Calcasieu Serialfest Chapter 5!

Sulphur, LA

If you’ve ever enjoyed watching films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Rocketeer, Star Wars, or almost any of the current crop of superhero films, you owe a little debt of gratitude to the classic serials of the early twentieth century.  Almost every aspect of modern action and adventure films has been influenced by these cliffhangers.  From special effects to storylines, these films set the foundation for the popcorn flick of today.

A celebration of these serials took place in Sulphur, LA over the weekend at the Brimstone Museum.  Calcasieu Serialfest celebrated its fifth year (or chapter) by highlighting the career of Kirk Alyn, the first man to ever don the cape of Superman in a live action film.  Episodes from some of his most popular serials including Blackhawk, Radar Patrol Vs. Spy King, and Federal Agents Vs. Underworld, Inc. were shown and cosplayer Bill Necessary offered up some interesting facts about Alyn between episodes.

Other serials featured included The Adventures of Captain Marvel, The Perils of Pauline, and The Fighting Marines, among others.  Necessary would give historical information on many of these as well, often in the costume of the hero that was being featured.  He changed into multiple costumes during the event, including Superman, Captain Marvel, and the Lone Ranger.  He happily posed for photos with attendees of the event as well.

The event was entirely free, which is rare in today’s world.  Free popcorn and drinks were offered throughout the showing of the serial chapters, and lunch was provided as well.  Numerous door prizes were also handed out.  These included comic books featuring heroes that found success in cliffhangers such as Flash Gordon and The Green Hornet, and serial posters.  I was lucky enough to win quite a few of the comic books, and there were also some free prints available to everyone at the welcome table.  My favorite print was of Alyn and Noel Neill as Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

At the end of the event, a few of us hung around in order to play Fortune & Glory, an RPG that takes place in the same universe where classic serials occur.  In other words, there were tons of Nazis, mobsters, robots, monsters, and cliffhanging moments to deal with during the game.  It was really fun to play, and I look forward to playing it again.

This year’s event drew the largest crowd that I’ve ever seen.  From what I was told, people traveled from all over southwest Louisiana and even parts of east Texas to attend the celebration.  That’s great news to hear, as this wonderful event deserves more attention than it has been getting in the local area.  It offers up something that doesn’t get much attention from most mainstream pop culture and comic con events as they focus on what’s popular at the moment and not so much on what actually set the foundation for it all.

Next year’s event will focus on the work of Howard and Theodore Lydecker, masters of miniature work and special effects.  Considering that most of these productions were done on a shoestring budget, the Lydeckers did a brilliant job with what little money and technology they were given at the time.  I can’t wait to see and learn more about these men.

I want to personally thank Patrick Bennett, Bill Necessary, Thom Trahan, and the Brimstone Historical Society for putting on such an excellent event.  Each year gets better and it’s great to see these often forgotten films get some attention from a group that appreciates them and the artists that brought them to life.  I also want to thank all of my readers for taking a little time out of their day to read about this event.  I’ll have more posts coming later this week!