PulpFest 2025 will celebrate the “Masters of Blood and Thunder” and more at this year’s convention. We’ll be marking the sesquicentennial of the births of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Rafael Sabatini, and Edgar Wallace. All three authors were born 150 years ago in 1875.
Our programming schedule will get underway on Wednesday evening, August 6, at 9 pm, with a showing of Frank Lloyd’s silent epic, The Sea Hawk. Released by First National Pictures in 1924, Lloyd’s film is an extremely faithful adaption of Rafael Sabatini’s novel. It’s our treat for those who arrive early for PulpFest 2025.
Starring Milton Sills as Sakr-el-Bahr — the “Hawk of the Sea” — Lloyd’s silent film relates the adventures of a Cornish nobleman “who goes from English gentry to galley slave to captain of a Moorish fighting ship, all the while trying to regain his lady love.”
Adapted by J. G. Hawks from Sabatini’s 1915 novel, the film also features Enid Bennett as the love interest, Lloyd Hughes as the villain, and Wallace Beery as the loyal sidekick. The Sea Hawk premiered on June 2, 1924, in New York City, and was called, “far and away the best sea story that has ever been brought to the screen.”
Running a bit over two hours, Frank Lloyd’s adventure classic features full-sized ships in its sea scenes. The ship-to-ship combat was staged so well that the segments were recycled by later swashbucklers.
From England and the Barbary Coast, we set sail for the South Pacific and the mysterious Skull Island. On Thursday evening, August 7, at 11 pm, we hope you’ll join us for King Kong.
Produced and directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with special effects by Willis H. O’Brien, King Kong was released by RKO Radio Pictures in New York City on March 2, 1933.
You know the story: “A film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet.” They bring the big gorilla back to New York City where their dreams of wealth and fame literally get shot to hell.
Starring Fay Wray as Kong’s love interest, Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham — a filmmaker known for his remote and exotic locations — and Bruce Cabot as Jack Driscoll — first mate on the ship that brings Kong back to civilization — King Kong has an interesting history.
In 1931, the chronically broke thriller writer Edgar Wallace was lured to Hollywood. Looking for additional income and perhaps hoping to escape his creditors, Wallace became a highly paid script doctor for RKO Pictures. Later that same year, he was asked to help with Cooper’s “gorilla picture.” Wallace penned a 110-page script, the first draft for King Kong.
Wallace wrote in his posthumously published My Hollywood Diary:
“Cooper called me up last night and told me that everybody who had read ‘Kong’ was enthusiastic. They say it is the best adventure story that has ever been written for the screen.”
Unfortunately, Wallace would not live to see the finished film. Suffering from undiagnosed diabetes, Edgar Wallace lapsed into a coma — probably after suffering a stroke — and died in February 1932.
James Creelman picked up where Wallace had left off, with rookie screenwriter Ruth Rose adding further revisions and rewriting most of the dialogue.
Known for its “groundbreaking use of special effects, such as stop-motion animation, matte painting, rear projection, and miniatures,” King Kong was named one of the 50 best American films by the American Film Institute. In 1991, the film was deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Around the same time that King Kong was taking on “The Big Apple,” a new Street & Smith pulp magazine was flying off America’s news racks. Doc Savage Magazine debuted in February 1933 with a story entitled “The Man of Bronze.” Written by Lester Dent, it would inspire a Hollywood filmmaker named George Pal to make a movie using the same title.
On Friday evening, August 8, at 11 pm, PulpFest 2025 and Doc Con XXI will be the place to see Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. Produced by George Pal and directed by Michael Anderson, the film turns fifty in 2025, just in time for the return of Doc Con. The convention for the “Fans of Bronze” will be back following an absence of eight years.
After returning from his Fortress of Solitude, Doc Savage learns that his father has died under mysterious circumstances while exploring the remote interior of the Central American Republic of Hidalgo. With his “Fabulous Five,” the Man of Bronze heads south where he defeats the bloodthirsty Captain Seas.
Selecting Ron Ely for the title role, George Pal hoped to make a killing with the Doc Savage film franchise. “After the first one is successful, we’ll make another one, and then we’ll sell the series to television. By that time, every network will fight for it. At least, that’s my conviction.”
Instead, Pal wound up with a film that “demonstrates none of the charm or thrills of classics like The War of the Worlds (1953) or The Time Machine (1960). (Doc) Savage is hampered by budget woes, weak acting, a sluggish script, and some painfully forced attempts at camp.”
Despite its shortcomings, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze remains part of the legend of Lester Dent’s marvelous creation. And at 50 years old, the film deserves a celebration. That’s why PulpFest and Doc Con will be showing the film not once, but twice!
On Saturday, August 9, at 2:30 pm, we’ll be offering the “fan cut” of the George Pal film — what “could have been” if the studio execs had not been “fearful that a serious depiction of a pulp hero would not play to audiences in the mid-70s.” Preceding our second showing will be a panel exploring Pal’s film and its history.
PulpFest 2025 begins on August 7 and runs through August 10 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. We’ll be celebrating the “Masters of Blood and Thunder,” the “Great Pulp Villains,” Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, and more at this year’s convention.
The general public is welcome to attend our evening programming events free of charge. To learn more about our programming, please click the 2025 Schedule button at the top of this page.
For those who also want to enjoy our dealers’ room, you can join PulpFest by clicking the register button at the top of this page. And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree. They’re going fast!
Remember, in addition to your membership in PulpFest 2025, you’ll also be a member of Doc Con XXI, ERBFest 2025, and Farmercon XX. That’s four conventions for one price! You can’t beat that deal.
If you’re interested in selling at PulpFest, our dealers’ room is full. However, we are considering adding tables in the pre-function hallway outside of the dealers’ room. These tables will cost $125 each and will be guarded by security overnight. If you are interested, please write to Jack Cullers at jack@pulpfest.com to be added to our waiting list.
Our featured image is excerpted from a theatrical poster for Frank Lloyd’s 1924 silent film adaptation of Rafael Sabatini’s The Sea Hawk. Another poster for the same film is also our lead image. The artists are not known.
The King Kong theatrical poster was published by RKO Pictures for their 1933 film release. The artist is not known. As the filming of King Kong was nearing completion, producer and director Merian C. Cooper asked his friend Delos W. Lovelace to adapt the film’s screenplay into a novel. On the book’s dust jacket, Lovelace’s name was overshadowed by the phrase, “conceived by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper.” The Grosset & Dunlap book was published on December 27, 1932, and served as part of the film’s advance marketing campaign. A “Photoplay Edition,” it features a dust jacket by an unknown artist.
Released in 1975 by Warner Bros., George Pal’s Doc Savage — The Man of Bronze starred Ron Ely in the title role. Directed by Michael Anderson, it was meant to be the first of several Doc Savage motion pictures. The poster artist is Roger Kastel.
Our final image is a modern take on the bumper sticker issued for the movie in 1975, adapted by Bill Lampkin for the Doc Con Facebook page. Be sure to follow it for the latest news on Doc Con 2025 by clicking here! It’s the best way to stay tuned for the convention’s superamalgamated return in 2025!
To learn more about Doc Savage and his fans, visit the PulpFest YouTube Channel and catch Episode 2 of Talking Pulp with Craig McDonald.
And while you’re there, please be sure to subscribe!
