Tweet Panther Girl of the Kongo Serial on Blu-Ray

An in-depth, objective review of PANTHER GIRL by DVD Savant, which helped sway my decision to pass on this serial. I hope Olive doesn't gauge low potential for serials on Blu based on this release, which seemed to me a bit questionable from the start. This isn't a knock against anyone who wants to support the effort in the hopes it will encourage future serial releases nor those who enjoy this particular one, its reputed shortcomings notwithstanding. I'm still interested to hear from those who did purchase it if they at least had a fun time watching it.

https://trailersfromhell.com/panther-girl-of-the-kongo/

Watched it. Being the next to last filmed Republic serial PANTHER GIRL suffers from a tight budget and mediocre cliffhangers. Phyllis Coates looks great and gives it her best, but the small cast, overused stock footage and an unmemorable score make this a pedestrian effort from a studio known to produce some of the finest serials ever made. Even though this was mastered for BD, it isn't one of Olive's best either.

Don't get me wrong, PANTHER GIRL has her moments, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend this as a first serial to someone curious about the genre.

The KINO-Lorber 4K mastered Republics, Daredevils of the Red Circle and The Adventures of Captain Marvel will be the bee's knees, night & day difference.

In my home theatre, we run weekly shows, so we usually can run a complete serial over 12-15 weeks.

Over the years, I have found the best serials, were indeed, Republic after 1939. The Universal serials ran way too long per chapter and could be slow going. The Columbia serials were a mixed bag--some quite good, others fair. Yes, the production values dropped in 1950--but Republic's product was still enjoyable.

From a shorts program standpoint, I like the post-1949 Republic serials due to their quick action in 13 to 14 minutes runtime.

As far as content, my theatre audiences laugh at most of them with their implausible stories and situations--but that is entertainment. When I was a kid, I saw serials in the theatre and took them very seriously.

I'm just glad we have ANY excellent quality DVD releases for serials--I like them all--if customers are too picky with a distributor's efforts to bring serials in gorgeous quality to the public, then the effort may stop too soon--SO EMAIL THE DISTRIBUTORS WITH YOUR REQUESTS--they do listen if many fans suggest the same titles.

Over the years I got pretty tired of the garbage quality 16mm dupes, gray market VHS and DVDs, so I'm delighted at these new releases.

BTW, you may want to try this: I suggested for purchase on our county library system's website, both COMMANDO CODY and PANTHER GIRL and they bought several copies of each!

I love it when a reviewer criticizes plot holes in a serial. It's kind of like criticizing swiss cheese for having holes in it. And a girl in a leather sarong riding an elephant being attacked by a man in a monkey suit isn't exotic enough... He wants rocket ships too!

In my home theatre, we run weekly shows, so we usually can run a complete serial over 12-15 weeks.

Over the years, I have found the best serials, were indeed, Republic after 1939. The Universal serials ran way too long per chapter and could be slow going. The Columbia serials were a mixed bag--some quite good, others fair. Yes, the production values dropped in 1950--but Republic's product was still enjoyable.

From a shorts program standpoint, I like the post-1949 Republic serials due to their quick action in 13 to 14 minutes runtime.

As far as content, my theatre audiences laugh at most of them with their implausible stories and situations--but that is entertainment. When I was a kid, I saw serials in the theatre and took them very seriously.

I'm just glad we have ANY excellent quality DVD releases for serials--I like them all--if customers are too picky with a distributor's efforts to bring serials in gorgeous quality to the public, then the effort may stop too soon--SO EMAIL THE DISTRIBUTORS WITH YOUR REQUESTS--they do listen if many fans suggest the same titles.

Over the years I got pretty tired of the garbage quality 16mm dupes, gray market VHS and DVDs, so I'm delighted at these new releases.

BTW, you may want to try this: I suggested for purchase on our county library system's website, both COMMANDO CODY and PANTHER GIRL and they bought several copies of each!

The shorter length is a little deceptive. First episodes of most serials ...all the way back... tend to be longer set-ups (25 to 30 minutes). After that most chapters were 20 minutes or shorter. The COMMANDO CODY series from Olive technically isn't a cliffhanger serial, but 30 minute TV episodes edited from the serial release sans cliffhangers (30 minutes each). It also benefits from a rousing score, ...the same score utilized for KING OF THE ROCKETMEN in 1949.

All said, these are good recommendations for your county library system. Suggesting multiple copies of the upcoming KINO-Lorber releases of DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE and THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL to libraries is a great idea.

I love it when a reviewer criticizes plot holes in a serial. It's kind of like criticizing swiss cheese for having holes in it. And a girl in a leather sarong riding an elephant being attacked by a man in a monkey suit isn't exotic enough... He wants rocket ships too!

Where Republic serials are concerned the aged Swiss is preferable.