Don Daredevil Rides Again

1951 film by Fred C. Brannon

April 11, 1951 (1951-04-11) (U.S.)^[1]

Running time

12 chapters / 167 minutes^[1]CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$153,080 (negative cost: $155,200)^[1]

Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951) is a Republic Movie serial. It makes heavy use of stock footage from Republic's previous Zorro serials. The character of Don Daredevil (Ken Curtis) was created for this serial as the rights to Zorro belonged to Disney by 1951.

Plot

A vile political boss named Stratton (Roy Barcroft) hires a gang of night riders to scare off the local landowners so he can claim their lands for himself. Patricia Doyle (Aline Towne) fights back to keep her property from being stolen from her, with the aid of her cousin Lee Hadley (Ken Curtis) and her neighbor Gary Taylor. Lee realizes that help is not forthcoming from the government, so he disguises himself as a masked Zorro-like figure called Don Daredevil, and battles the land grabbers in much the same way his grandfather used to do many years ago, as the original Don Daredevil. Lee decimates the gang over the course of the 12 episodes, and finally fights Stratton one-on-one inside a burning farmhouse in the finale of the film.

Cast

Ken Curtis as Lee Hadley, otherwise known as "Don Daredevil"
Aline Towne as Patricia Doyle
Roy Barcroft as Douglas Stratton
Lane Bradford as Webber
Robert Einer as Gary Taylor
John Cason as Hagen
I. Stanford Jolley as the sheriff
Guy Teague
Tom Steele
Sandy Sanders
Michael Ragan
Cactus Mack
Lee Phelps
Hank Patterson

Production

Don Daredevil Rides Again was budgeted at $153,080 although the final negative cost was $155,200 (a $2,120, or 1.4%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1951.^[1]

It was filmed between 5 February and 27 February 1951.^[1] The serial's production number was 1930.^[1]

Don Daredevil Rides Again used stock footage taken from the earlier serial Zorro's Black Whip.^[2]^[3]

Stunts

Tom Steele as Lee Hadley/Don Daredevil/Henchman Black (doubling Ken Curtis)
Eddie Parker as Douglas Stratton (doubling Roy Barcroft)
Dale Van Sickel as Gary Taylor/Dan Farley (doubling Robert Einer)
Carey Loftin as Hagen/Henchman Owens (doubling John Cason)

Special effects

Special effects by the Lydecker brothers

Release

Theatrical

Don Daredevil Rides Again's official release date is 11 April 1951, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.^[1]

Critical reception

Cline describes this serial as just a "quickie."^[4]

Chapter titles

Return of the Don (20min)
Double Death (13min 20s)
Hidden Danger (13min 20s)
Retreat to Destruction (13min 20s)
Cold Steel (13min 20s)
The Flaming Juggernaut (13min 20s)
Claim Jumper (13min 20s)
Perilous Combat (13min 20s)
Hostage of Destiny (13min 20s)
Marked for Murder (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapter
The Captive Witness (13min 20s)
Flames of Vengeance (13min 20s)

_Source:^[1]^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Mathis, Jack (1995). Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 124–125. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8.
^ Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "12. The Westerns "Who Was That Masked Man!"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
^ Stedman, Raymond William (1971). "5. Shazam and Good-by". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
^ Cline, William C. (1984). "5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines)". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 91. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.
^ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 252. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.