Return of the Copperhead

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Return of the Copperhead
A David Black production of a Pentagram movie serial
Produced by David Leary and Dan Amorello. Written by David Black. Directed by Blackie Seymour.

INTRODUCTION

"Return of The Copperhead" is a fifteen chapter episodic serial in the style of those made in the thirties, forties and fifties. Although theatre distribution will be attempted, each of the chapters will be approximately 21 minutes long in order to accomodate half-hour television presentation, which is expected to be its main source of revenue, if any.

The essence of the serial form of presentation is the "cliff-hanger" whereby each chapter is ended with one of the hero leads entrapped in some situation which leads inevitably to his/her death. The audience, knowing that this cannot be so, is left in the interval between the chapters to work out the means of escape. When the next chapter is presented the true solution is shown and the characters become involved in some other situation which, while advancing the plot, also leads to another "cliff-hanger."

The story concerns the efforts of a master criminal known only as "The Raven" to carry out his plans of extortion through sabotage and destruction. In furtherance of these ends his henchmen have stolen from Professor Parker a remote control device of a revolutionary nature. The Professor, an inventor/scientist working on projects relating to national defense, is also in the process of completing the development of a new superweapon which he calls "The Seismotron," a device which is capable of shattering buildings miles away. Unknown to the Professor, The Raven is aware of this and plans to steal the device once completed.

The Raven's reign of terror is combatted by a State Investigating Committee whose chief investigator, Bob Wayne, is in actuality "The Copperhead," mysterious hooded guardian of justice. Bob's assistant, Jeff Stevens, and Professor Parker's daughter Joan aid Bob in his fight against The Raven, unaware of Bob's alter ego. The Raven is actually one of the five members of the Investigating Committee and thereby has an advantage over the law. His identity is kept secret until the final episode and suspects are eliminated at intervals throughout the story.

The Copperhead, Jeff and Joan are caught in hazardous situations and each episode leaves at least one of them seemingly imperiled with escape impossible. Plane crashes, boat chases, buildings exploding, death drops and lavish fight scenes add plenty of action. Stand-out scenes include a car and plane crashing together at an airport; an elevator car plunging to destruction; a plane crash into a huge gasoline storage tank; and a final battle at a dark and foreboding tower used as a hide-out by The Raven.

Filmed as closely as possible to the censorship standards once promulgated by the "Hays Office," the series is suitable for family viewing on television, in theatres, etc.

Written in 1981 but presented here publicly for the first time, this document was intended for private use only and is not to be reproduced or distributed except with consent of the copyright holder.

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