Adventures of Captain Marvel

A scientific expedition to Siam brings young Billy Batson into contact with the wizard Shazam, who grants him the power to transform into the adult superhero Captain Marvel by speaking a magic word. Shazam warns that the gift will last only while a golden scorpion idol remains under threat. When the expedition uncovers the idol, the scientists conclude it could be the most destructive weapon ever built. They remove the five lenses that give it power and divide them among themselves, so that no single person can activate the device. Back in the United States, Billy takes on the hooded figure known as the Scorpion, who is hunting the lenses in the hope of collecting all five and controlling the weapon.

Released in 1941, this is the earliest screen appearance of a comic-book superhero, adapted from the Captain Marvel stories published by Fawcett Comics. It is a Republic Pictures serial running 216 minutes and was produced by Hiram S. Brown Jr. from a screenplay by Joseph F. Poland, Arch Heath and Ronald Davidson. The film was directed by John English and William Witney, sitting between English's Whistling Bullets and Jungle Girl and between Witney's SOS Coast Guard and Jungle Girl. Tom Tyler plays the title role, with Frank Coghlan Jr. as Billy Batson, William Benedict as Whitey Murphy, Louise Currie as Betty Wallace, Robert Strange as John Malcolm and Harry Worth as Professor Luther Bentley. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.4 from 31 votes.