DENNIS MOORE
January 26th, 1908 -- March 1st, 1964

Above: Dennis Moore is looking alert in this publicity still from THE MYSTERIOUS MR. M (Universal, 1946).

Although he played major roles in no less than six serials, Dennis Moore is one of the lesser- known cliffhanger heroes. This obscurity is undeserved, at least in my opinion. Moore looked good, was quite athletic, and could act fairly well. Moore's one drawback was his very deep speaking voice, which somehow didn't seem to go with his lean, trim appearance. This drawback was not a major one, however, and actually gave Moore a bit of an edge in playing different roles--when he was a hero, he could use his voice to establish an air of authority, and when he was a villain, he could use it to menacing effect (unlike some serial heroes, Moore played villains in B-westerns as frequently as he played heroes in serials. One of his best villain performances was in the Allan "Rocky" Lane B-western NAVAJO TRAIL RAIDERS).

Born in Texas, Moore came to Hollywood at the beginning of the sound era. Appropriately (Moore had been a commercial pilot before becoming an actor) his first serial (and second screen appearance) was the small role of a pilot named Herb Slack in the 12-chapter TAILSPIN TOMMY (Universal, 1934). He also had a minor part as a cowboy in Universal's Buck Jones serial THE RED RIDER, released the same year. After these two Universal efforts, Dennis moved over to B-westerns, bouncing from poverty-row studio to poverty-row studio in roles of various importance. One of his biggest roles from this period was as the heavy in THE DAWN RIDER (Monogram/Lone Star 1935), which starred a young John Wayne. Moore acted in many low-budget non-Westerns at this time too. In the early forties, he wound up at PRC (Producer's Releasing Corps) where he played the second lead in PRC's Lone Rider (George Houston and later Robert Livingston) series. He began working at Monogram Pictures after his PRC work was finished, and appeared as one of the Range Busters, a trio of cowboy heroes. The series was on its last legs by this time, however, and when it faded Moore moved over to Universal, where he appeared in some B-westerns and horror films, and, in 1944, his first starring serial: RAIDERS OF GHOST CITY, which took place during the Civil War. As a Union Secret Service agent named Steve Clark, he investigated a group of Confederate spies who turned out to be Prussian agents using the Confederates as a blind for their own agenda. The great Lionel Atwill, a veteran of scads of Universal horror pictures, was the Prussian leader, Alex Morel, and Regis Toomey was Confederate Captain Clay Randolph, who sided with the villainous Prussians until he discovered their true aims.

Above: Dennis Moore (center) and Joe Sawyer are ushered down a trapdoor by villains Lionel Atwill and Virginia Christine in RAIDERS OF GHOST CITY (Republic, 1944). An unidentified henchman sticks out of the trapdoor at the bottom left.

1945 found Moore playing second banana to Milburn Stone (later Doc Adams on GUNSMOKE). They played two federal agents battling a Nazi spy ring headed by mysterious villain known only as THE MASTER KEY (Universal, 1945). Jan Wiley was the leading lady, Addison Richards was the Key's chief henchman, and the Master Key turned out to be....but that would be telling. THE MASTER KEY was a well-scripted serial, and gave Moore possibly the liveliest role of his career, allowing him to exchange good-humored banter with Stone and with heroine Jan Wiley.

Above: Dennis Moore pummels a bad guy (Clifton Young) in the foreground while a policeman slugs another villain in the background in THE MASTER KEY (Universal, 1945).

Moore's next serial (and possibly his best starring vehicle) was also his only outing at Republic Pictures: THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES, made in 1945. The serial greatly benefited from Republic's slick pacing and fast action. The cast didn't hurt it, either. Republic's "serial queen" Linda Stirling and veteran villains Roy Barcroft, Bud Geary, and James Craven all co-starred. The plot dealt with a Martian alien known only as the Purple Monster (Roy Barcroft, in one of his most offbeat--and most enjoyable--roles) coming to Earth in order to steal a set of rocket plans so the Martians could build a fleet of rockets for the conquest of the earth. The scientist who created the plans (Craven) was killed and his body taken over by the Monster, who used this disguise to further his plans. Combating his plans were a retired Secret Service agent named Craig Foster (Moore) and the scientist's niece, Sheila (Stirling). Despite the fact that the good guys were unaware of the Monster's double identity, they managed to thwart his plans for world conquest.

Above: Dr. Layton (James Craven), Craig Foster (Dennis Moore) and Sheila Layton (Linda Stirling) in THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (Republic, 1945).

Moore was back at Universal in 1946, to star in the studio's final serial, THE MYSTERIOUS MR. M. Moore was third-billed, but as federal agent Grant Farrell he got to perform the lion's share of heroics while helping a police detective (Richard Martin) and a reporter (Pamela Blake) track down the title villain, a mystery man like the Master Key.

Above: Dennis Moore (left) is about to be knocked over the head in this lobby card for THE MYSTERIOUS MR. M (Universal, 1946).

Moore left serials for a while after MR M, doing several Republic B-westerns, and even managing an occasional appearance in an A-western, including a credited supporting role in FORT DEFIANCE with Ben Johnson and a small bit in RAGE AT DAWN with Randolph Scott. He also served as second lead to Jimmy Wakely in a number of that latter-day singing cowboy’s Monogram B-westerns. In 1956 Dennis returned to the serial genre, appearing in Columbia Pictures' PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS and BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL, the last two serials made by Columbia and the last two serials ever made. In PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS, Moore was the hero, an undercover Mountie named Dan Mason, who posed as an outlaw named Laramie in order to get the goods on a gang of bad guys led by the self-styled "Gun Emperor of the Northwest" (long-time serial heavy Kenneth MacDonald in his last cliffhanger). In BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL he was again the second lead, a Pony Express rider named Ed Marr who joined forces with Army Scout Jim Bridger (henchman actor Lee Roberts, finally getting a starring role) to thwart a rancher named Rance Devlin (Don C. Harvey) who was scheming to dominate the entire west with his own private army. Since Moore had been around since almost the dawn of sound serials (1934 and TAILSPIN TOMMY) it was fitting that he was around to help ring down the cliffhanger curtain.

Below: An unconscious Dennis Moore (center) is about to be sent for a deadly canoe ride over the "Falls of Fate" in this lobby card for Chapter 11 of PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS (Columbia, 1956).

Above: Dennis Moore (right) and Gregg Barton pose for action in this lobby card for BLAZING THE OVERLAND TRAIL (Columbia, 1956), Moore's last serial, Columbia's last serial, and the last serial ever made.

Moore, like many of his fellow serial actors, migrated to TV with the death of the cliffhangers. Dennis made frequent appearances on shows such as SKY KING, THE LONE RANGER, TOMBSTONE TERRITORY, BAT MASTERSON, and SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON. Interestingly, he also had an ongoing role in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club show THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SPIN AND MARTY. He played Hank, a cowhand on a summer ranch for boys run by none other than the Purple Monster himself, Roy Barcroft, in the sympathetic role of retired Army Colonel Logan.

Moore, who passed away in 1964, certainly left his mark on the cliffhanger genre. He appeared in serials for all three of the major studios (Universal, Columbia, and Republic). He played a part in TAILSPIN TOMMY, one of the first sound serials and a pivotal one in serial history (many feel it paved the way for FLASH GORDON). He was in the final serial produced by Universal, and stood by cliffhangers till the end, being featured in the last two ever made. Dennis has always been “the forgotten hero”, but he deserves some recognition as one of the cornerstones of the serial world.

Above: Dennis Moore, looking good in a publicity photo for one of his mid-forties B-westerns.