Best "movie serial" Movies of All Time

327 movies found (page 1/11):

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler(1922)

4h 31min | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

3.8/5 (with 81 votes)

Dr. Mabuse and his organization of criminals are in the process of completing their latest scheme, a theft of information that will allow Mabuse to make huge profits on the stock exchange. Afterwards, Mabuse disguises himself and attends the Folies Bergères show, where Cara Carozza, the main attraction of the show, passes him information on Mabuse's next intended victim, the young millionaire Edgar Hull. Mabuse then uses psychic manipulation to lure Hull into a card game where he loses heavily. When Police Commissioner von Wenk begins an investigation of this mysterious crime spree, he has little to go on, and he needs to find someone who can help him.

Directed by Fritz Lang - With Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede-Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Alfred Abel, Bernhard Goetzke, Anita Berber, ...

Batman(1943)

4h 20min | Action, Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction, Thriller, War

3.2/5 (with 30 votes)

Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.

Directed by Lambert Hillyer - With Lewis Wilson, Douglas Croft, J. Carrol Naish, Shirley Patterson, William Austin

The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris(1915)

6h 52min | Drama, Thriller

3.4/5 (with 42 votes)

Paris is prey to an invisible terror against which the police can do nothing: a sinister organization that sows chaos and death. The intrepid journalist Philippe Guérande and his partner embark on a long crusade to put an end to the crimes of the Great Vampire and Irma Vep, his dangerous accomplice. (A ten episode movie serial.)

Directed by Louis Feuillade - With Musidora, Édouard Mathé, Marcel Lévesque, Jean Ayme, Louis Leubas, René Poyen, ...

Captain America(1944)

4h 4min | Action, Adventure, Science Fiction

2.8/5 (with 12 votes)

Superhero Captain America battles the evil forces of the archvillain called The Scarab, who poisons his enemies and steals a secret device capable of destroying buildings by sound vibrations.

Directed by Elmer Clifton, John English - With Dick Purcell, Lorna Gray, Lionel Atwill, Charles Trowbridge, Russell Hicks, George J. Lewis, ...

Undersea Kingdom(1936)

| 3h 46min | Action, Fantasy, Science Fiction

2.2/5 (with 7 votes)

Crash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. Norton's rocket submarine searching the sea and little Billy Norton, the professor's son stows away, of course. When they find Atlantis they are caught in a war between peaceful Atlanteans, note their white capes, and war-monging Atlanteans, note their black capes. After many harrowing moments for Crash, Diana, Prof. Norton and Billy, they barely get away with their lives when they escape a tower of Atlantis raised to the surface for the sole purpose of dominating or destroying the Earth (Which one depends on the compliance of the upper world dwellers.)

Directed by B. Reeves Eason, Joseph Kane - With Monte Blue, William Farnum, Raymond Hatton, Lon Chaney Jr.

Flash Gordon(1936)

| 4h 5min | Action, Science Fiction

3.2/5 (with 16 votes)

Three earthlings visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless.

Directed by Frederick Stephani, Ray Taylor - With Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson, Frank Shannon, Richard Tucker, ...

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Zorro's Fighting Legion(1939)

3h 32min | Western, Action

2.8/5 (with 3 votes)

The mysterious Don Del Oro ("Lord of Gold"), an idol of the Yaqui Indians, plans to take over the gold and become Emperor. Francisco was put in charge of a legion to combat the Yaqui tribe and protect the land, but when attacked Zorro came to his rescue. Francisco's partner recognized Zorro as the hidalgo Don Diego Vega, then ask him to take over the fighting legion as his alter-ego Zorro.

Directed by William Witney, John English - With Reed Hadley, Sheila Darcy, Edmund Cobb, C. Montague Shaw, Carleton Young, Charles King, ...

Superman(1948)

| 4h 4min | Action, Crime, Science Fiction

2.8/5 (with 10 votes)

Superman comes to Earth as a child and grows up to be his home's first superhero with his first major challenge being to oppose The Spider Lady.

Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr - With Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Carol Forman, Tommy Bond, Forrest Taylor, Pierre Watkin, ...

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe(1940)

| 3h 40min | Science Fiction, Action

2.9/5 (with 8 votes)

A mysterious plague, the Purple Death, ravages the earth. Dr. Zarkov, investigating in his spaceship, finds a ship from planet Mongo seeding the atmosphere with dust. Sure enough, Ming the Merciless is up to his old tricks. So it's back to Mongo for Flash, Dale, and Zarkov, this time with ready-made allies waiting: Prince Barin of Arboria and Queen Fria of the frozen northern land of Frigia; where, it so happens, is found polarite, antidote to the plague. But Ming will use all his forces to keep our heroes from thwarting his plans of conquest.

Directed by Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor - With Buster Crabbe, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Herbert Rawlinson, Earl Dwire, Donald Curtis, ...

