The Gem Theater: Warren Hull

Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7^th and 8^th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Showing posts with label Warren Hull. Show all posts

Saturday, February 17, 2018

The Spider's Web

The Spider’s Web, a 15-chapter serial from Columbia in 1938. Based on the popular pulp magazine of The Spider from Popular Publications, it starred Warred Hull as Richard Wentworth/Blinky McQuade/The Spider, and Iris Meredith as Nita Van Sloan. Richard Fiske played Jackson, Kenneth Duncan played Ram Singh, and Donald Douglas played Jenkins. The Octopus, dressed in a white robe and hood so that even his gang didn’t recognize him, was after the power structure of the city; the utilities, construction, and transportation. To reach his goals he killed and tortured. Warren Hull was excellent as the warring Spider against the underworld, though I thought Kenneth Duncan was a poor choice for Ram Singh – or maybe it was just the writing that left him weak in the part. Still, an excellent old serial.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Mandrake The Magician

MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN: I watched this over the weekend. Released from Columbia in 1939, it is a 12-chapter serial starring Warren Hull as Mandrake. Although Columbia had some fairly good serials, I didn’t care much for Mandrake. Lots of lesser cliffhangers in every chapter, but none of them very good, even the chapter ending. Some cliffhangers were actually repeated, like the airplane crash. But serials are a lot of fun, and Warren Hull also played The Spider and Green Hornet in serials, so he was chosen well as Mandrake. And you’ve got to like the magic acts Mandrake performs.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

The Green Hornet Strikes Again

The Green Hornet Strikes Again: This 194o, 13-Chapter Play serial from Universal stars Warren Hull as Britt Reid/Green Hornet. Keye Luke as Kato, and Anne Nagel as Lenore Case. Warren Hull had the honor of playing both The Spider and Mandrake The Magician in serials, and was a lot of fun in the parts. Oddly, The Green Hornet Strikes Again follows closely on the heels of The Green Hornet, the first serial, but starring Gordon Jones as The Green Hornet, also from Universal. Great fun.

The Gem Theater