# Were there any sequel movies before Star Wars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628 "2015-04-02T16:04:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/61 "2015-04-03T05:59:11Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > _[The Fall of a Nation](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0006664/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)_, 1916, sequel to _Birth of a Nation._ The first horrible, cringeworthy sequel, with none of the great actors of the original-- not one recognizable name in the whole bunch. Plus, directed by author of original books, who, unlike DW Griffith, did unabashedly have the agenda of trying to revive the Klan. > [@kunilou](#): > > Shakespeare wrote sequels, Dickens wrote sequels. If you want to nitpick, the Acts of the Apostles can be considered a “sequel” to the Gospel of Luke. Judges is a sequel to Joshua, and most scholars agree that Joshua is a sequel to one of the four threads present in the Torah, although I forget which one. (Cite: Richard Elliot Friedman) And yeah, scrolls had a standard length, because they were very heavy, so we can estimate how much material on a theoretical source was on a single scroll. > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I would say that \*The Empire Strikes Back \*is the key film in that it was the first sequel that both: > [list=A] > [li]Was treated with as much respect (by fans & the industry) before, during & after its production as its predecessor was.[/li]and > [li]Was of equal quality and success as its predecessor.[/li][/list] You need to see _Bride of Frankenstein_. It’s probably a better movie than the original _Frankenstein_, has better special effects, was treated with respect and reverence at the time it came out, and still is, both by fans and the industry. It consistently makes lists of “Best Sequels Ever.” It came out in 1935. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/62 "2015-04-03T06:50:01Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) then Son of Flubber (1963). And the other series set at Medfield College: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and its sequels (1969-1975). ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/63 "2015-04-03T07:18:15Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Shakespeare wrote a _[Love’s Labour’s Won](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love%27s_Labour%27s_Won)_, although it is lost and we don’t know if it was a true sequel to _Love’s Labour’s Lost_ or a canonical play under a different name. Add to this both Shakespeare’s tetralogies of Henry VI and Henry IV/V; though other playwrights probably did similar before Shakespeare. In fact it’s been argued that Henry VI part I is Shakespeare’s version of a prequel. Some of the dates on these plays are fuzzy. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/64 "2015-04-03T08:15:43Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Such as? Some 19th century authors wrote sequels (perhaps most famously, Carroll’s _Through the Looking Glass_ and Twain’s _Huckleberry Finn_), but I can’t think of any Dickens sequels. I’ve read very little Dickens, so I can’t either. But there were other 19th century sequels: James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales Dumas wrote a couple sequels to _The Three Musketeers_ (these may have been mentioned above, but I’m not sure if they were refering to the books or movies) Louisa May Alcott’s _Little Women_ had a couple sequels. Sherlock Holmes stories are a series rather than sequels, although some refered to stuff in a previous story (notably the one where he returns from the “dead”). In the very early 20th century, there were the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and the Scarlet Pimpernel books by Emma Orczy. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/65 "2015-04-03T09:42:14Z")
To go back a really long way, there was \*Oedipus Rex \*and _Oedipus at Colonus_. Both of these were prequels to _Antigone_. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/66 "2015-04-03T10:27:25Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > There were 16 Andy Hardy movies. Many of the early ones were quite popular, helping make Mickey Rooney a top box draw. Wow! Spanning two decades! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/67 "2015-04-03T10:40:26Z")
Just like the _Gidget_ movies! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/68 "2015-04-03T10:43:46Z")
Cervantes’ _Don Quijote_ (early 1600s) had both a cheesy (unauthorized) sequel by a different author (rather like Jaws 2), AND an awesome sequel by the same author, respected by fans as much as the original (rather like Empire Strikes Back). Cervantes cleverly included the unauthorized one’s writer as a character in his sequel. All very meta. (I heard this on “Radiolab.”) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/69 "2015-04-03T11:14:33Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I would say that \*The Empire Strikes Back \*is the key film in that it was the first sequel that both: > [list=A] > [li]Was treated with as much respect (by fans & the industry) before, during & after its production as its predecessor was.[/li]and > [li]Was of equal quality and success as its predecessor.[/li][/list] FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, which got a bigger budget and was a bigger box-office hit than DOCTOR NO, is generally hailed as equaling or surpassing its predecessor. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/70 "2015-04-03T11:25:42Z")
