King of the Carnival

When King of the Carnival hit theater screens in 1956, it would be the last in a long line of Republic serials. Television had already made its impact on Saturday afternoon movie fans, and even the serial's regular companion, the B western, had already bitten the dust. The plot of counterfeiters working under at a carnival was more suitable for a B detective feature. The serial's hero Harry Lauter was familiar to young fans as Ranger Clay Morgan, Jace Pearson's partner on Tales of the Texas Rangers. He had already starred in another Republic serial, Trader Tom of the South Seas. Republic itself would close its doors forever in a few more years. But it left behind cinema memories for two generations of fans.