The Legend of Rin-Tin-Tin: America's Favorite Canine Hero

I had seen this set and the one that preceded it,  Legend of Rin Tin Tin  also by Mill Creek, on store shelves but had overlooked it while assuming that it was 48 episodes of the old Rin Tin Tin TV show of the 1950s. When I happened to look at the fine print, I saw that it was really four full Saturday movie serials. In order, they are:The Lone Defender (1930, rated 5.4 on IMDB)The Lightning Warrior (1931, 5.7)The Law of the Wild (1934, 6.5)The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935, 6.5)The first two are still steeped in their stagy, silent roots, and the deteriorated quality of the prints doesn't help any. The two more "modern" serials, also starring Rex the Wonder Horse, have better prints and more mature acting. But down deep, all of these were designed to amuse children with lots of good guys fighting bad guys.In an interesting departure, Mill Creek also included a short original documentary (C) 2011. It consists of one unnamed guy seated before a non-moving (green screened?) background, talking to the camera for about a paragraph at a time. He's not an awful reader, but he's no Robert Osborne. Every now and then, he seques into a short clip from one of the serials in the set. All in all, it's a nice gesture, but the insight it added was about what you'd get from reading Wikipedia.In sum, I rate it five stars for four full classic serials at such a cheap price, then subtract one for the erratic print quality. If you don't like serials, avoid this set. If you do like serials, give it a try.PS, For more quantity cliffhangers, check out a copy of the 12-serial  Classic Serials Megapack: 150 Episodes  while you can.

This collection was not what I expected. I thought I was buying the TV series with a Rusty and Rinty as members of the 101st Cavalry. "The Legend of Rin Tin Tin" is actually a collection of four movie serials which predate the TV series and are only associated with it via Rin Tin Tin's name, and his equally talented descendents who appear in many episodes of both series.Although this collection was not what I expected I was not disappointed. If you enjoyed the TV series you will most likely enjoy these movie serials as well.As with the TV series, some of the dogs used in filming the serials were descendents of the original Rin Tin Tin who as a puppy was rescued from a bombed out kennel in France by an American soldier during World War I, and as a film star was credited with saving Warner Brothers Pictures from bankruptcy.For future reference: the TV series was called "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin".

As long as you realize that this DVD set contains 4 movie serials with 12 chapters each and not the Rin Tin Tin TV series you should be pleased with this DVD set. Mill Creek uses the word "episodes" on a number of DVD sets that contain movie seials from the 30's and 40's on what I consider "chapters". Technically, the star is Rin Tin Tin Jr. The original Rin Tin Tin starred in silent movies. Mill Creek always does a good job of film to DVD transfer, but there is a quality limit depending on the condition and age of the film.

Funny how people gripe and grown over the quality of these prints, they are almost 90 years old now. The TV series of the same name was trash with a punk kid as the lead role, these seriels were much better! Just wish someone would take the time to restore these prints better but from low demand, they prob never will be.

NOT THE TV SERIES with Rusty at Fort Apache, which I was looking for. But it was fun to watch this earlier movie(?) format. Clearly episodes for kids at the time, with convoluted plots, perhaps Saturday afternoon at the movies. Features Rex, King of the Horses!

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It's cheap as dirt, and it's classic early cinema serials - in completion! Wonderful stuff, though very different from the TV western version with Rusty and Rinty. If you're a fan of ancient b/w serials, you must have this. If you're also a fan of GSD's you probably already own it.

This quality reflects the technology of yore. However, you must know that as soon as I put it in, our sleeping 4 month old shepherd sat straight up and watched :). It was for him.

for their age they are not bad,for most people the grade would not be up to snuff

I love movies that has dogs in it especially German shepherds. it was very entertaining.The forty years old or more serial Rin Tin Tin becomes buddies with a horse a cute eh!?

Great videos. My grand daughters are seeing what was entertainment from a long time ago and love it. It arrived on time and in great condition

wORTH THE MONEY.