Republic Serial in Public Domain???

[AlecWest]

Apparently, it's true. I don't know how "new" this news is. But, the old 12-part Republic Pictures serial, "Radar Men From The Moon," appears to be in the public domain now. I didn't notice it before on my last visit, but the Internet Moving Pictures Archive site now allows the download of all 12 parts of the serial in MPEG2 format, MPEG1 format, and MP4 formats.

For you young whippersnappers out there, here's the scoop on serials. Back in the 40s and 50s, film studios would release certain films in "parts" ... between 10 and 15 parts, usually. Each part told a short bit of the story and ended with a "cliffhanger" scene ... forcing you to visit the theater again and again and pay to see "what happened next" when the next parts were released.

"Radar Men From The Moon" features the character, Commando Cody -- a man who wears a "rocket suit" and flys around thwarting evildoers. And here's the plot summary of the 1952 serial from IMDB.com:

Strategic targets on Earth are being destroyed by an unknown weapon. Government security head Henderson suspects it's an "atomic ray" originating from the moon! He assigns Commando Cody, scientist and man of action with a secret flying suit, to investigate. Soon, Cody is battling Earth thugs in the pay of Krog the moon man and making trips in his experimental rocket to the moon itself, in a perilous and all but singlehanded effort to thwart the planned invasion of Earth.

It's great for people who like classic campy sci-fi, hehe. Anyhoo, I'm downloading all 12 parts now. It's free, y'know (grin). And here are the download links for anyone else who wants the MPEG2 files:

http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen1/radarmen_chapter1.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen2/radarmen_chapter2.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen3/radarmen_chapter3.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen4/radarmen_chapter4.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen5/radarmen_chapter5.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen6/radarmen_chapter6.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen7/radarmen_chapter7.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen8/radarmen_chapter8.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen9/radarmen_chapter9.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen10/radarmen_chapter10.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen11/radarmen_chapter11.mpeg
http://www.archive.org/download/radarmen12/radarmen_chapter12.mpeg

The first file is 1.2GB, the rest are roughly 900MB or less. Ahem, modem users should forget it, though. This is clearly broadband territory. FWIW, if all you want is VCD (MPEG1) files, use the links above ... changing the MPEG suffix to MPG.

P.S. I hope they also release the two other "rocket man" serials -- "Zombies of the Stratosphere" (starring Leonard Nimoy as the Martian zombie, Narab) and "King of the Rocket Men" which, for it's day, had a great special effects depiction of New York being rocked by an earthquake.

[steve2713]

Not sure if this qualifies as news, but thanks alot for posting it, I like this sort of stuff.

On a related note, does anyone know of a good list of web sites or forum(s) for Public Domain movies/shows like these (in addition to archive.org)?

[lordsmurf]

Lots of thes old serials are common at Fry's on DVD for about $5 each. Big fan here too.

Same for VHS releases out of Canada.

Companies that specialize in public domain stuff. They often do great work from good prints, and provide reasonable costing end products.

[AlecWest]

Lots of thes old serials are common at Fry's on DVD for about $5 each. Big fan here too.

FWIW, my local Dollar Tree store (where everything is only $1) sells a whole bunch of public domain DVDs. No serials, though ... at least, none that I've seen so far. "Santa Claus vs. The Martians," also downloadable from the Internet Archive site, is also sold at Dollar Tree. I bought a copy there. But (??), my DVD player couldn't read it. Fortunately, my computer could ... and I was able to rip and reburn the thing. Here's the Dollar Tree "store locator" page:

http://www.dollartree.com/site/fr_locator.cfm

But getting back to "sites" ... as far as I know, Archive.org is the only place online where full-length public-domain movies can be downloaded for free. If other sites out there allow the same, I'd sure like to know about them.

P.S. After I finish downloading and burning "Radar Men," my next download will be the movie "Hercules" (grin). Personal funny trivia. When I was a kid (this will age me), you could see a movie AND get a bag of popcorn for only a buck. Anyhoo, when I was 9, "Hercules Unchained" came out ... and I was a big Hercules fan. I asked my mom for a buck to go see it. She said "no." But, I did have a silver dollar collection (grin). So, I grabbed one of them and went to the movie. Later on, my mom was going through my collection and wondered where my "uncirculated 1898 silver dollar" went to. Being the typical kid, I answered "I dunno." It wasn't until later that I realized the "value" of that dollar was not limited to it's face value (sigh).

