By the famous Big Reel columnist: the story of serials from Universal's 1930 The Indians Are Coming to Columbia's 1956 Blazing the Overland Trail. Fifteen fascinating chapters explain the importance of "cliffhangers" to the industry as audience builders and "product leaders." The serials provided training for actors and served as a "technical university" for people who later made the television industry work. An appendix lists in order of release all of the sound serials from 1930 through 1956, showing titles, releasing companies, chapter titles, directors and several...

This collection of essays recalls the glory days of the movie serial. The primary focus is on the fans of the serials - what they thought of them in their heyday, what they think of them now, and why these episodic tales are still so popular.