Black Coin, The

1653. THE BLACK COIN (1936-USA). 15 Episode stage and Screen Serial with RALPH GRAVES, RUTH MIX, DAVE O’BRIEN, SNUB POLLARD, BRYANT WASHBURN, CLARA KIMBALL YOUNG/ YAKIMA CANUTT. The title artifact is a devil-cursed Arabian silver piece which dates from the Middle Ages, and which over the centuries has gradually turned black. Much blood has been shed over it and the eleven other coins of its ilk; that come into play in this slam-bang serial that’s crammed with plenty of fisticuffs and mayhem. Graves and Mix are cast as Prescott and Dale, United Slates Secret Servie operators who’ve discovered that a seemingly respectable shipping firm, the Caswell Steamship and Salvaging Company, has been smuggling contraband from Tangier to America. What the agents donÕt know is that this has been going on without the knowledge of Frank Caswell, the company’s owner. They begin trailing Caswell’s representative, Terry Navarro, who arrives on the scene with special papers that the smugglers simply must get their greedy paws on. Separately, and, then, together, Navarro and the agents – who are unaware of each other’s true agendas – get to tangle with a formidable gallery of foes. 316 minutes. Serial