In looking over previous comments of Daredevils of the Red Circle, many
of you comment on the ending of Chapter One where Charles Quigley is
trying to outrace a torrent of water riding on a motorcyle. I had the
privilege of knowing Barry Shipman, the scriptwriter for "Daredevils."
He would pen many of the famous Republic serials, including the Lone
Ranger, before going over to Columbia to write the Durango Kid
features. Bill Witney relays the story of how the chapter came to be
written in his autobiography. First, they found a real tunnel in
downtown Los Angeles. At that time, the L.A. traffic had not grown to
the proportion it is today and Republic got permission from the city to
block traffic while they shot footage inside the tunnel. A miniature
replica of the tunnel was designed and a process screen was used to
show the water seemingly coming from behind Quigley. It was Barry's
suggestion that the hero narrowly escapes downing by getting to the end
of the tunnel where he turns the wheel to close the watertight doors.
This conclusion was known as the take-out or the solution to the
cliffhanger.