The Shadow of the Eagle (1932) Chapter 1: The Carnival Mystery

 John Wayne's very first serial features him as a stunt pilot working for a a rundown carnival run by a WWI veteran who's fallen on hard times.

As the chapter one begins the sheriff is in the middle of informing the owner of the carnival, Nathan Gregory, that he is shutting them down for non payment of bills owed. 

John Wayne rushes in at this point with good news that he just made $100 dollars to do a mysterious stunt. Which is the nearly exact amount needed to keep the carnival open, 

Jumping ahead a bit, Duke and his love interest, who's also Gregory's daughter, go up the plane where Jean (The daughter) does her act as the wing walker/ parachutist and jumps out of the plane. Leaving Duke writes a message in the sky that he was to write.

This message sets things into motion as we find out that Gregory was WWI vet who was shot down by friendly fire, it also spooks some businessmen who are working out the details for a new plant on their lot into action to get the bottom of the message. meanwhile All of this is being monitored by the duo of Bud Osbourne and the legendary Yakima Canutt who's interest in this has yet to be revealed. Meanwhile a shadowy issues commands via phone.

A few chases and fights later we are back at the carnival where things reach an exciting climax ending this chapter with a poorly animated plane trying to set the tents on fire.

Pretty good first chapter for a serial, gets you invested in it and hooks you to come back next week. I give it 7/10. It would be higher but the primitive and poorly done effects for the plane are hysterical, even for then time.

Now onto the cast... the hero is of course played by John Wayne as Craig McCoy, who needs no introduction. Seen below with Nathan Gregory (Edward Hearn) and his daughter Jean (Dorothy Gulliver)

 Nathan Gregory is played by Edward Hearn a mostly uncredited reliable player in the golden age of Hollywood. He appeared in many westerns and serials of the era. He would go on to lend Duke support in, King of the Pecos (1936). 

Jean Gregory is ably played by Dorothy Gulliver who like many actresses of the day never really found her footing and had only brief leading success in B pictures and serials. Though she did make sporadic appearances until the 70's in which she appeared in Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). Serial fans might recognize her from The Phantom of the West (1930) starring the awesome Tom Tyler. 

Other notable cast includes

Little Billy Rhodes as Little Billy, who effectively serves as the sidekick to John Wayne in this serial. Comedy fans may recognize him from his appearance with the 3 Stooges in the shorts Men in Black (1934) and You Nazty Spy! (1940). As his name implies he was a little person with a huge personality. He's sadly mostly forgotten now, which is a shame because he's a very underrated performer. He also appeared in Wizard of Oz (1939) and the all midget western The Terror of Tiny Town (1940). 

 Bud Osbourne as Tim Moore a solid and reliable character actor who would appear in many B westerns of the of the era including those of John Wayne's earliest efforts.

And finally, Yakima Canutt. 

Probably the most legendary of the early stuntmen who pioneered many tricks of the trade. He made many films with Duke and along the way they began changing how screen fights were staged and filmed. many of their techniques are still in use. 

And this guy was the real deal, so much so that John Wayne basically copied Canutt verbatim for his screen persona. 

 

Much of Wayne's on-screen persona was copied from Canutt. The characterizations associated with Wayne - the drawling, hesitant speech and the hip-rolling walk - were pure Canutt.^[14] Said Wayne, "I spent weeks studying the way Yakima Canutt walked and talked. He was a real cowhand."^[15]

But it is not just for his association with Duke that Canutt is legendary, he coordinated stunts on many classic films such as Spartacus and performed ably as second unit director for many years. 

He deserves an entire blog to himself because a few simple paragraphs don't do the man justice. He's what Tom Cruise aspires to be. Movie buffs would be well served to look him up and see just how much of an impact he made in the industry and all his accomplishments outside of film