Title: The Adventures of Sir Galahad
Chapters: 15
Company: Columbia
Release Date: 1949

Cast: George Reeves
Charles King
Nelson Leigh
William Fawcett
Hugh Prosser
Lois Hall
Pat Barton

Plot: a young Sir Galahad (Reeves) lances with Sir Modred and Sir Bors. He wins handily, and he
thus gains the favor of King Authur. Then, during an initiation ritual towards his becoming a Knight of the
Round Table, Galahad is charged with standing guard over the legendary sword Excalibur. Galahad
fails in this task, his wine having been drugged by the Black Knight.

Galahad then seeks the stolen sword and to regain his lost honor. Galahad is hindered in his quest by
King Ulric's occupying Saxon troops, Ulric's Chief Aide Bartog and his outlaws, the mysterious Black
Knight, and even the magics of Merlin the magician. He is aided by an aging, rotund Bors, Sir Lancelot,
Morgan La Fey, and the Lady of the Lake.

Well, this was a little different--a medievil cliffhanger serial. But, apart from the trappings of armor and
ancient times, it's a fairly standard chapterplay: just substitute bow and arrows for gunfights, sword fights
for fisticuffs, charging horses for the car chases, and a little black magic for the pseudo science.

The cliffhangers are a bit different, too: shot by a crossbow more the size of a balista, falling off a siege
ladder, crushing walls lined with sword blades, quicksand, and even a giant iron spiked ball crushing down
on on hero. Sadly, most of the escapes are still pretty much the same: rolling out of the way just in time.

All in all, this was okay viewing, but I really can't recommend it over any number of sword and sorcery
movies from the same era. Obviously, much of the appeal of this serial was seeing a pre-Superman George
Reeves as Sir Galahad (and he even kills a few people). Perennial actor Charles King also does well as his
"sidekick" Bors and somewhat as comic relief.


I was initially pleased, too, to see Merlin serving here as a villain and Morgan la Fey as a heroine, but, as the
story developed, it became more difficult to understand their actions and their motivations.

Are you watching these online or do you have them on DVD?

I've been watching them on DVD, but many of them are in the public domain, so you can probably
find them online somewhere (including YouTube). I like them enough to buy them, plus I don't have
fast Internet speeds. I've been buying a couple of them a week off PayPal, iOffer, Amazon, and other
places. Depending on rarity and film quality, they typically go for 3 to 10 dollars apiece. The worst
thing is the shipping costs, so I try to buy multiple serials from the same dealers who will combine
shipping or who offer free shipping.

For the most part, I've been buying the cheapest, no-frills copies available. But some of these movies
are only available through private collectors and restoration companies, so cost quite a bit more.