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Adventures of Captain Marvel(1941)

3h 36min | Fantasy, Action, Science Fiction, Kids & Family

3.1/5 (with 11 votes)

On a scientific expedition to Siam young Billy Batson is given the ability to change himself into the super-powered Captain Marvel by the wizard Shazam, who tells him his powers will last only as long as the Golden Scorpion idol is threatened. Finding the idol, the scientists realize it could be the most powerful weapon in the world and remove the lenses that energize it, distributing them among themselves so that no one would be able to use the idol by himself. Back in the US, Billy Batson, as Captain Marvel, wages a battle against an evil, hooded figure, the Scorpion, who hopes to accumulate all five lenses, thereby gaining control of the super-powerful weapon.

Judex(1916)

6h 5min | Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime

3.5/5 (with 8 votes)

When an unscrupulous banker ruins his family, a young man swears to bring him to justice, so he adopts a new identity, the mysterious Judex, and ominously disguised and sunk into the muddy path of vengeance, punishes the crooks and protects the innocents. (Originally a twelve-part epic serial.)

Directed by Louis Feuillade - With René Cresté, Musidora, René Poyen, Édouard Mathé, Yvette Andréyor, Louis Leubas, ...

Tarzan the Fearless(1933)

3h 48min | Action, Adventure

2.0/5 (with 6 votes)

Mary Brooks' father, who has been studying ancient tribes, falls into the hands of "the people of Zar, god of the Emerald Fingers." Tarzan helps Mary locate her father, rescues everyone from the High Priest of Zar, and takes Mary to his cave.

Directed by Robert F. Hill - With Buster Crabbe, Julie Bishop, E. Alyn Warren, Mischa Auer, Carlotta Monti, Edward Woods, ...

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Radar Men from the Moon(1952)

| 2h 47min | Action, Science Fiction

2.3/5 (with 8 votes)

Commando Cody, 'Sky Marshal of the Universe', works with American scientists Joan Gilbert and Ted Richards in the development of a flying suit and a rocket to the Moon. When the nation's defences are being sabotaged and destroyed, Cody learns that an atomic-gun is being used and that the men on the moon are the culprits.

Directed by Fred C. Brannon - With George D. Wallace, Aline Towne, Roy Barcroft

The Crimson Ghost(1946)

| 2h 47min | Adventure, Action, Crime

2.3/5 (with 3 votes)

A criminal mastermind known as The Crimson Ghost is out to steal a device called the Cyclotrode, which can short-circuit all electrical current on the planet.

Directed by Fred C. Brannon, William Witney - With Charles Quigley, Linda Stirling, Clayton Moore, I. Stanford Jolley, Kenne Duncan, Forrest Taylor, ...

King of the Rocket Men(1949)

| 2h 47min | Action, Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction

3.1/5 (with 3 votes)

Prof. Millard pretends to be dead and helps Jeff King ferret out Vulcan, the evil traitor at the science academy. Donning his Rocket Man costume King goes from one hair raising rescue to the next in order to keep the newly invented Decimator out of the clutches of Vulcan and his minions.

Directed by Fred C. Brannon - With Tris Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters, Jr., James Craven, I. Stanford Jolley, ...

Jungle Girl(1941)

4h 27min | Action

3.4/5 (with 2 votes)

Dr. John Meredith has been driven from civilization by the criminal activities of his twin brother Bradley Meredith. With his infant daughter, he settles in the African jungle, where his ability to cure the native ills has resulted in his virtual control of the Masamba tribes, who possess vast diamond mines coveted by a gang of crooks.

Directed by William Witney, John English - With Frances Gifford, Tom Neal, Trevor Bardette, Gerald Mohr, Eddie Acuff, Frank Lackteen, ...

Batman and Robin(1949)

4h 23min | Action, Science Fiction, Thriller

2.8/5 (with 14 votes)

This 15-chapter serial pits Batman and Robin against The Wizard, who uses a device that allows him to control machinery to hold the city hostage.

Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet - With Robert Lowery, Johnny Duncan, Poni Adams, Lyle Talbot, Ralph Graves, Don C. Harvey, ...

Spy Smasher(1942)

| 3h 35min | Action, War, TV Movie, Adventure

2.9/5 (with 2 votes)

Prior to the United States' involvement in World War II, the masked vigilante Spy Smasher fights Nazi agents operating within the US, led by the treacherous sabotage leader codenamed The Mask.

Directed by William Witney - With Kane Richmond, Marguerite Chapman, Sam Flint, Georges Renavent, Rudolph Anders

The Iron Claw(1941)

| 4h 49min | Action, Mystery

3.0/5 (with 1 vote)

The heirs of Anton Benson are searching Bensonhurst for hidden gold; they are joined by a reporter, a gangster...and a masked fiend known as The Iron Claw.

