The Hurricane Express
(1932)
227 minutes (12 chapter serial)
Action/ Adventure / Crime / Serial
Directed by Armand Schaeffer and J.P. McGowan
Cast:
Tully Marshall as Howard L. Edwards
Conway Tearle as Stevens
John Wayne as Larry Baker
Shirley Grey as Gloria Stratton aka Gloria Martin
Edmund Breese as Frank Stratton
Lloyd Whitlock as Walter Gray
Al Bridge as Carlson
Matthew Betz as Tom Jordan
Joseph W. Girard as Detective Matthews
James P. Burtis as Detective Hemingway
Ernie Adams as Henchman Barney
Charles King as Mike
J. Farrell MacDonald as Jim Baker
Al Ferguson as Sandy
Glenn Strange as Jim
The Hurricane Express is a 12 chapter serial created by Mascot Pictures and starring John Wayne as Larry Baker. Larry Baker is an airplane pilot whose father was killed in a train accident by a mysterious villain named The Wrecker, who has an uncanny ability to disguise himself.
Notes:
The Hurricane Express is one of three serials that John Wayne made during his early career for Mascot Pictures.
John Wayne did many of his own stunts in The Hurricane Express.
A feature version was created out of the series using Chapters 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
The Hurricane Express trailer
Chapter titles:
Chapter 1 - The Wrecker
Chapter 2 - Flying Pirates
Chapter 3 - The Masked Killer
Chapter 4 - Buried Alive
Chapter 5 - Danger Lights
Chapter 6 - The Airport Mystery
Chapter 7 - Sealed Lips
Chapter 8 - Outside the Law
Chapter 9 - The Invisible Enemy
Chapter 10 - The Wrecker's Secret
Chapter 11 - Wings of Death
Chapter 12 - Unmasked
Filming Notes, Cinema History, and Technical Achievements:
"The Hurricane Express" was one of the serials that Wayne made for Nat Levine and Mascot Pictures after leaving Columbia Pictures following a run-in with mogul Harry Cohn, rumored to be caused by the affections of a young starlet. The Mascot serials were always fast paced and full of action and this one is no exception. John Wayne was young and athletic at the time this serial was made and is performing many of his own stunts.
Cinematography by Ernest Miller, Carl Wester
Edited by Ray Snyder
Written by Colbert Clark, Wyndham Gittens, J.P. McGowan, George Morgan, Barney A. Sarecky, Harold Tarshis
Produced by Nat Levine
Production Company: Mascot Pictures
Primary Filming Locations: The Bronson Caves at Griffith Park. Los Angeles, California; Newhall, California; Saugus, California
