The John Wayne Cliffhanger Collection

Did you know the Duke made serials? This exciting 5-DVD set of cliffhangers from the early 1930s feature John Wayne in three complete serials: SHADOW OF THE EAGLE, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and HURRICANE EXPRESS, long available in an abbreviated feature-film format, but here is the complete, unedited, 12-chapter serial version of this early Wayne classic. Curiously, none were Westerns. Wayne played pilots in all three serials - pilots being headline heroes of the age. But the future mega-star known as "The Duke" is evident in these action-packed adventures from the wild and woolly days of the cliffhanger chapter play. Young and athletic at the time these films were made, Wayne performs many of his own stunts. Can John Wayne avoid three dozen deathtraps, unmask the three mysterious master villains, win the love of three women and save the day in three complete 12-chapter serials? 690 minutes The Shadow of the Eagle (1932) 218 min A carnival fairground and nearby airplane factory are menaced by a mysterious villain calling himself "The Eagle." Swearing revenge, he skywrites his threats against those who stole an invention. Barnstorming pilot Craig McCoy (John Wayne) is determined to uncover the truth about "The Eagle" and the disappearance of the carnival owner. Can he be "The Eagle," or is it one of the directors of the factory utilizing the invention? Bonus: Original Theatrical trailer. The Hurricane Express (1932) 227 min A mysterious saboteur calling himself "The Wrecker" causes havoc on the L & R Railroad. After his engineer father is killed, airline pilot Larry Baker (John Wayne) vows to identify "The Wrecker" and bring him to justice. But it appears "The Wrecker" may be connected with the railroad. Worse, "The Wrecker" can disguise himself to look like anyone by putting on a lifelike mask of that person! Bonus: Original Theatrical trailer. The Three Musketeers (1933) 210 min John Wayne as one of the Three Musketeers? Not quite. This serial takes place not in 17th century France but in modern day French Algeria. With the popularity of Beau Geste, French Foreign Legion films were all the rage, hence this Mascot serial. It has nothing to do with the Alexander Dumas novel, save that a trio of rascally legionnaires call themselves as "the Three Musketeers" with their pilot friend Tom Wayne (John Wayne) pegged as 'D'Artagnan.' They search for the mysterious leader "El Shaitan" (played by a masked Yakima Canutt, who also arranged the stunts) trying to sta