The Fighting Devil Dogs

The Fighting Devil Dogs
Directed by
Written by
Produced byRobert M. Beche
Starring
CinematographyWilliam Nobles
Music byAlberto Colombo
Distributed byRepublic Pictures
Release dates
  • May 28, 1938 (1938-05-28) (Serial)[1]
  • January 29, 1943 (1943-01-29) (feature)[1]
  • 1950 (1950) (TV)[1]
  • 1966 (1966) (TV movie)[1]
Running time
  • 12 chapters / 204 minutes (serial)[1]
  • 69 minutes (feature)[1]
  • 6 26½-minute episodes (TV)[1]
  • 100 minutes (TV movie)[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$94,656 (negative cost: $92,569)[1]

The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938) is a 12-chapter Republic movie serial starring Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett.[2] It was directed by William Witney and John English. While not often considered a great serial, as it contains much stock footage and two recap chapters, it is famous for its main villain, the Lightning—the first costumed supervillain.[3] There is some speculation that George Lucas used the Lightning as a template for Darth Vader.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mathis, Jack (1995). Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 30–31. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8.
  2. ^ Kinnard, Roy (1998). Science Fiction Serials: A Critical Filmography of the 31 Hard SF Cliffhangers. McFarland & Co. p. 61. ISBN 978-0786437450.
  3. ^ "World's First Supervillain at The longest list of the longest stuff at the longest domain name at long last". Thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved January 22, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "The Visual Development of Darth Vader". secrethistoryofstarwars.com. Retrieved February 26, 2011.