[steve2713]

But, I did have a silver dollar collection (grin). So, I grabbed one of them and went to the movie. Later on, my mom was going through my collection and wondered where my "uncirculated 1898 silver dollar" went to. Being the typical kid, I answered "I dunno." It wasn't until later that I realized the "value" of that dollar was not limited to it's face value (sigh).

I've pretty much exhausted Dollar Tree for good Public Domain DVDs. Mostly movies as you say, although they did have some other odds and ends. I bought 3 episodes of 'Tales of Tomorrow' on 1 disc, actually pretty good shows.

I did wander across a website that had a bunch of low res. Public Domain movies to watch. I can't remember if it was streaming only or if it allowed downloading as well. I probably have it bookmarked among my thousand bookmarks somewhere.

One company to avoid for any Public Domain DVDs would be Madacy. Their transfers are terrible, and unfortunately they're pretty common as well.

[AlecWest]

BTW, if anyone downloads those files and attempts to burn them to DVD, I did encounter "problems." Some of you may already know the way around them. And eventually, I found a way around them (with help). In any case, if you do plan to download/burn this serial, check out this post in the DVD authoring forum:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=266099

Now ... to burn "Hercules."

[Nilfennasion]

I hate to be the cloud in the silver lining, but there is a dark side to public domain.

Public domain also allows lazy, ignorant distributors like Avenue One or the like to slap together DVDs of any old thing they can get their hands upon, and sell it at a massive markup. There have been two distinct versions of Plan 9 From Outer Space released in this country, and it is a sure bet that the Wood estate made nothing from either. In this age where it is now possible to earn an income from films, music, or literature decades, even centuries, after their making, those who dared to create something before the dawn of the digital age are losing out. Especially given the (lack of) work done to present their works properly.

As a support to that last point, I give you the following review of the (so far only) release of Howling III: The Marsupials in Region 4: http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Reviews/HowlingIII.html. Realise that this is not an exception in markets outside of the USA. It is the rule. This is the effect that public domain has on neglected, forgotten works.

[steve2713]

I've got plenty of movies that are available in Public Domain that have BOTH many poor quality transfers as well as having one or more excellent quality transfers available, if a studio wants to put the resources into putting out a good quality transfer that's certainly their choice, Public Domain or not. Yes, I also have many movies that are public domain that their are only poor transfers available of. Here's the reality: if not for being Public Domain, many of these movies would not be available on DVD PERIOD. So I fail to see how becoming Public Domain is a bad thing. There are a TON of great movies that have never been and probably will never be released on DVD, probably because the studios that have rights to those movies don't want to put the time and money into releasing them. If they were Public Domain they would certainly be available on DVD, whether or not they were given a good transfer.

So let distributors like ALPHA put out marginal transfers, because without them we wouldn't have these DVDs available to us at all. This was my entire reason for getting a DVD recorder, for recording to DVD old movies broadcast on TCM, etc. that are not available on DVD and probably never will be.

[AlecWest]

So let distributors like ALPHA put out marginal transfers, because without them we wouldn't have these DVDs available to us at all. This was my entire reason for getting a DVD recorder, for recording to DVD old movies broadcast on TCM, etc. that are not available on DVD and probably never will be.

Amen. If film studios can release a better quality version, then let them. If they won't, then people who want these films have to take whatever they can find. Sometimes what they find is bad. Sometimes what they find is good. But, I would never blame cut-rate DVD producers for the problem of bad movies on DVD. I blame the big studios for their "dog in the manger" attitude and their "moratoriums" on films of marginal consumer interest.

BTW, speaking of TCM, that's how I acquired "The Dark At The Top of the Stairs," an award-winning film by an award-winning playwright starring big stars of the day ... but sat on by the film studio for reasons only they know. I don't have TCM ... but a friend does. He captured on a VHS tape and now we both have it on DVD.

