Trader Tom of the China Seas
Trader Tom of the China Seas is a 1954 Republic Pictures adventure serial directed by Franklin Adreon. It stars Harry Lauter, Aline Towne, Lyle Talbot, Robert Shayne, Fred Graham, and Richard Reeves. The story follows island trader Tom Rogers and Vivian Wells, daughter of a schooner captain, as they lead the effort to stop rebellious native groups from sparking revolutions in Burmatra and nearby Asian countries.
The serial had a budget of about $172,789 (final negative cost $169,248), making it the cheapest Republic serial of 1954. It was filmed from September 8 to September 28, 1953 (production number 1937) with special effects by the Lydecker brothers. It runs 12 chapters, totaling 167 minutes in the serial form.
Its official release date was January 11, 1954, though the sixth chapter had already been released to film exchanges. In 1966, Republic re-edited the serial into a Century 66 film for television, retitled Target: Sea of China and shortened to 100 minutes. This was one of 26 Republic serials given the Century 66 treatment for TV. The TV version was described as a "quickie" due to the abridgement.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:23 (CET).