Captain America (serial)

Captain America
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Elmer Clifton John English
Written by	Royal Cole Harry Fraser Joseph Poland Ronald Davidson Basil Dickey Jesse Duffy Grant Nelson
Based on	Captain America by Jack Kirby Joe Simon
Produced by	William J O'Sullivan
Starring	Dick Purcell Lorna Gray Lionel Atwill Charles Trowbridge Russell Hicks George J. Lewis John Davidson
Cinematography	John MacBurnie
Edited by	Wallace Grissell Earl Turner
Music by	Mort Glickman
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release dates	February 5, 1944 (1944-02-05) (U.S. serial) September 30, 1953 (1953-09-30) (U.S. re-release) [1]
Running time	15 chapters / 243 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$182,623 (negative cost: $222,906)[1]

Captain America is a 1944 Republic black-and-white 15-chapter serial film loosely based on the Timely Comics (now Marvel Comics) character Captain America. It was the last Republic serial made about a superhero. It also has the distinction of being the most expensive serial that Republic ever made. It stands as the first theatrical release connected to a Marvel character; the next theatrical release featuring a Marvel hero would not occur for more than 40 years. It was the last live-action rendition of a Marvel character in any medium until Spider-Man appeared in the Spidey Super Stories segment of the children's television series The Electric Company in 1974.

The serial sees Captain America, really District Attorney Grant Gardner, trying to thwart the plans of the Scarab, really museum curator Dr. Cyrus Maldor—especially regarding his attempts to acquire the "Dynamic Vibrator" and "Electronic Firebolt", devices that could be used as super-weapons.^[2]

In a rare plot element for Republic, the secret identity of the villain is known to the audience from the beginning, if not to the characters in the serial. The studio's usual approach was the use of a mystery villain who was unmasked as one of the other supporting characters only in the final chapter.