Sulphur, LA
Over the weekend I had the grand opportunity to check out Calcasieu Serial Fest. While most of the conventions that I attend are generalized comic, science fiction, and/or pop culture based events, Calcasieu Serial Fest is a niche event that focuses on the classic cliffhanger serials from the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. These episodic stories would be played along with cartoons and news reels prior to the feature films.
This was the third year for the festival, and my second time to attend. It was a free event that took place in the excellent Brimstone Museum in Sulphur, LA. Along with free admission, free drinks and popcorn were given to all of the attendees and a free lunch was served as well! It’s tough to beat free admission and food, especially when the entertainment includes serials featuring characters such as Flash Gordon, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, and the crew of the Sea Hound.
This year was a celebration of Larry “Buster” Crabbe. The event opened with Buster Crabbe as Tarzan, and went on to highlight his work as Red Barry, Buck Rogers, and Captain Silver of the aforementioned Sea Hound. Serials featuring The Long Ranger, The Green Hornet, and Captain Marvel were also viewed.
Attendees were treated to two episodes of each serial. Each one, in true serial fashion, ended with a cliffhanger, and some of them featured a teaser for the next episode at the end that promised resolution to the climactic events next week at this theater!
Between serials, attendees were invited to take photos of and with cosplayer Bill Necessary. Mr. Necessary brought a three legendary characters to life and I jumped at the chance to take photos of them. He portrayed The Green Hornet, Captain Marvel, and The Lone Ranger. It was really fun to watch each serial with the character in it sitting in the audience with all of the rest of us.
The event ended with a feature-length presentation of the Flash Gordon serial Rocket Ship. It starred Buster Crabbe as the golden boy, Flash Gordon, and Charles Middleton as the sinister Ming The Merciless. It was a great send off to an excellent event.
Paper Heroes, a Lake Charles, LA comic book shop, provided a great stack of classic comics as door prizes. There were also paper models of Flash Gordon’s ship available to take home. I was lucky enough to snag some excellent comics as prizes and grabbed a few of the ship models as well to build at home with my kids.
Calcasieu Serial Fest was an extremely fun event. I can only hope that it gets larger next year and draws an even bigger crowd. Serials are an art form in their own right, and feature some excellent stories and solid special effects (especially considering the time in which they were made). Sure, we may laugh at the hokey sets and sometimes questionable acting, but these stories are fun and extremely entertaining. I want to thank Patrick Bennett and everyone else involved with keeping this classic storytelling format alive, and can’t wait for next year’s event. Be sure to visit the festival’s Facebook page here and be sure to also check out the Lake Charles Film Festival, another excellent event that Patrick puts on each year.
As always, thanks for reading. I plan on posting another round of Ten Burning Questions again in the near future, and as of right now, the only other conventions or events that I plan to visit this year the Lake Charles Film Festival in Lake Charles, LA and Louisiana Comic Con in Lafayette, LA in October. If you have an event coming up and think that I’d have fun attending, let me know and I’ll see what I can do about making it to the event.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 