Part of the artificial-creature series encompassing Der Golem (1914 and 1920), Alraune (1918, 1928, 1930) and Metropolis (1926), 'Homunculus' was the most popular serial in Germany during World War I even influencing the dress of fashionable Berlin. Foenss, a Danish star, is the perfect creature manufactured in a laboratory by Kuehne. Having discovered his origins, that he has no 'soul' and is incapable of love, he revenges himself on mankind, instigating revolutions and becoming a monstrous but beautiful tyrant, relentlessly pursued by his creator-father who seeks to rectify his mistake.
An English nobleman is banished from home because of his attachment to a girl "not of his class." He marries the girl, comes to America with her, and a child, John Burton, subsequently the hero of each chapter of this serial, is born to them. 14 chapters.
A criminologist and a government agent team up to expose a ring of German spies.
A young girl is reared on a desert island by natives and led to believe that she is a goddess. One day an outsider comes to the island, and persuades her to accompany him to preach about the kindness and love she has experienced. She agrees, but she's soon confronted by the problems and travails of the "outside" world.
The Strings of Steel is a silent Action serial. Episode titles: 1. The Voice on the Wire 2. The First Central 3. Fighting for Love 4. The Power of Might 5. Kings of the Wire 6. Voice of the Continent 7. Telephone Poles 8. War of the Wire 9. When Lightning Strikes 10. Love and Victory.
The Great Gamble is a 1919 movie serial.
The Adventures of Peg o' the Ring is a 1916 American drama film serial directed by Francis Ford and Jacques Jaccard. It is now considered to be lost.
Paris is prey to an invisible terror against which the police can do nothing: a sinister organization that sows chaos and death. The intrepid journalist Philippe Guérande and his partner embark on a long crusade to put an end to the crimes of the Great Vampire and Irma Vep, his dangerous accomplice. (A ten episode movie serial.)
This twenty-three episode serial told the story of a secret society called The Black Hundred and its attempts to gain control of a lost million dollars.
A gang of land-grabbers tries to prevent safe passage of the Foster Stage Company through frontier territory.
When an unscrupulous banker ruins his family, a young man swears to bring him to justice, so he adopts a new identity, the mysterious Judex, and ominously disguised and sunk into the muddy path of vengeance, punishes the crooks and protects the innocents. (Originally a twelve-part epic serial.)
The Perils of Pauline is a motion picture serial shown in weekly installments featuring the actress Pearl White playing the title character. Pauline has often been cited as a famous example of a damsel-in-distress, although viewers will find her character more resourceful and less helpless than the classic 'damsel' stereotype. Nine episodes (from a condensed 1916 re-release) survive to this day.
A movie serial directed by Francis Ford.
While visiting Egypt, Mrs. Graham steals a famous jewel called "The Eye of the World" from a mummy's sarcophagus and returns to the United States, planning to use the gem as collateral for a loan. Kah, the priestess in charge of protecting the tombs of Egyptian nobility, is soon on her trail , determined to retrieve the gem. Mrs. Graham's lovely daughter, Betty, agrees to marry a suitor for money to prop up her father's failing business. When the bridegroom is murdered on the couple's wedding night, and the body disappears, Phil Kelly decides to lend a hand in solving the crimes.
Lieutenant Commander John Byrne of the Naval Secret Service and his partner Pvt. Bill Riggers chase criminal Dr. Sin Fang, who is desperate to find a lost sacred seal. (The fifth and only surviving episode of a six-part serial about an evil mastermind inspired on Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu.)
The Wrecker wrecks trains on the L & R Railroad. One of his victims is Larry Baker's father. Baker wants to find the evildoer, among a host of suspects, but it will be difficult since the Wrecker can disguise himself to look like almost anyone
A young heiress of an American gun factory is threatened by a masked man after her father was murdered. This criminal might be a member of her family or a German agent, who wants to get information about the factory's products, perhaps his mystery has a combined solution - we will probably never know...
A series of 2-reel thrillers in which a society girl has a position as a special investigator for the police and works on various cases where her unique talents can help to solve crimes. Each episode is complete in itself.
Restored by the George Eastman House in 2001, this 1928 serial was considered a “last hurrah” for the silent-era serial, and brought together some of the biggest names of the era: director J.P. McGowan, actors Francis Ford and Joe Bonomo (a carnival strongman-turned-actor), producer Trem Carr (who would later help found Monogram Pictures), and a slew of silent-era supporting icons such as Ruth Hiatt, Grace Cunard, and more. Chapter names like “The Clutching Claw,” “The Devil’s Dice, “Galloping Fury,” and “The Invisible Hand” offer all one needs to know of the film’s concerns: to promise and deliver as much action and suspense as possible, and move our intrepid hero and heroine from one perilous situation to another. One of the biggest stars of the early silent era and a successful serials director in his own right, Francis Ford was the brother of director John Ford.
Carter Holmes, master criminologist, must help the oft-kidnapped Ruth Stanhope to find the 9 daggers that will unlock the secret of the cursed Devil's Trademark!