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The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938) is a 12-chapter Republic movie serial starring Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett. It was directed by William Witney and John English. While not often considered one of the best serials ever made, as it contains a lot of stock footage and two recap chapters, it is famous for its main villain, The Lightning—the very first costumed supervillain. There is some speculation that George Lucas used The Lightning as a template for Darth Vader.
Original Release
05/28/1938
US Release
05/28/1938
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Lee Powell | Lieutenant Tom Grayson |
| Bruce Bennett | Lieutenant Frank Corby |
| Eleanor Stewart | Janet Warfield |
| Montagu Love | General White |
| Hugh Sothern | Ben Warfield |
| Sam Flint | Colonel Grayson [Chs. 1-2, 7] / Colonel Grayson |
| Perry Ivins | Crenshaw |
| Forrest Taylor | Benson |
| John Picorri | Professor Gould |
| Carleton Young | Johnson, 'Aurora' Crewman [Ch. 4] / Johnson, 'Aurora' Crewman |
Directors
Writers
Barry Shipman, Franklin Adreon, Ronald Davidson, Sol Shor
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Lee Powell | Lieutenant Tom Grayson |
| Bruce Bennett | Lieutenant Frank Corby |
| Eleanor Stewart | Janet Warfield |
| Montagu Love | General White |
| Hugh Sothern | Ben Warfield |
| Sam Flint | Colonel Grayson [Chs. 1-2, 7] / Colonel Grayson |
| Perry Ivins | Crenshaw |
| Forrest Taylor | Benson |
| John Picorri | Professor Gould |
| Carleton Young | Johnson, 'Aurora' Crewman [Ch. 4] / Johnson, 'Aurora' Crewman |
| John Davidson | Lin Wing [Ch. 1] / Lin Wing |
| Henry Otho | Sam Hedges, the Gardener |
| Reed Howes | Parker--Sub Crewman [Chs. 4, 10-12] / Parker--Sub Crewman |
| Tom London | Henchman Wilson [Chs. 2-5, 9] / Henchman Wilson |
| Edmund Cobb | Henchman Ellis [Chs. 2, 4-6] / Henchman Ellis |
| Alan Gregg | Henchman Marco [Chs. 2-6] |
| Allen Mathews | Todd--Submarine Captain |
| Edward Argyle | Warehouse Watchman |
| Frank Baker | General Snell (Ch. 1) |
| Lee Baker | Dirigible Deck Crewman |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|
| Robert M. Beche | Producer |
