Why has the Hollywood sound serial received so little scholarly attention? These short, usually weekly films ending in cliffhangers began in the silent era but continued to be extremely
popular in the 1930s and 1940s after the advent of synchronized sound. In The Lost Jungle Guy Barefoot explores the popularity of particular serials such asFlash Gordon (1936)
and The Lone Ranger (1938), contextualizing the serial in the broader context of American film culture during the Great Depression and Second World War. Barefoot also examines less
familiar science fiction, western, jungle, and crime serials, and considers the production of sound serials, highlighting how they drew upon earlier conventions of silent cinema and
melodrama.