Directed by James W. Horne - With Charles Quigley

The Adventures of Frank Merriwell(1936)

3h 39min | Adventure

1.0/5 (with 1 vote)

A 12-episode serial in which scholastic sports star Frank Merriwell leaves school to search for his missing father. His adventures involve a mysterious inscription on a ring, buried treasure, kidnaping and Indian raids. He saves his father and returns to school just in time to win a decisive baseball game with his remarkable pitching and hitting.

Directed by Lew Landers - With Donald Briggs

Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc.(1949)

| 2h 47min | Action, Crime

The female leader of an international crime ring steals a valuable artifact that can give her the power to control men's minds. Federal agents are dispatched to get it back and stop her evil plans.

Directed by Fred C. Brannon - With Kirk Alyn

Zorro's Black Whip(1944)

| 3h 31min | Action, Adventure, Western

2.5/5 (with 2 votes)

Pretty Girl Barbara Mededith takes over her murdered brother's crusading newspaper. She also assumes the dead sibling's identity as "The Black Whip," righting the wrongs of Crescent City very much in the manner of her famous ancestor, Zorro.

Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet - With Linda Stirling, George J. Lewis, Lucien Littlefield, Francis McDonald

The Three Musketeers(1933)

| 3h 30min | Action, Adventure

2.8/5 (with 2 votes)

Tom Wayne rescues Clancy, Renard and Schmidt in the Arabian desert and they join him in going after El Shaitan, a bad guy who is never seen as he tries to wipe out the Foreign Legion.

Directed by Armand Schaefer - With John Wayne, Raymond Hatton, Lon Chaney Jr., Robert Frazer, Noah Beery Jr., Al Ferguson, ...

The Phantom Empire(1935)

| 4h 5min | Action, Music, Science Fiction, Western

2.7/5 (with 5 votes)

When the ancient continent of Mu sank beneath the ocean, some of its inhabitant survived in caverns beneath the sea. Cowboy singer Gene Autry stumbles upon the civilization, now buried beneath his own Radio Ranch. The Muranians have developed technology and weaponry such as television and ray guns. Their rich supply of radium draws unscrupulous speculators from the surface. The peaceful civilization of the Muranians is corrupted by the greed from above, and it becomes Autry's task to prevent all-out war, ideally without disrupting his regular radio show.

Directed by Otto Brower, B. Reeves Eason - With Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, Betsy King Ross, Dorothy Christy, Wheeler Vivian Oakman

The Spider Returns(1941)

5h | Crime, Action, Adventure

5.0/5 (with 1 vote)

The evil and masked "Gargoyle" is sabotaging all of America's industrial plants. It is up to the Spider to save the country.

Directed by James W. Horne - With Warren Hull

Mysterious Doctor Satan(1940)

4h 27min | Action, Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction

2.3/5 (with 1 vote)

A mad scientist named Dr. Satan plots to steal key pieces of technology to enable him to build an army of robots based on his prototype to conquer America. The only one standing in his way is Bob Wayne, who fights Satan as the enigmatic Copperhead. Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is the masked mystery man, "The Copperhead", whose secret identity is Bob Wayne, a man searching for justice and revenge on Satan for the death of his step-father. The serial charts the conflict between the two as Bob Wayne pursues Doctor Satan, while the latter completes his plans for world domination.

Directed by William Witney, John English - With Eduardo Ciannelli

Perils of Pauline(1933)

3h 51min | Action, Adventure

3.0/5 (with 1 vote)

A famous scientist and his beautiful daughter travel to Indochina to find an ivory disc that has the formula for a deadly gas engraved on it. An evil doctor and his gang are also looking for it.

Directed by Ray Taylor - With Evalyn Knapp, Craig Reynolds, John Davidson

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars(1938)

| 3h 49min | Adventure, Science Fiction, Action

2.9/5 (with 4 votes)

A 15-episode serial starring Buster Crabbe.

Directed by Ford Beebe, Robert F. Hill, Frederick Stephani - With Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Beatrice Roberts, Kane Richmond, ...

Dick Tracy(1937)

| 4h 50min | Crime, Action, Comedy, Thriller

2.2/5 (with 4 votes)

Dick Tracy's foe for this serial is the crime boss and Masked Mystery Villain The Spider/The Lame One and his Spider Ring. In the process of various crimes, including using his Flying wing and sound weapon to destroy the Bay Bridge in San Francisco and stealing an experimental "Speed Plane", the Spider captures Dick Tracy's brother, Gordon. The Spider's minion, Dr. Moloch, performs a brain operation on Gordon Tracy to turn him evil, making him secretly part of the Spider Ring and so turning brother against brother.

Directed by Alan James, Ray Taylor - With Ralph Byrd

The Phantom Creeps(1939)

4h 25min | Science Fiction

2.2/5 (with 8 votes)

A mad scientist attempts to rule the world by creating various elaborate inventions.

Directed by Ford Beebe - With Bela Lugosi, Dorothy Arnold, Robert Kent, Regis Toomey, Edward Van Sloan, Eddie Acuff, ...

Movies: Best "movie serial" Movies