of Ammunition ]Chapter titles
# The Mysterious Disc
# The Mine of Menace
# Fiery Furnace
# Grande Crossing
# Danger Trail
# A Flight for Life
# A Flying Disc
# Fate Takes the Wheel
# Hazardous Heights
# Over the Falls
# Gentry at Bay
# Parachute of Peril
# Menace of the Mesa
# Bruce's Strategy
# The Final DiscSource: [cite book
last = Cline
first = William C.
title = In the Nick of Time
origyear = 1984
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc.
isbn = 078640471X
pages = pp. 248
chapter = Filmography ]References
External links
*imdb title|id=0041212|title=Bruce Gentry
* [http://www.serialexperience.com/showarticle.php?fldRecNum=161 Bruce Gentry article at Todd Gault's Move Serial Experience]
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/gentry.htm Bruce Gentry at Toonopedia]###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Columbia Serial
before=Congo Bill (1948)
years=Bruce Gentry (1949)
after=Batman and Robin (1949)
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