This generally pleasant if unspectacular memoir of director William Witney looks back at the early days of filmmaking and also covers his output for Republic Pictures in the forties. Witney directed or co-directed such classic cliffhangers as Dick Tracy, Zorro's Fighting Legion, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, Drums of Fu Manchu, Spy Smasher, and many, many others. He hit upon the idea of having the stunt men choreograph their fights instead of simply swinging at each other with no forethought, resulting in much more exciting fight sequences. Witney describes what it was like working on the serials, the fast pace, getting around a low budget, assorted mishaps and near-accidents, and his opinion -- generally favorable but not always -- of some of the actors who starred in these cliffhangers. The book ends when the U.S. entered WW2, so there is no discussion of later projects Witney worked on, such as The Bonnie Parker Story, which in my opinion was better than the more famous Bonnie and Clyde.
Verdict: Worth a read if a bit disappointing. **3/4.
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