Long, long ago my mom and dad took me to the movies each Saturday
aternoon, where we looked forward to seeing the "serials".

A "serial" was a "short" that ran 10-15 minutes, always ending with
the hero or some other good guy:
...going over a mountain
.....going into a burning furnace on a conveyor belt
.......going into a lumber saw, unconsciouson a moving belt.
.........flying into the side of a mountain.
However, when the following week's serial started...it began 15 seconds
before the end of last week's serial and had a far different ending -
one that had the good guy healthy, going after the bad guy.

I'm not sure but, my guess is that Smilin Jack could have either been
a "serial" movie or a comic strip, or both.

So, in that vane, and thanks to Mark Finn, here are the
first 24 cards of the R4 Smilin Jack set.

http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~dan/R4/1-24.html
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and will show 24 cards periodically till the set is finished.
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I'm too young (59) to remember most of the movie serials but I do happen to have the Smilin' Jack set and it is easily the worst set of cards I own due to the poor quality control that is prevalent on the cards. Take a look at the cards posted and see where the perforations are and they usually about 1/4" into the card. OK, I do remember a few serials.

Serials were also known as "chapter-plays" and Universal Studios produced a few obscure card and pinback sets.

http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~dan/R4/25-48.html
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No Downwind Jackson, Dixie or Fatstuff in this Serial. Zack Mosley was the Artist. Most Serials are available on DVD. In the 10 cent movies, you seen a Chapter every Saturday, a run of about 3 to 6 chapters, then another Serial would begin, and you generally never seen all the chapters. A free, generally a Blue Beetle comic Book with half the front cover gone. 2 B Films, cartoons, sing-a-long, newsreel, all for a dime. The parents got rid of the kids on a Saturday for a good 4 hours.

Front and back mages 1 though 72 resized
..and pages recoded.....
....so that card backs should be read more easily.

http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~dan/R4/49-72.html

http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~dan/R4/25-48.html

http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~dan/R4/1-24.html
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HAVE OVER 100, BOUGHT AT A GARAGE SALE, UGLY CARDS, OVERALL IN DECENT SHAPE, GUESS I SHOULD b/S/T >>

I just picked up the uncut strip set (in ebay) for under 30.00

....they are used as "junker" gifts..

...one at a time going to appreciative collectors,
when the heart tells me to send 'em out.

I'm doing another of my now infamous "fluff/sizzle no steak" articles...this time on the lowly regarded Smilin' Jack(both R4 and R138) and would really appreciate some prices, opinions, or memories from Forum members. Please feel free to email me with any tidbits...or post below. Thanks for your time and effort. I can't do this alone....