The noun cliffhanger denotes:
– a tense or dramatic ending to an episode of a radio, film, television or magazine serial, which leaves the audience or the readers in suspense and anxious to discover what will happen next;
– a work or serial which regularly uses, or is characterised by, such endings;
hence also:
– any highly suspenseful story, situation, etc.
And the adjective cliffhanging means:
– relating to, or characterised by, cliffhanger endings;
hence also:
– highly suspenseful.
The noun cliffhanger and the adjective cliffhanging originally referred to serials which ended episodes with their protagonists literally hanging from cliffs, or in similarly dangerous situations.
This original reference was mentioned in the following two texts:
1-: From Ousting Double Features, published in the Pictures section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 23rd February 1932:
For the first time since it relinquished the title of FBO, Radio Pictures is taking the serial seriously. Its first, incidentally the first also to the credit of Pathe in three years, will run 24 episodes at two reels per episode.
Promise is made that the two-reel episodes will be vastly different than the ones in the old school where a horse and rider were left suspended over a cliff until the following week.
2-: From the Literati section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 11th April 1933:
Longies Now
A definite new writing trend has come upon the last few weeks along with puffed sleeves, 3.2 beer, plaid pajamas for he-men and trousers for the females.
Magazines have suddenly hit on running one long story complete in each issue, with short stories now being used in the nature of fillers. In fact, the short story has come into slight disfavor.
The demand for longs came so quickly and so unexpectedly that it has taken seasoned writers by surprise. Those who have been accustomed to producing serials must change their technic, as these longs run to novel form rather than following the jigsaw serial pattern ending on a high note in each issue and holding the reader by the nose until the heroine is rescued from the hundred-foot cliff.
The earliest occurrence of the adjective cliffhanging that I have found is from the Pictures section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Wednesday 3rd September 1930:
If Customers Don’t Cry, Producers Must; Hoke’s Fancy Coast Revival
Hollywood, Sept. 2.
Hokum as a word is despised here, but it’s well under the wire for revival. Like the rose which smells just as swell otherwise, hoke is being spread in current films under such fancy identification as “strengthening the heart interest,” “emphasizing emotion qualities” and “specializing in human treatment.”
After a period of musicals and pictures tinged with sophistication the execs took stock to find that the outstanders of the last few months have been plentifully supplied with the garden variety of old-fashioned hoke—the prop on which the whole business was built.
[…]
Fitting also into the pattern is the revival of the serial, with Universal and Pathe leading the procession toward cliff-hanging heroines. Pathe is even reviving the original installment films, “Perils of Pauline” and “Exploits of Elaine.”
The earliest occurrences of the noun cliffhanger that I have found are as follows, in chronological order:
1-: From the Pictures section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Wednesday 14th January 1931:
U Will Glorify Cliff Hangers In 4 Serials—Maybe 6
Hollywood, Jan. 13.
Glorifying the firemen and the brave lads of circuses and plains in its current serials, Universal will continue its Ziegfieldian activities next year. As starters it will pick on the cops, air mail carriers, and coast guards.
Studio is set on four serials for the new year, and maybe two more. Only title set is “Heroes of the Law.” Probabilities are a serial based on the life of Buffalo Bill and a treasure island thriller.
Henry McRae, in charge of the cliff hangers, is searching for story material.
2-: From the Pictures section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 16th February 1932:
ANIMAL FLOOD IS DUE AGAIN
Hollywood, Feb. 15.
Local market is bullish on animal stuff, with virtually every major company intending to revive serials. Universal started the serial parade last year, and now not only is Radio set on a program of episodes but the cliff hangers will also be made by Metro and Paramount.
Companies are endeavoring to corner stock animal film, to be used in feature lengths as well as serials.
3-: From Picture Grosses, in Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 16th August 1932:
APEING METRO’S APE LESSER’S SERIAL PLAN
Hollywood, Aug. 15.
Claiming that he’ll spend $250,000 on his serial, ‘Tarzan the Fearless,’ Sol Lesser figures the cliff hanger can land in first runs on the strength of popularity of Metro’s recent ‘Tarzan, the Ape Man.’
Lesser believes serials can be made popular in houses other than second runs and shooting galleries, and is willing to gamble on a class production to prove it.
4-: From the column Inside Stuff—Pictures, in Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 20th December 1932:
To avoid legal complications modernized serial version of ‘The Three Musketeers’ must carry the name of Dumas as author, although Nat Levine, producing the pic, wanted to keep the name off the cliff hanger. This despite the fact that serial will use little material from the classic. Although story is in public domain, Douglas Fairbanks has prior legal rights to the title, having used it on a feature several years ago.
