Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

Chapter 25 -- Radio Days and Saturday Matinees
CHAPTER 25
RADIO DAYS AND SATURDAY MATINEES
Underground rivers tend to meander toward studios, albeit radio, television or cinema. This
chapter deals with fast-paced radio, television and B-grade cinema adventures, often serialized,
aimed at the Boys Club audience.
We'll try not to repeat what's elsewhere in our journey. Illustrations in Chapters 16 and 17,
chapters about English and Continental fiction, included scenes from film adaptations. Many
books cited in the chapters dealing with juvenile fiction were reworked into radio, television and
movie releases. The name-brand funny-page characters of Chapter 24 are regularly marketed in
multimedia formats. In Chapter 58, The Grand Tour, European Sewers of Distinction, we'll hawk
cinema tickets appropriate to our settings. Thus this chapter's bigger than just this chapter.
Radio Days
Any up-to-date Boys Clubhouse would of course have had its clubhouse radio.
Flash Gordon never seemed to be far from underground waters. From the Flash Gordon radio
episode of April 27, 1935,
Flash Gordon and Prince Thun, with Dale between them, dash into the secret passage beneath
the idol. The way becomes steeper. They slip and fall. Down! Down! A hundred feet or more
into a whirling underground river. They're swept along down a raging current and over a falls
into a lake. With the powerful strokes of a champion swimmer, Flash sets out for the shore,
towing Dale by the hair. They reach the shore, and as Flash reaches down to drag Dale to
safety, {We hear her scream.} she screams and disappears beneath the calm surface of the
lake, clutched in two powerful green, scaly arms. With no thought of his own safety, Flash
Gordon dives to Dale's rescue [Water sounds] and finds an adventure stranger than any which
has gone before.
The November 15, 1939, episode of Captain Midnight, "Chuck Falls
into Underground River," begins,
Last time, you remember, Chuck Ramsey, accompanied by Patsy
Donovan and the Mexican boy Pablo, were exploring the interior
of the cave in which Patsy and her mother had been taking
shelter. They found an underground river and in following along
its shore, approached a roaring waterfall.
As we anticipate from the title, Chuck falls in, but as he's a member
of the Captain's Secret Squadron, he's saved and the adventure
continues.
As Secret Squadron members ourselves, we have our own Captain
Midnight decoder.
Master Code X-25
21 26 15 2 17 3 17 11 21 26 15 17 10 20 2 17
To decode, set X on the inner wheel to match 25 on the outer, as in the photo. 21 corresponds
U. 26 is N. Carry on, Secret Squadron Member.
DRAFT 1122//66//22001122
Uppddaatteess aatt hhttttpp::////www. .uunnm. .eedduu//~rrhheeggggeenn//UnnddeerrggrroouunnddRi ivveerrss. .hhttml l
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