BLACK WIDOW (1947) Republic Archive Serial STILLS + STILL MANUAL + 4x5s!

Description

BLACK WIDOW (1947) Republic Archive Serial STILLS + STILL MANUAL + 4x5s! +COA!
*Guaranteed Vintage and Original ~ Comes with COA from the Museum of Mom and Pop Culture!
*This lot is for (3) Republic Archive Key Book 8 x 10" original action stills with printing on reverse.
Also included are (3) 4x5 Studio Prints.
Stills feature classic Republic Serial Damsel In Distress Bondage.
*Also included is a one-page, 3-hole punch Mini-
Pressbook Still Manual, Republic's inventive pint-size promotional piece for their serials.
*These pieces are from a recent discovery of scarce material from what appears to have been vintage material gathered to support Republic's entry into the television market in the 1950s-1960s. See more of this great material in our companion auctions and in the weeks to come.
*Overall Condition: Excellent!
*STARS:
Bruce Edwards as Steve Colt, an amateur criminologist on the trail of a series of bizarre murders.
Virginia Lindley as Joyce Winters, Colt's friend who Sombra impersonates in order to get close to him.
Carol Forman as Sombra, daughter and agent of King Hitomu. She is an expert at disguises, manipulation, and planning.
Anthony Warde as Nick Ward, a gangster working with Sombra.
*HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
The Black Widow’s story–a hero protecting a scientist and his MacGuffin from a gang of power-hungry criminals–is indistinguishable in outline from that of many other Republic serials, although it does feature some memorably colorfully fantastic devices, particularly Hitomu’s teleportation chair, the mechanical spider that emerges from a seat in Sombra’s parlor, and Sombra’s rubber face-changing masks–which, like the similar devices in Mascot serials like Mystery Mountain, entertainingly but implausibly seem to change not only her face but her physical appearance as well.
The feature that really makes Black Widow distinctive–and also makes it one of the studio’s best post-war serials–is its dialogue, which manages to bring some atypical humor to the Republic formula without impairing that formula’s typical elements action and suspense. Screenwriters Basil Dickey, Franklin Adreon, Jesse Duffy, and Sol Shor unexpectedly but very entertainingly inject innumerable funny lines (including a few in-jokes) into their script–chiefly in the non-stop bantering scenes between hero and heroine and in some of henchman Anthony Warde’s interactions with his bosses (his oafish character’s first meeting with the supercilious Hitomu is especially priceless).
(Files of Jerry Blake)
*STORYLINE:
The Editor of the Daily Clarion newspaper hires amateur criminologist Steve Colt to solve a series of murders, all involving venomous spider bites.
Meanwhile, King Hitomu has sent his daughter Sombra to the United States to fulfill his plan for global domination. There she poses as a fortune teller and, with a gang of henchmen, attempts to steal a prototype Atomic Rocket Engine using her uncanny ability to impersonate other women.
(wiki)
**PLEASE NOTE: COLOR ONE-SHEET POSTER NOT INCLUDED IN LOT - IMAGE SHOWN FOR VISUAL REFERENCE ONLY - THANKS!
*See more amazing material from this recently-discovered Republic Serial Archive ~
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*Bid with Confidence and Enjoy!
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