The Green Hornet is a fictional masked fictional crime fighter, originally created by George W. Trendle for an American radio program in the 1930s. The character has appeared in two Universal serials. In the first 13-episode serial, the city is faced with rising crime and increased racketeering activity. Intrepid newspaper editor, Britt Reid (Gordon Jones) becomes the crime fighter the Green Hornet to take on the bad guys. As far as the police are concerned, the Hornet himself is the criminal. This misunderstanding enables Reid to operate “outside the law” to battle evil and injustice. Working alongside the Hornet is the brilliant inventor/sidekick Kato (Keye Luke), the only person who knows the true identity of the Hornet. Watch as our heroes fight an infamous racket and put an end to the menace infecting their city.

For thoughts on The Green Hornet: The Original Serial, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/m6NCy0AZtOQ?t=2316]

Video Quality

The Green Hornet makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to VCI Entertainment with a brand new 1080p transfer from a 2K scan of the original 35mm film master materials. This serial is over 80 years old, but this presentation holds up pretty well despite a few flaws remaining even after the remastering process. The black-and-white photography looks pretty nice in high definition with some natural grain intact, but there seems to be some evidence of some digital scrubbing which hampers the appearance. Black levels are serviceable, but you will spot intermittent occurrence of black crush, milky blacks and even some compression artifacts. It is also not uncommon to see some flicker and density fluctuation in the print.

The new transfer exhibits an impressive amount of depth and enhanced detail within the shot composition. The interiors are captured in ways that can make them feel vast or claustrophobic depending on the narrative needs. A fairly consistent showcase of stray lines, specks of damage and warped frame remains, but there is little doubt that it has been cleaned up quite a bit. There is a fine amount of detail present with textures on the clothing and within the production design. VCI Entertainment has done their best with this material, but a little less digital tinkering would have made this presentation sing a bit more despite the limitations.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a serviceable LPCM 2.0 track that serves this serial well enough considering its vintage. Dialogue and background elements are balanced well with all competing elements. Even during the more bustling moments, exchanges are able to be heard quite easily. The track can often sound a bit thin when it comes to the music, which likely can be attributed to the age of the source elements. This track does present some amount of age related wear and tear including a persistent hiss, but it does not majorly distract. Kino Classics has provided a perfectly solid presentation. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the presentation.

Special Features

“I Am…The Green Hornet” by Clifford Weimer: An eight-minute audio excerpt from an unreleased memoir detailing the production of the Green Hornet serial.

“The Parking Lot Racket” Radio Episode: A nearly 30-minute episode of the Green Hornet radio show which first aired on October 31, 1939.

“The Highway That Graft Wrote” Radio Episode: A nearly 28-minute episode of the Green Hornet radio show which first aired on October 3, 1940.

Trivia & Photo Gallery: A seven-minute slide show of stills, marketing material and trivia.

Booklet: A multi-page booklet is included featuring an excerpt from “The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television” by Martin Grams, Jr. and Terry Salomonson.

Final Thoughts

The Green Hornet does not constitute the pinnacle of old-school heroic serials, but it serves as a reasonably fun, familiar journey. The 13 episodes that make up this story can begin to feel repetitive if you watch too many back to back, but it mostly delivers what you want from this time. The tone could stand to lean a bit more campy, but it delivers enough low-stakes action with malicious adversaries to keep you invested. VCI Entertainment has delivered a Blu-Ray release that sports an agreeable A/V presentation and a decent array of special features. If you are a fan of old school serials, this adventure should hit the spot. Recommended

The Green Hornet: The Original Serial will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 25, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: VCI Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.