Description
This chapterplay was rushed into theaters to make the record books as the first sound serial. It isn’t fully sound: it features music, sound effects and usually one talking sequence for each of its 21 reels, a typical method of production in the early sound era. Unlike modern films, this soundtrack was recorded only on fragile shellac discs, which were found in four private collections. Of the 21 sound discs, we’ve recovered all but six of them. This film has not looked or sounded this well since 1929. It is a full 4K restoration from archival prints and negatives at the Library of Congress, 95% of which is from 35mm. Boris Karloff, in his third Mascot serial, appears as the villain Macklin, the biggest speaking part he’d had since the dawn of sound a couple of years earlier. He would achieve lasting fame in 1931 as the Frankenstein monster. Sit back and enjoy 211 minutes of Karloff, dinosaurs, gorillas, lions, cougars, alligators, elephants, and lost jungle temples.
Contains color booklet, 1 DVD, 1 Blu-ray, both dual-layer
Total runtime: 211 minutes
Restored image, 2 commentary tracks:
Track 1: film sound
Track 2: Commentary by historian Ed Hulse followed by Sara Karloff and Eric Grayson, followed by historian Kelly Robinson
Track 3: Restoration commentary by Greg Dunn, Thad Komorowski, Eric Grayson, Bruce Lee, and Glory-June Greiff
