The Sea Hound (1947)

Directors:

W.B. Eason
Mack V. Wright

Writers:

Lewis Clay (screenplay)
Arthur Hoerl (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

Death On The Ocean's Floor!

Plot:

Columbia's 34th serial production starring Buster Crabbe, the Serial King himself, who had the lead in five from Universal and two for Columbia...

Plot Keywords:

Yacht | Pirate | Serial | Diving Suit | Fistfight

Cast

Buster Crabbe	...	Captain Silver
Jimmy Lloyd	...	Tex
Pamela Blake	...	Ann Whitney
Ralph Hodges	...	Jerry
Spencer Chan	...	'Cookie' Kukai
Robert Barron	...	The Admiral
Hugh Prosser	...	Stanley Rand
Rick Vallin	...	Manila Pete
Jack Ingram	...	Murdock
Milton Kibbee	...	John Whitney
Al Baffert	...	Lon
Stanley Blystone	...	Black Mike (as Stan Blystone)
Bob Duncan	...	Sloan (as Robert Duncan)
Pierce Lyden	...	Vardman
Rusty Wescoatt	...	Singapore Manson

Runtime:

(15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12451)

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Chapter Titles and PCA Numbers: - 1. Captain Silver Sails Again (PCA #12451) - 2. Spanish Gold (PCA #12452) - 3. Mystery of the Map (PCA #12453) - 4. Menaced by Ryaks (PCA #12454) - 5. Captain Silver's Strategy (PCA #12455) - 6. The Sea Hound at Bay (PCA #12456) - 7. Bland's Treachery (PCA #12457) - 8. In the Admiral's Lair (PCA #12458) - 9. On the Water Wheel (PCA #12459) - 10.On the Treasure Trail (PCA #12460) - 11.The Sea Hound Attacked (PCA #12461) - 12.Dangerous Waters (PCA #12462) - 13.The Panther's Prey (PCA #12463) - 14.The Fatal Double-Cross (PCA #12464) - 15.Captain Silver's Last Stand (PCA #12465)

Quotes:

The Admiral: You have two choices, Captain. You can talk or we can make you talk.

Solid serial

Those hoping to "slum it" by indulging in a Saturday matinée serial may be a bit disappointed with "The Sea Hound." Its plot is contrived and obviously aimed at a youthful audience but it never descends into "hokiness," its cliffhanging conclusions avoid being ludicrously exaggerated, and its dialog lacks that campy, groan-inducing awfulness often found in this genre. In fact, "The Sea Hound" qualifies as a surprisingly respectable and professional piece of work with a plot which neatly focuses on a central mission and with characters who usually manage to avoid the curse of hamminess. There are plenty of fistfights, of course, and bullets fly with wild abandon, but the emphasis is on action rather than violence and there's hardly a dull moment in any of the serial's 15 chapters.

Buster Crabbe, his body thickened a bit at age 40, makes a stalwart hero and his companions -- played by Jimmy Lloyd and Ralph Hodges -- are likable and unobtrusive. Neither one engages in the kind of horseplay, slapstick, and corny humor often imposed on "sidekicks." Spencer Chan offers a few Confucius-says comments as the ship's cook but though he's a bit of a Charlie Chan cliché, he's never offensive or embarrassing. (Chan later played one of the scientists at the mansion presided over by Jeff Morrow in "This Island Earth.") Pamela Blake makes a spunky though forgettable heroine and kids of all ages will be relieved that she and Crabbe don't get forced into one of those lame romances in which the guy kisses the girl in the final fade-out.

Crabbe appears bare-chested in the opening episode but after that he's rarely asked to display any "beefcake" -- though his customary T-shirt fits with becoming tightness. Only once, in Chapter 8, does he slip into a swimsuit which, though snug, is so high-cut that it covers his navel. Not surprisingly, of course, he's forced into a few "bondage" situations and though none of them equal his sweaty, writhing torture at the hands of Ming the Merciless in "Flash Gordon," two examples are worth noting. At the end of Chapter 9, Crabbe and young colleague Ralph Hodges are tied to a waterwheel located, a bit unconvincingly, in the middle of a stream. The villains, hoping to wrest vital information from Crabbe, turn the wheel so that their victims' heads are underwater for an uncomfortable length of time, but rescue soon comes and the waterwheel is never seen again. Crabbe and Hodges are fully clothed during this ordeal.

Crabbe's second notable scene of bondage occurs at the end of Chapter 11 and in this one his shirt is removed in order to show off that hairless, swimmer's-physique chest. Islanders called Ryaks -- perhaps the serial's only brush with the unintentionally absurd -- capture Crabbe and tie his wrists above his head to a horizontal pole in the middle of their camp. They then dance around him, knives drawn, chanting, apparently planning to execute him in some unspecified though undoubtedly painful way, but yet another of those daring rescues interferes with their plans. In this sequence the shirtless Crabbe still gets to wear his captain's cap and his gunbelt and, in yet another nod to modesty, his pants are buckled high enough around his waist to hide his navel.

Though filmed in and around Catalina, the action in "The Sea Hound" is apparently meant to take place in the South Pacific, but this sense of place is never well established and is one of the serial's few weaknesses.