Ben Affleck playing George Reeves in Hollywoodland has a scene where he comments negatively about his career stalling and being reduced to doing this serial. Despite Reeves displeasure this is a good, if juvenile, serial that is completely unlike any other one from the sound era in that it concerns knights in armor. The plot has Galahad trying to find the stolen sword Excalibur and battling various baddies who want to take over Camelot. With its use of swords and sorcery even the most run of the mill cliffhangers have a new sheen to them. You have to give the serial points for giving us a cliffhanger that has a tree in an enchanted forest come to life and grab Galahad and hold him tight while a ring of magic fire tries to roast him. Actually you have to give the serial points simply for doing something differently at a time when the production of serials was shifting towards reuse and cookie cutter interchangeability. Because of its setting nothing could really have been reused from other serials so its all pretty new. To be certain the performances are uneven, with many people walking through their roles and Reeves good sometimes and bored at others. Unfortunately, even though he liked to think otherwise he was a good actor of limited range. He was pretty much always the same guy. Compare this role to Superman/ Clark Kent- it's basically the same character. The story is also a bit too geared towards kids at times with things constantly looping back on itself. Still this is a good time killer that remains watchable thanks to the uniqueness of the setting. Recommended.
Review of The Adventures of Sir Galahad
Knights and armor serial is good fun simply because its unlike any other serial
7 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers