The Black Coin - 15 chapter movie serial (1936)

I agree it is a almost unwatchable print

Just to add my comment that the copy is so poor that in some scenes I didn't notice people until they spoke. It's made worse by all the night scene where you can't tell who is who, just black shapes. The music is the same as they used in the "Clutching Hand". It's so bad, it's fun. November 25, 2008

Very poor quality

Under the best of circumstances this would be difficult to follow as the plot jumps all over the place. This dvd edition had not been remastered and is dark and murky to the point that the characters can not be identified. Save your money. Buying this is a total waste. It is not very good to begin with and the difficulty one experiences in trying to watch it is very frustrating. July 14, 2008

A serial that makes cents

WEISS PRODUCTIONS (owned by Louis Weiss) was a small independent studio with a total cliffhanger output of three (all released in 1936). THE BLACK COIN was the last of these.

STORY of BLACK COIN (1936):
Federal agents and smugglers are at odds in this 15-chapter serial about missing secret papers. A gang leader wants to steal the documents, as they may lead him to a dozen Crusade-era Arab coins (which purportedly are cursed).

CAST:
Ralph Graves - Agent Walter Prescott
Ruth Mix - Agent Dorothy Dale
Dave O'Brien - Terry Navarro
Constance Bergen - Virginia Caswell
Matthew Betz - Henry Jensen
Robert Frazer - James Hackett
'Snub' Pollard - Vic Moran
Robert Walker - Capt. 'Shark' Malone
Yakima Canutt - Ed McMahan (thug) [Chs. 3, 10-14]
Lane Chandler - Evans, airline official [Chs. 1-2] (uncredited)

CHAPTERS:
1. Dangerous Men
2. The Mystery Ship
3. The Fatal Plunge
4. Monsters of the Deep
5. Wolves of the Night
6. Shark's Fang
7. Midnight Menace
8. Flames of Death
9. Smuggler's Lair
10.Flaming Guns
11.Wheels of Death
12.The Crash
13.Danger Ahead
14.Hidden Peril
15.The Phantom Treasure

BLACK COIN trivia:

Stock footage from ATLANTIC (1929) was used for the shipwreck sequence.

This was one of Ralph Graves' (Agent Prescott) last screen jobs-- he preferred writing to acting.

Ruth Mix (Agent Dale) was the daughter of western star Tom Mix.

Dave O'Brien (Navarro) is best remembered for appearing in the cult classic REEFER MADNESS (1936).

Australian-born 'Snub' Pollard appeared in nearly 500 films between 1911 and '61. In the silent era Pollard supported Harold Lloyd in dozens of "Lonesome Luke" movies, which typecast him forever as a second (or lower) banana.

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THE CLUTCHING HAND is another WEISS PRODUCTION serial worth checking out. September 6, 2007

A very poor transfer

I bought this as I enjoyed Dave O'Brien in the Captain Midnight Serial. Unfortunately the print for this DVD is very poor. Most images are washed out to the point identifying the different actors can be difficult at times. In fact it finally got the best of me, and I did not finish watching it. Old serials like these from the non-surviving studios must be rare and good prints even rarer. It is doubtful it would be economically viable to restore this one or others like it. The main hope here is if one of the volunteer projects funded by donations and a few of the studios decides to tackle these. Until then I would not recommend this one to anyone except for the collector that just has to have every serial available. August 2, 2007

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