Bound and Gagged: The Story of the Silent Serials

by Kalton C. Lahue

The adventure, romance, and pathos that were so much a part of the silent serial during the early years of the motion picture industry have vanished from the scene of the Hollywood movie studio. The present generation neither remembers - for none was born yet - nor cares; for to them the silent serial is but a small part of the American past which might never even have existed. But to those who themselves were growing up in the pre-talkie era, when the motion picture industry itself was just beginning to unfold its wings, the silent serial was an outlet for the fancies of children and the dreams of adults. It was an action-packed, thrill-a-minute entry into the world of exciting experiences. Bound and Gagged is the story of the silent serial: its birth; its growth; its heroes and heroines; its successes and failures; and finally its demise.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Born and educated in Richford, Vermont, Kalton C. Lahue became interested in motion pictures at an early age. Living next door to the Park Theater, he practically grew up in a theater seat and later worked as projectionist and assistant manager. Transferring to active duty from reserve status during the Korean War, he was assigned to the Signal School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and then sent overseas as a combat photographer in Korea. After his discharge in 1955, he enrolled at the University of Vermont to study history and became interested in silent movies for their historical value. In attempting to learn all he could about the early days of pictures, he found reference material both scanty and conflicting so he decided to write his own book. An ex-history teacher, he held an M.A. from San Jose State College and served as
Director of Educational Resources Project at Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont, as well as Director of the Instructional Materials Center in Springfield, Vermont.

source: about the author Bound and Gagged: The Story of the Silent Serials

Reviews

[Anthony McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is devoted to the history of the silent serial: its birth and growth, its heroes and heroines, its successes and failures until the final curtain fell with the advent of sound.
The author wrote a number of books on the silent screen and this one was a real rarity when published in 1968. There were no such books on the subject at the time.

The main studios involved in making these thrill-a-minute escapades that drew audiences back to their favorite bijou week after week for another breath-taking instalment were Pathe, Universal, Vitagraph, Rayart and Mascot and their production involvement is richly detailed.

Accompanying the text are hundreds of rare and fascinating photos including countless stills from the films plus personality portraits, lobby cards, frame blow ups and publicity material.

A glimpse at some of the famous serials of the day: "The Perils of Pauline"/ "The Veiled Mistress"/ "The Purple Riders"/ "The Jungle Goddess"/ "The Fortieth Door"/ "The Iron Claw"/ "A Woman in Gray"/ "The Vanishing Dagger"/ "The Green Archer" and "The Adventures of Tarzan"; scores of others.

Review based on original hardcover A.S. Barnes (New York) and Thomas Yoseloff (London) edition, 1968. 352 pages.

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful history of the silent movie serials. Lahue has a chapter each on producers, writers, directors, and actors and actresses, and gives background information on a wide variety of these moviemakers, but the real joy of the book is all the pictures he includes, largely from private collections - the book is full of stills and promotional photos from these old adventure films, and (aided by Lahue's wry captions) they make this book just a ton of fun.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very entertaining story of silent serials. Lots of information here, but not always well organized or well written, and it raised questions that it did not answer. All books by this publisher are poorly produced. Still, it is the best thing on silent serials that I have seen.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

History of the directors, actors, actresses; lavishly illustrated