The Green Archer (1940 serial)
6.4 /10 1 Votes
Language English | 6.2/10 Genre Action, Adventure, Crime Duration Country United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Writer Morgan B. Cox , John Cutting , Jesse A. Duffy , James W. Horne Release date October 1, 1940 Screenplay James W. Horne, John Cutting, Jesse Duffy, Morgan Cox Cast (Spike Holland), (Valerie Howett), (Abel Bellamy), (Savini), (Elaine Bellamy), (Parker Howett) Similar movies Mission: Impossible , Hitman: Agent 47 , The Dark Knight Rises , The Dark Knight , Batman Begins , The Amazing Spider-Man Tagline HITS THE BULL'S- EYE FOR THRILL LOVERS! (original print ad-all caps) |
The Green Archer is the 12th serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Edgar Wallace's 1923 novel The Green Archer, which had previously been adapted into the silent serial of the same name in 1925 by Pathé Exchange.
Contents

Plot

The struggle over the Bellamy estate ends with Michael Bellamy accused of murder and killed on the way to prison, while his brother, Abel Bellamy, takes control of the estate for his own nefarious plans. Bellamy is using Garr Castle as a base for his jewelry-theft ring, and he kidnaps his brother's wife to keep things quiet. Insurance investigator Spike Holland enters the case, and Bellamy continually dispatches his resident gang to do away with him. Detective Thompson, representing the law, is seldom of any help. Meanwhile, the estate's fabled "Green Archer", a masked, leotard-clad marksman, steals silently through Garr Castle and the estate grounds, confounding the enemy forces.

This serial is an example of a fifteen-episode production that could have been rented for a twelve-episode run, as three episodes use an entirely self-contained subplot concerning the theft of a synthetic radium formula.
Chapter titles

- Prison Bars Beckon
- The Face at the Window
- The Devil's Dictograph
- Vanishing Jewels
- The Fatal Spark
- The Necklace of Treachery
- The Secret Passage
- Garr Castle is Robbed
- Mirror of Treachery
- The Dagger that Failed
- The Flaming Arrow
- The Devil Dogs
- The Deceiving Microphone
- End of Hope
- The Green Archer Exposed
Cast

Stunt

Production

The script was written by Morgan B. Cox, John Cutting, and Jesse A. Duffy. Director James W. Horne also contributed to the script, which often emphasizes tongue-in-cheek comedy. Under Horne's direction, the heroes and villains exaggerate the melodrama — James Craven is enjoyably florid as the villain, and his henchmen also play for laughs, with comedian Fred Kelsey cast as a very dumb detective. In one scene some of the crooks are shown playing tiddlywinks.
The serial was released in the US on October 1, 1940, and in Latin America in March 1941 under the title El Arquero Verde (in English with Spanish subtitles). The Green Archer was one of 1940's best remembered serials.
References
The Green Archer (1940 serial) WikipediaThe Green Archer (1940 serial) IMDb The Green Archer (1940 serial) themoviedb.org