Hawk of the Wilderness
| Hawk of the Wilderness | |
|---|---|
Original poster for the 4th chapter of the serial
|
|
| Directed by |
William Witney John English |
| Produced by | Robert M. Beche |
| Written by |
Barry Shipman Rex Taylor Norman S. Hall Ridgeway Callow Sol Shor William L. Chester (novel) |
| Starring |
Herman Brix Ray Mala Monte Blue Jill Martin Noble Johnson William Royle Tom Chatterton |
| Music by | William Lava |
| Cinematography |
William Nobles Edgar Lyons |
| Edited by |
Edward Todd Helene Turner |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
12 chapters (213 minutes) (serial) 6 26½-minute episodes (TV series) 100 minutes (TV film) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $117,987 (negative cost: $121,168) |
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Kioga novel of the same name by pulp writer William L. Chester.
Kioga is very similar to the character of Tarzan, whom Herman Brix had also played on film in the 1935 Edgar Rice Burroughs-produced serial The New Adventures of Tarzan.
Dr Lincoln Rand Sr, leading an expedition to an uncharted island in the Arctic circle that may be the ancestral home of all Native Americans, is shipwrecked. The only survivors are Lincoln Rand Jr, Dr Rand's son and his servant Mokuyi.
Years later, a message from the sinking ship is found and an expedition sets out to find the island again. Part of the crew, led by smuggler Solerno, mutinies when they reach the island, abandoning Dr Munro and his expedition. Fortunately, Dr Munro and company are rescued by Lincoln Rand Jr, alias Kioga, the adult son of Dr Rand, who has been raised on the island by Mokuyi.
Hawk of the Wilderness was filmed between 18 September and 13 October 1938, with location filming in Mammoth Lakes, California. The serial was budgeted for $117,987 but the final negative cost rose slightly to $121,168.
Tuffie was cast when his trainer, during the interview, said "Tuffie, it's dark in here. Turn on the light." Tuffie did so by finding the switch, pulling a chair across to reach it and flipping the switch with his paw.
Silent parts of the serial were filmed with a one-inch lens. Cameraman Edgar Lyons had initially been filming more of the clouds in the sky than the actors, with the effect of partially cutting them out of the shot. The studio complained. Director William Witney compromised with the use of the wider lens, which would take in both cloudscape and actors. Only silent scenes were shot in this manner because the camera would be both closer to the actors and take in more of the surroundings, preventing the microphone from getting close enough to work properly.
...
Wikipedia