ABSTRACT
Serials have long been ignored in fi lm history and have only recently become the focus of research. In the broader works on fi lm history, serials have been presented in relation to the development of the feature and remain because of this in its shadow. For instance, Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell maintain that “[s]erial episodes can be seen as a kind of transitional form between the one-reeler and the feature fi lms”, whereas Richard Koszarski sees the serials as “a useful bridge between the short fi lm and the feature during the crucial 1913-1915 period.”1 The term “transitional” implies a temporary period of time, whereas in fact the serial held a unique position that was not gone within a couple of years. Koszarski’s bridge concept could have been made more useful had he developed it further. In Koszarski’s use it remains a bridge for one-way traffi c, an inadequate characterization of the role seriality played in fi lm history.