[steve2713]

Yeah, you'd be shocked to realize the number of great films, many of them highly acclaimed such as your example, that have never seen DVD and never will. For example, just scroll through a week or month of TCM's schedule and you'll find countless great movies that have never been released on DVD and never will be. Most have been released on VHS at one point or another. But often poor quality transfers on VHS that are out of print and difficult to find is no substitute for a decent DVD transfer (or even a DVD recorder's capture of a good cable broadcast for that matter - TCM usually has very good sources). February is 'Oscar Month' for TCM, let's just say that my Pioneer 420 was used a TON recording movies not available on DVD.

P.S. - AMC used to be another great channel, but they're a joke now...

[Nilfennasion]

All I am going to say to this is that you ought to be grateful you live in a country where indie distributors who make use of the public domain at least take some pride in the workmanship of their transfers. If you saw some of the PD film transfers I have seen here, you'd revise your "at least they come out at all" stance real quick.

[guns1inger]

A good example of a studio doing just is Warners. There is a publis domain version of Tod Browning's classic horror film Freaks. It comes from a scratched and damaged print, with equally damaged audio. In many places the audio drops out and dialgue becomes difficult to follow. For a period this was the only version available.

A few months back, Warner released a special edition. The print, while showing it's age, is watchable, the audio constant, and it also ships with the three different endings used during it's various runs, and a documentary on the film. Hat's off to Warners for treating a classic with the respect it deserves, regardless of it's public domain status.

[nelson133]

Hooray, hooray for TCM.

[AlecWest]

P.S. - AMC used to be another great channel, but they're a joke now...

Yup ... ads all the time, logos in the viewing area, cuts made in dialogue and scenes to placate the prudes ... you name it, they do it.

P.S. Speaking of sitting on films, has anyone noticed how quiet things have gotten since Michael Eisner's clone became CEO of Disney. Nobody seems to be talking about an upcoming release of "Song Of The South" much anymore. We might just have to wait out the retirement of another CEO (or 2, or 3, etc.) before it finally sees the light of day on a "legit" DVD release.

[sammie]

Yeah, you'd be shocked to realize the number of great films, many of them highly acclaimed such as your example, that have never seen DVD and never will. For example, just scroll through a week or month of TCM's schedule and you'll find countless great movies that have never been released on DVD and never will be. Most have been released on VHS at one point or another. But often poor quality transfers on VHS that are out of print and difficult to find is no substitute for a decent DVD transfer (or even a DVD recorder's capture of a good cable broadcast for that matter - TCM usually has very good sources). February is 'Oscar Month' for TCM, let's just say that my Pioneer 420 was used a TON recording movies not available on DVD.

P.S. - AMC used to be another great channel, but they're a joke now...

Exactly Steve. My wife and I always check out the listings every weekend. It's rare that I don't snag half a dozen great movies. Even my young daughters are hooked on several of the old classics. As you mention, much of it will never be available on DVD or probably anywhere else for that mater. Unfortunately, now I'm having to rent and buy all sorts of Road series, Hitchcock and Thinman movies that are available, but guess that's not a terrible problem

[Scooter_NJ]

Anyone have links to a site/archive that offers P.D. Drive-In adverts and commercials?

[Xylob the Destroyer]

"Reefer Madness!" & "Cocaine Fiends!" are my 2 favorite Public Domain films.
True classics that everybody should see at least once...

[steve2713]

All I am going to say to this is that you ought to be grateful you live in a country where indie distributors who make use of the public domain at least take some pride in the workmanship of their transfers. If you saw some of the PD film transfers I have seen here, you'd revise your "at least they come out at all" stance real quick.

As I said before I've got plenty, 100+, DVDs that have a very mediocre transfer at best, and for the majority of them there are no better transfers available. Your example, Howling III, is distributed by Alpha, of which I have about 50 DVDs of theirs. More than half of those movies there isn't a better transfer available. As I said before, better available in crap form than not available at all.

As guns1linger mentioned, Freaks is a good example (I've got the Warner release as well). They decided it was worth the time, effort, and money to restore it and give it a good transfer. If they had not, that's not the fault of Public Domain. Certainly I wish that all of my less than VHS quality transfers that I've bought on DVD had been released with a good transfer, but until then at least I can watch the movie at all. I even have quite a few Hitchcock movies that are only available in crappy transfers, obviously there's a large number of people that would like to see those films given a respectable transfer, but until then I have my crap versions.