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce (my favorite Watson) did a long series of Sherlock Holmes films. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/71 "2015-04-03T14:57:44Z")
A bespectacled Michael Caine did a number of Harry Palmer films – _The Ipcress File_, _Funeral in Berlin_, and _Billion Dollar Brain_ – back in the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/72 "2015-04-03T15:11:48Z")
And, at that, Richard Roundtree for SHAFT/SHAFT’S BIG SCORE/SHAFT IN AFRICA. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/73 "2015-04-03T16:05:05Z")
[Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_longest_gaps_between_film_sequels) has Bambi released on August 13, 1942, and Bambi II on February 7, 2006 - 63 years, 178 days - being the longest time _between_ sequels, so I suppose the criteria of being a sequel can be quite lax. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/74 "2015-04-03T20:21:58Z")
Trying to the of “big, successful movies” using the definition of “Academy Award Best Picture Winner” (yeah, I know, every SDer is going to yelp how stupid the Academy voters are) 1929 winner “Broadway Melody” arguably had three, but they weren’t direct sequels. 1942 “Mrs Miniver” had a 1950 sequel with Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon returning. 1970 “Patton” had a TV movie in 1986 with George C Scott, 1971 French Connection, 1972 Godfather, 1973 The Sting, sort of, different actors, 1976 Rocky with about 1,786,754 sequels. After that, they kind of faded away, as far as Oscars go. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/75 "2015-04-03T20:47:11Z")
I said earlier that Edison was producing sequels. In 1901 his company, meaning director Edwin S. Porter, produced “Fun in the Butcher Shop,” in which a dog is placed into a machine and instantly converted into a string of sausages. In 1904, they did “Dog Factory,” a sequel in which a string of sausages is turned into the original dog. The concept was stolen from the American Mutograph & Biograph Co., whose “The Sausage Machine” was filmed in 1897. A sequel, “Making Sausages,” followed in 1898 but the concept wasn’t switched; they just used both cats and dogs. Another early pair was “Liquid Electricity” (AKA “The Inventor’s Galvanic Fluid”) from Vitagraph in 1907, followed by “Galvanic Fluid” (AKA “More Fun with Liquid Electricity”) in 1908. “Dog Factory” can be seen on [YouTube](https://youtu.be/ac2fWCwDH9Y). None of the others have survived, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/76 "2015-04-03T21:33:35Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Ma and Pa Kettle movies in the late 40’s and early 50’s are another example. Especially notable since the Kettles were strictly supporting characters in the first film, **The Egg and I** , but were so popular, they spun off into 9 subsequent movies and a TV series. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/77 "2015-04-03T22:42:08Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > Especially notable since the Kettles were strictly supporting characters in the first film, **The Egg and I** , but were so popular, they spun off into 9 subsequent movies and a TV series. Something a little similar (but not really) happened with the Dr. Kildare movies. For the first 9 of them, Lew Ayers played Dr. Kildare, and Lionel Barrymore played his associate, the paternal Dr. Gillespie, but when Ayers was drafted and became a conscientious objector, he was fired by the studios, and the rest of the movies were about Dr. Gillespie mentoring two young doctors, played by Van Johnson and Keye Luke. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/78 "2015-04-03T23:16:11Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Trying to the of “big, successful movies” using the definition of “Academy Award Best Picture Winner” (yeah, I know, every SDer is going to yelp how stupid the Academy voters are) 1929 winner “Broadway Melody” arguably had three, but they weren’t direct sequels. > 1942 “Mrs Miniver” had a 1950 sequel with Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon returning. > 1970 “Patton” had a TV movie in 1986 with George C Scott, 1971 French Connection, 1972 Godfather, 1973 The Sting, sort of, different actors, 1976 Rocky with about 1,786,754 sequels. You missed IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT giving way to THEY CALL ME MISTER TIBBS! ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/79 "2015-04-04T01:02:14Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > You missed IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT giving way to THEY CALL ME MISTER TIBBS! Oops. Also you can say “Gone with the Wind” had a television miniseries sequel in 1994 based on a novel that was authorized by Margaret Mitchell’s estate. Solved the problem of portraying Reconstruction by having Scarlett move to Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628/80 "2015-04-04T01:24:48Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Which, coming back around, reminds me that _The Three Musketeers_ in '73 was of course followed by _The Four Musketeers_ in '74. And these two movies were filmed together. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-sequel-movies-before-star-wars/716628.md?page=5)