Ford Beebe

A 1953 feature film edited from the 1939 Universal serial Buck Rogers, re-released for theatrical distribution. A 20th-century pilot named Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe) and his young friend Buddy Wade awaken from 500 years in suspended animation to find the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane. Buck joins the hidden resistance forces to defeat Kane and restore freedom. The original serial was directed by Saul A. Goodkind and Ford Beebe. The film entered the public domain via non-renewal of its copyright.

Sci-Fi · Action · Adventure

A 1940 American 12-chapter science fiction serial from Universal Pictures, co-directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor, and the last of the three Universal Flash Gordon serials. A mysterious plague called the Purple Death ravages the Earth. Dr. Zarkov discovers a ship from planet Mongo seeding the atmosphere with dust — Ming the Merciless is up to his old tricks. Flash, Dale, and Zarkov return to Mongo to stop Ming, encountering the Rock People and the Arborians along the way. Buster Crabbe reprises his role as Flash, with Carol Hughes replacing Jean Rogers as Dale Arden. The serial entered the public domain via non-renewal of its copyright.

Sci-Fi · Action · Adventure

Ace Drummond is a 1936 Universal Pictures film serial in thirteen chapters, based on the comic strip of the same name by the World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker and drawn by Clayton Knight. John 'Dusty' King stars as Ace Drummond, a dashing pilot sent by Washington to a remote corner of Mongolia to investigate the disappearance of aircraft on an airway being opened to the East. He finds a mysterious villain called "The Dragon" terrorizing the region in search of a mountain of jade, and allies himself with the daughter of a captured scientist (Jean Rogers) and his own mechanic (Noah Beery Jr.) to smash the ring. Directed by Ford Beebe and Clifford Smith, the serial is a brisk chapterplay of aerial stunts, cliffhanger endings, and exotic intrigue.

Adventure · Action · Serial

The Adventures of Rex and Rinty is a 1935 Mascot Pictures serial in twelve chapters, pairing two of the most popular animal stars of the era: the magnificent black stallion Rex and Rin Tin Tin Jr., son of the legendary German Shepherd. Jack Mulhall plays the human lead, a cavalry officer, but the real heroes are the animals, who carry the action across a story involving a hidden island, a sacred white horse, and a villain scheming to seize the throne of a lost kingdom. Directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason, the serial is a fast-moving blend of animal stunts, exotic adventure, and chapterplay cliffhangers. It is in the public domain.

Adventure · Action · Serial