User Reviews

Buster Crabbe is Captain Silver master of the ship the Sea Hound sailing in the waters of the South Seas. Based on a comic this Columbia serial is good but very workman like. The plot concerning the battle to out smart the Commodore and get a hidden treasure moves along at a leisurely pace and could have used the removal of several chapters. As with many Columbia serials the requirement to have them run for 15 chapters produces some dead spots, though this has less then is normal for the company. It helps that the dialog is witty as Silver's aides crack wise with each other so that the physical acts are supplemented by verbal sparring. I liked this serial but found that trying to watch it for a second time in one sitting was rather tough, more so since I watched the similar nautical serial also starring Crabbe Piratesof the High Seas (which lifts material from this) not that long ago. Recommended but in bits and pieces at a time when you haven't been watching a good number of Columbia serials.

"The Sea Hound" promises the "daredevil adventures of Captain Silver" and was based on a radio series and comic strip of the day. This was the first of three 15 chapter serials that serial veteran Buster Crabbe made for Columbia between 1947 and 1952.

The title refers to the name of Cpt. Silver's (no first name here) schooner that is cruising in the south seas when he receives and SOS from the Yacht "Esmaralda". Silver and his crew Tex (Jimmy Lloyd), Jerry (Ralph Hodges) and cook Kukai (Spencer (no relation to Charlie) Chan) rescue Rand (Hugh Prosser), his guest Ann Whitney (Pamela Blake) and Rand's partner Vardman (Pierce Lyden).

It seems that Rand and Vardman are taking Ann in search of her father (Milton Kibbee) who has evidently discovered the location of a lost Spanish galleon and the treasure within. They are confronted by a plantation owner known only as "The Admiral" (Robert Barron) and his gang including veteran bad guys Jack Ingram, Rick Vallin and Rusty Westcoatt.

The rest of the story has one party double crossing the other and taking turns being captured by the local tribe the Ryaks while the Captain and his crew try to escape the death defying situations at the end of each chapter.

Crabbe, who was an champion swimmer in the 1932 Olympics and kept himself in top condition. He doesn't miss an opportunity to take off his tight fitting T-shirt to display his athletic build. He was a good enough actor to compliment his build and make a believable action hero even though he was entering his 40s at the time. He also was able to display his swimming prowess at several points in the story.

For some reason I kept thinking of "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" while watching this serial.