THE GREEN ARCHER (1940) Victor Jory, Iris Meredith & James Craven | Action, Adventure, Crime | B&W

The Green Archer is the 12th serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Edgar Wallace's 1923 novel The Green Archer, which had previously been adapted into the silent serial of the same name in 1925 by Pathé Exchange.

SYNOPSIS
The struggle over the Bellamy estate ends with Michael Bellamy accused of murder and killed on the way to prison, while his brother Abel Bellamy takes control of the estate for his own nefarious plans. Abel uses Garr Castle as a base for his jewelry-theft ring and kidnaps Michael's wife to maintain control. Insurance investigator Spike Holland takes on the case, facing off against Abel's gang. Detective Thompson, representing the law, offers little help. Meanwhile, the estate's fabled "Green Archer," a masked marksman, stealthily operates within Garr Castle, disrupting Abel's plans.

CAST & CREW
Victor Jory as Spike Holland
Iris Meredith as Valerie Howett
James Craven as Abel Bellamy
Robert Fiske as Savini
Dorothy Fay as Elaine Bellamy
Forrest Taylor as Parker Howett
Jack Ingram as Brad - Henchman
Joseph W. Girard as Inspector Ross
Fred Kelsey as Capt. Thompson
Kit Guard as Dinky Stone - Henchman / Radio Man

CREW
Directed by: James W. Horne
Screenplay by: Morgan Cox (as Morgan B. Cox), John Cutting, Jesse Duffy (as Jesse D. Duffy), James W. Horne
Based on: The Green Archer by Edgar Wallace
Produced by: Larry Darmour
Cinematography: James S. Brown Jr.
Edited by: Dwight Caldwell, Earl Turner
Music by: Lee Zahler
Production company: Columbia Pictures
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release date: October 25, 1940
Running time: 285 minutes (15 episodes)
Country: United States
Language: English

NOTES
This serial is an example of a fifteen-episode production that could have been rented for a twelve-episode run, as three episodes use an entirely self-contained subplot concerning the theft of a synthetic radium formula.

The script was written by Morgan B. Cox, John Cutting, and Jesse A. Duffy. Director James W. Horne also contributed to the script, which often emphasizes tongue-in-cheek comedy. Under Horne's direction, the heroes and villains exaggerate the melodrama — James Craven is enjoyably florid as the villain, and his henchmen also play for laughs, with comedian Fred Kelsey cast as a very dumb detective. In one scene some of the crooks are shown playing tiddlywinks.

The serial was released in the US on October 1, 1940, and in Latin America in March 1941 under the title El Arquero Verde (in English with Spanish subtitles). The Green Archer was one of 1940's best remembered serials.

Chapter titles
Prison Bars Beckon
The Face at the Window
The Devil's Dictograph
Vanishing Jewels
The Fatal Spark
The Necklace of Treachery
The Secret Passage
Garr Castle is Robbed
Mirror of Treachery
The Dagger that Failed
The Flaming Arrow
The Devil Dogs
The Deceiving Microphone
End of Hope
The Green Archer Exposed