The movie series, in which a collection of related films share the same characters or a fictional universe, has been a cinematic staple from the comedies and Westerns of the silent era to today's elaborately produced adventure franchises.

This month's TCM Spotlight concentrates on the movie series of Hollywood's Golden Age, a period when each of the major studios developed a lineup of movies based on already-established characters and recurring themes. In many cases, these films utilized secondary stars--although there were such major exceptions as Mickey Rooney, William Powell and Myrna Loy--and were used as a training ground for up-and-coming talent.

Our far-reaching tribute to the world of the movie series features 165 films and covers a variety of subjects, some of which are outlined below:

Blondie (1938) is based on the character created by comic-strip artist Chic Young, which inspired a radio program and a film series, both of which ran from the late 1930s through 1950. We are screening six of the 28 movies, all TCM premieres. The films, produced by Columbia Pictures, star Penny Singleton as Blondie Bumstead and Arthur Lake as her hapless husband, Dagwood, with Jonathan Hale appearing in many of the films as Dagwood's boss, J.C. Dithers. Some future stars were featured in the series including Rita Hayworth in one of our choices, Blondie on a Budget (1940).

The Mexican Spitfire was played by Lupe Velez, Hollywood's first Mexican-born film star. TCM is showing all eight of the comedies in this RKO series, in which Velez portrays Carmelita Lindsay, a hot-tempered, fast-talking singer given to mangled English and Spanish invective. The original, low-budget film, The Girl from Mexico (1939), was a surprise hit quickly followed by the first sequel, Mexican Spitfire (1940). The others that followed all incorporated that term in their titles. Carmelita's husband, Dennis, is variously played by Donald Woods, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Walter Reed. Leon Errol steals scenes in dual roles as sedate Uncle Matt and often-tipsy British nobleman Lord Epping.

Four Daughters is a 1938 Warner Bros. musical drama starring the Lane Sisters (Priscilla, Rosemary and Lola) that inspired two sequels: Four Wives (1939) and Four Mothers (1941). The plots revolve around romantic and domestic complications of the Lemp family (with Gale Page as a fourth sister and Claude Rains as the father). The original film won five Oscar nominations including those for Best Picture, Best Director for Michael Curtiz and Best Supporting Actor for John Garfield, who plays a cynical musician. Four Daughters was remade in 1954 as Young at Heart starring Doris Day and Frank Sinatra.

Maisie (1939) was the first film in a series of ten MGM comedies starring Ann Sothern in the role of Mary Anastasia O'Connor, a good-natured Brooklyn burlesque dancer whose stage name is Maisie Ravier. After five years of struggle at Columbia Pictures and RKO, Sothern finally enjoyed a big success as MGM's Maisie, a role originally intended for Jean Harlow. TCM has all 10 films in the series, which ran from 1939 to 1947 and spawned a popular radio show, also starring Sothern, that was broadcast from 1945-47 and 1949-53.

Actor Harold Peary created the character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve for radio in 1939, and then revived the role on film in the 1940s in six RKO films, all of which are in our Spotlight, starting with The Great Gildersleeve. Peary first played the garrulous girdle manufacturer (and later water commissioner of the town where he lives) on the NBC radio show Fibber McGee and Molly, then continued it on his own NBC show. (Willard Watereman also played the role on radio and TV.)

Tarzan, the jungle-raised feral hero created by novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs, was the subject of a series of movies produced by MGM and RKO studios during the 1930s, '40s and '50s--16 of which are screened in this Spotlight. The films range from Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), which introduced the legendary Johnny Weissmuller in the role, to Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957), starring Gordon Scott. Nine of our movies feature Weissmuller, six from MGM and three from RKO, where the series transferred in 1943.

Lex Barker stars in five RKO Tarzan films, dating from 1949 to 1953. Also included are two of Gordon Scott's Tarzan adventures, RKO's Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955) and MGM's Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957). The latter film was the first Tarzan film from MGM in 15 years and the first to be shot in color.

Jungle Jim had Weissmuller turning in his loin cloth to play a hunter dressed in a safari suit, first in a 1948 Columbia Pictures film of that title and then in 15 sequels. TCM is showing five of these films including the original. The character began in the 1930s as a comic strip hero then appeared on radio and on film. There was even a television show of the mid-1950s that also starred Weissmuller.

Bomba, the Jungle Boy was the character that allowed Johnny Sheffield, who had played Tarzan's son "Boy" in several films, to continue his jungle exploits in a dozen low-budget movies of the 1940s and '50s from Monogram Pictures. We have the complete set for your viewing enjoyment! Originally the young hero of Boys' adventure books of the 1920s and '30s, Bomba later appeared in a comic book version of his story.

Andy Hardy, an impetuous but good-hearted, small-town American teenager played to perfection by Rooney, is the beloved central character of one of MGM's most popular movie series of the 1930s and '40s. The entire Hardy family was the focus of the first entry, A Family Affair (1937), but by the fourth installment, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), Rooney had stepped forward as the star and would carry the series through the mid-1940s, with a belated curtain call in Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958).

Rooney was the only cast member to appear in all installments. Lionel Barrymore began the series as his father, Judge Hardy, but Lewis Stone took over and became identified with the role. Fay Holden was best remembered as Mrs. Hardy and Ann Rutherford as Andy's girlfriend Polly Benedict. The Hardy series was a training ground for several MGM starlets including Judy Garland (who turned in three performances as Betsy Booth), Esther Williams, Lana Turner and Kathryn Grayson. You can catch no less than 15 Andy Hardy films in the TCM Spotlight.

Five Little Peppers were a family of siblings who kept a positive attitude no matter their circumstances. The popular books by Margaret Sidney were published from 1881 to 1916 and served as the basis for four movies produced by Columbia Pictures in 1939-40 (all screening on TCM). Child star Edith Fellows leads the cast as Polly Pepper.

Dr. Kildare and Dr. Gillespie, characters created by author Max Brand, were the heroes of one of MGM's most successful series of the 1930s and '40s. The studio produced nine medical dramas featuring the young, idealistic Dr. James Kildare (Lew Ayres) and his gruff, wheelchair-bound mentor Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore), with a few additional sequels focusing solely on Gillespie. TCM is showing all of the MGM/Kildare series and three of the Gillespie follow-ups. The Kildare character later appeared in radio and television series, comic books and a comic strip.

Animal Heroes were the focus of several film series over the decades. Lassie, the loyal collie created by author Eric Knight, was featured in seven MGM films of the 1940s and '50s, beginning with Lassie Come Home (1943). (TCM is screening all seven.) Lassie was played by a male collie named Pal who was trained by Rudd Weatherwax. The canine character has since appeared in films for other studios, as well as radio and television series, comic books, juvenile novels and other media. Other animal stars include the dog Rusty (seven films from the 1940s on TCM) and the dolphin Flipper (two films from the 1960s on TCM).

Crime Solvers were perhaps the most ubiquitous heroes of movie serials. Here's a rundown of our cinematic sleuths showing the number of their movies showing in the TCM Spotlight: Nancy Drew (four), Miss Marple (four), Torchy Blane (five), The Thin Man's Nick and Nora Charles (six), Perry Mason (six), Dick Tracy (four), Boston Blackie (five), Bulldog Drummond (six) and The Saint (eight).

by Roger Fristoe