HELEN TALBOT
1924 --

Above: Serial heroine Helen Talbot in a publicity photo taken from her first serial, FEDERAL OPERATOR 99 (Republic, 1945).

Helen Talbot, one of my favorite cliffhanger heroines, only made two serials, most likely because Republic kept her too busy working in its Allan Lane and Don Barry B-westerns. Nevertheless, serial fans were happy to have the bright-eyed, child-like beauty for those two alone.

Born in Kansas, Helen Talbot, like fellow serial heroine Iris Meredith, started out in showbiz as a Goldwyn Girl. Shortly after coming to Hollywood, she started working for Republic in 1943. I'm unclear as to whether the studio signed her to a "Term Player" contract or not, as they signed Allan Lane, Roy Barcroft, and several others (basically, a Term Player contract meant that the actor or actress was forbidden from appearing in any non-Republic films), but it would seem so, since almost all her subsequent films were at the Serial Studio.

Her first cliffhanger was FEDERAL OPERATOR 99 (Republic, 1945). She played Joyce Kingston, the trusty secretary of hero Jerry Blake (Marten Lamont), and aided him in his fight against the suave villain Jim Belmont (George J. Lewis) and his gang, including gun moll Rita Parker (Lorna Gray) and henchman Matt Farrell (Hal Taliaferro). Helen was perpetually imperiled in this serial, being at various times threatened with cremation, nearly shredded by an airplane propeller, and apparently rolled down the hill in a laundry basket. She managed to keep her head, however, and helped out the hero on several occasions. The scene where she concocts a phony code to fool Rita and Farrell when they are pressuring her to decipher airplane plans is very cleverly written: Helen's character comes up with the complicated phony code on the spur of the moment and proceeds to explain it, to the confusion of the bad guys, and manages to get a call through to Jerry Blake in the process. I still can't figure out how she managed to bring in the telephone as an essential to the deciphering! It took a talented actress to put this scene across, and Helen did a great job. FEDERAL OPERATOR 99 was an unusually well-written serial, and both Helen and her co-star Marten Lamont came across as a lot cleverer than the average serial protagonists. They had to be, to beat the equally cagy Belmont and Rita.

Above: Helen Talbot gets the drop on Dale Van Sickel in FEDERAL OPERATOR 99 (Republic, 1945).

Helen's second serial was KING OF THE FOREST RANGERS (Republic, 1946). Taking place in the picturesque pine woods of Big Bear Lake, the serial was the last Republic outing to be filmed largely on location, and it benefited from it. The plot was also intriguing, as old timer Tom Judson (Tom London), a handyman at the rural trading post run by Marion Brennan (Helen) stumbles on half of an old Indian rug that holds the clue to a mysterious ancient treasure. Judson is quickly murdered by gangster Burt Spear (Anthony Warde) whose boss, Professor Carver (Stuart Hamblen) possesses the other half of the run; however, Forest Ranger Steve King (Larry Thompson), together with Marion, investigates Judson's murder and uncovers a complicated plot to drive the local farmers off their land so Carver can grab the unknown treasure. Republic later recycled part of the offbeat and fascinating plot of KING for DANGERS OF THE CANADIAN MOUNTED two years later. Helen and her costars Thompson and Warde were excellent, and the only sour note was struck by Stuart Hamblen, who made an inadequate head villain. Still, the serial was overall a well-done cliffhanger.

Above: Larry Thompson and Helen Talbot are trapped in a blazing pit in KING OF THE FOREST RANGERS (Republic, 1946).

Helen retired from films shortly afterward, marrying an ex-Navy pilot in 1946. Still alive and well, she recently was interviewed by Leonard Maltin (together with her old nemesis from FEDERAL OPERATOR 99, Lorna Gray) and discovered that there were still many who remembered and treasured her serial career, brief though it may have been.

Above: Helen poses with director Frank Borzage (paying a visit to Republic Pictures, far left), serial cameraman Bud Thackery (wearing the captain's hat and the white shirt) and ace action director Spencer Gordon Bennett (in the tan outfit), director of both of Helen's serials and many other great cliffhangers.