October 13: The Black Box (serial)

 

Here is what is left of the 1915 serial The Black Box. The entire serial is lost to us and, for a series that had 15 chapters and a total running time of 195 minutes (or just a little over 3 hours), there are precious few surviving materials. It was released in increments starting in the spring of 1915. 

The series was considered a science fiction mystery and involved mysterious black boxes in which messages from an unknown killer are delivered to authorities. A private investigator decides to look into the matter.  We know that these series contained various elements of horror, including an ape man and an invisibility cloak.  The whole series was directed by Otis Turner for Universal. The detective Sanford Quest was played by Herbert Rawlinson, who would go on to be a prolific character actor in the 1940's and 1950's.