5-: From the Radio section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 7th February 1933:
Coast Stations Airing Thrillers Are Spanked by Religious Element
Los Angeles, Feb. 6.
Coast radio stations, particularly hot at present for the crime thriller serial, are becoming the targets for the religious press and reform bodies and individuals. They claim the serial cliff hangers are inciting crime among children. It’s the same brand of brickbat that is aimed at films every so often.
6-: From Radio Reports, in Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 28th February 1933:
‘LOG OF THE HELL SHIP’
With Mrs. Wallace Reid
Serial
Sustaining
KMTR, Hollywood
Mrs. Wallace Reid makes her air debut in this program by Norton S. Parker. Period holds promise for the serial hounds who currently form a big percentage of the dial twisters hereabouts.
[…]
First installment carries logical suspense and the reading is better than usual in local dramatic efforts. […]
Only competitive drawback as regards other local thrillers is that this is a weekly affair. Most of the popular cliff hangers are daily programs.
7-: From Radio Chatter, in Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 14th March 1933:
‘Tahiti,’ weekly serial over KFWB for nine weeks is off. Kay Van Riper, author, has another cliff hanger to take its place starting March 23.
8-: From the Radio section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 25th April 1933:
COAST’S RADIO TRAILER A LA SCREEN TEASERS
Los Angeles, April 24.
Radio trailers are something new for the Coast. KHJ will borrow an idea from pictures to plug a new serial, ‘Conquerors of the Sky,’ starting April 28.
Plan is to go on the air for five-minute periods with a dramatization of sections of the coming serial, as in the picture trailer style, to intrigue the listeners.
‘Conquerors’ is to be a sustainer for the complete Don Lee Coast chain. Dealing with the exploits of aviators in the war and in commercial lanes, the yarn will be heavy on sound effects with an intention of copying as near as possible the screen’s treatment for cliff-hangers.
9-: From the Pictures section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 25th July 1933:
Serial Crashes L. A.’s Deluxer, Paramount
Los Angeles, July 24.
First coast picture deluxer to take a whirl at a serial, as a part of its regular screen program is the Paramount (Partmer) which currently is showing the new cliff-hanger, ‘Tarzan the Fearless.’
Serial, in 12 episodes of two reels each, has been booked on a twice weekly split, one episode running three days and another four days.
10-: From the column On Broadway, by the U.S. columnist Walter Winchell (1897-1972), published in The Times-Union (Albany, New York, USA) of Saturday 6th January 1934:
Things I Knew All the Time
(Look, he thinks he fools them with a new title!)
[…]
That not all the moving picture salaries are fabulous. One factory that grinds out “cliff-hangers”—serials—offers and hires experienced writers for as low as $35 a week. (Twice their worth, at that.)
11-: From the column Screen Oddities, by ‘Captain Roscoe Fawcett’, published in several newspapers on Friday 2nd February 1934—for example in the Boston Evening Globe (Boston, Massachusetts, USA):
HOLLYWOOD LINGO
Movie serials sometimes are called “cliff-hangers.”
When an extra says “What’s the gag?” he doesn’t refer to a joke—he’s asking “What’s new?”
Another greeting like “What’s the gag?” is “What’s your racket?”
12-: From the Pictures section of Variety (New York City, New York, USA) of Tuesday 20th February 1934—this text also contains the second-earliest occurrence of the adjective cliffhanging that I have found:
U’S CLIFF HANGERS
Chapter Plays Are Slated for 1934-35Hollywood, Feb. 19.
Car Laemmle has authorized Henry McRae to close a deal with Hal Forrest for serial pic rights to ‘Tailspin Tommy.’
The following additional cliff hanging stories are on the fire: ‘Planet of Peril’ and ‘Jan of the Jungle,’ by Otis A. Kline; ‘Flying Legion,’ by George Allen England, and ‘Adventures of Tom.’ Latter is an orig by George Morgan and George Plympton of U’s serial staff.
New program calls for five chapter plays, same as last season’s output, final production on the 1933-34 tally, ‘The Vanishing Shadow’ having been put in the cans last week.
The noun cliffhanger designates a stuntman in this correspondence from Hollywood, California, published in the Buffalo Evening News (Buffalo, New York, USA) of Thursday 2nd August 1934:
Harvey Parry […] is one of the eight stunt men who risk their necks to add a thrill to the movies.
[…]
Harvey entered pictures in 1919. He has received many bruises, but only two broken ribs—by far the most fortunate of all the cliff-hangers or auto-wreckers.
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