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#398 – Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950)
Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950)
Film review #398
Director: Fred C. Brannon
SYNOPSIS: Scientist Dr. Bryant goes to investigate a strange aircraft that has has crashed to Earth. There, he finds that a Man named Mato who has come from Mars with the aim of placing the Earth under Mars’ absolute dictatorship. He blackmails Dr. Bryant in this scheme, knowing about his secret past as a Nazi scientist during the war, into using his scientific knowledge and resources to construct weapons to achieve this task. Meanwhile, Kent Fowler, who owns a security company that uses planes, and who was also hired by Bryant to act as security around his factory before the ship crashed, must find a way to the criminal’s plans to steal the components necessary to build atomic weaponry.
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Flying Disc Man from Mars is a 1950 movie serial composed of twelve chapters. The first chapter opens up strongly (as they all do in order to get viewers into the theatre and subsequently back for the remaining chapters), as Dr. Bryant, a scientist and owner of a manufacturing company, hires Kent Fowler, the owner of security company that patrols in a fleet of aeroplanes, to patrol the grounds of his factory, as there have been sightings of strange ships in the sky recently. Bryant sees a ship fall out of the sky and crash nearby, prompting him to go and investigate. When he arrives, he finds a man emerge from the plane called Mato, who claims to be from Mars and has been sent on a mission to conquer Earth to be ruled by the Mars dictatorship, as the Earth’s experimentation with atomic weapons has been found too dangerous to continue, and would have severe repercussions on the solar system. Mato knows about Dr. Bryant’s past of being a Nazi scientist during the war (having intercepted radio communications from Mars), and blackmails him into helping him conquer the earth (and appealing to his inner Nazi by explaining how reasonable it would be to have the use of atomic weapons controlled by an absolute dictatorship I guess).
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#397 – Dick Tracy meets Gruesome (1947)
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947)
Film review #397
Director: John Rawlins
SYNOPSIS: A bank robbery that ends in a murder means that homicide detective Dick Tracy gets put on the case. The robbery, which involved using a special gas that froze everyone in place while the robbery was carried out. Meanwhile, the criminal known as Gruesome, who carried out the robbery, is still at large and continuing to carry out crimes…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome is a 1947 feature film, as well as the fourth and final film in the Dick Tracy film series. The film starts off with a criminal named Gruesome getting out of prison and going to see fellow criminal Melody about a job. He visits a scientist where he stumbles upon a gas that he inhales. As he tries to make it back to Melody at the bar, he falls unconscious at the door, where he is picked up by Pat Patton, detective and Dick Tracy’s partner. He is seemingly dead, but he wakes up in the morgue and knocks out Pat before he escapes. Gruesome gets a hold of the gas again and uses it to rob a bank by freezing everyone inside. Coincidentally, Dick Tracy’s girlfriend Tess is in the bank and witnesses the robbery, as she is in a phone booth and unaffected by the gas. When a guard is shot and killed by the robbers as they flee, Dick Tracy becomes involved in the case and attempts to track down the robbers before the press print the story and they flee town. The content is again very similar to the previous three films in the series, with a balance between investigation and action. This film seems to pack a lot more content into it though, and definitely moves around to focus on a lot more elements. As such I don’t think it flows quite as smoothly as the others, but it’s not too much of an issue. One other main difference is the more science-fiction element of the freezing gas, which is something which isn’t a part of the previous films. It does stand out from the noir-crime and somewhat down-to-earth style of the film, but then again it still follows its comic book roots with the dramatic angles and silly naming of characters, so it’s hardly a world-breaking element.
The villain this time is Gruesome, a man who has recently come out of prison (whether he has been released or escaped is left ambiguous) and immediately gets back into a life of crime. Gruesome is portrayed by Boris Karloff, the famous horror movie actor best known for his role in 1931′s Frankenstein as the Monster. He obviously knows how to play a good villain; with his cold, threatening stare that speaks more than any words that he could say. Pat Patton even exclaims that Gruesome looks like Boris Karloff, which is a bit of an odd fourth-wall-breaking moment. However because of his recognisable appearance, Gruesome is probably the most memorable of the Dick Tracy villains. In terms of the other characters, Ralph Byrd returns as Dick Tracy, along with familiar characters Pat Patton and Tess Trueheart. The minor characters, in keeping with the style of these films, all have names relating to their profession, such as the scientist Dr. A Tomic. It’s a bit silly, but as mentioned it is in keeping with the original comic strip, and finely balances the gritty crime-noir with a mixture of slapstick comedy and comic-esque camera angles.
Overall, Dick Tracy meets Gruesome continues the work that the previous films did, without much else to say. The addition of a more science-fiction focus changes things up a little, although it does feel a little out of place compared to the rest of the series. Boris Karloff provides a menacing villain that is memorable and interesting to follow, and while the series’ trademark of mixing action, investigation, noir and comedy elements probably veers more towards a light-hearted approach than its predecessors, it still keeps close to the successful formula it has hit on of blending these elements of different genres into a short but entertaining watch.
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#396 – The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1940)
The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1940)
Film review #396
Directors: Ford Beebe, John Rawlins
SYNOPSIS: The Green Hornet, a masked vigilante is once again on the case of a racketeering ring that is terrorising the city and undermining the country’s military productions. Britt Reid, the owner of The Sentinel newspaper, investigates these racketeering rings, and disguised as the Green Hornet puts a stop to their operations, all the while having to avoid his secret identity being uncovered by his friends and co-workers…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Green Hornet Strikes Again! is a 1940 movie serial based on the The Green Hornet radio drama and a sequel to the movie serial of the same name. The story once again centres around Britt Reid, the owner of The Sentinel newspaper, who is also secretly the masked vigilante “The Green Hornet.” While Reid investigates the crime rackets in the city at the newspaper, as The Green Hornet he puts a stop to them with the information he has received through his investigations. This only really needs to be a short review, as most of what can be said about this serial was already said in my review of its predecessor. The story is very similar with The Green Hornet once again going after racketeering operations, with a new one being the focus of nearly every episode, which means there’s a bit of variety to the plot. This does make the serial stand out from others in the format since most of them have once overarching plot, linking the chapters by cliffhanger endings which are directly resolved at the beginning of the next chapter. Although The Green Hornet Strikes Again! somewhat does this, the cliffhangers don’t have a similar impact, and mostly just wrap things up before moving on to a new story. The overarching plot concerning the crime syndicate is a bit more substantial than the previous serial, with an overall villain controlling things, but it’s not a massive change. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of action with The Green Hornet, and intrigue with Reid’s investigations, so it manages to switch things up to keep them interesting. It should also be noted that is one of the longest serials, clocking in at nearly five hours and fifteen chapters, so that variety comes in handy.
Being released less than a year after the original, this sequel manages to return all the sets and cast as if it was almost a direct continuation. Everyone has a specific role to play, from the heroic Reid, his driver Kato, Michael Axford being the comic relief, and so on. The acting isn’t too bad, but again like its predecessor, the dialogue feels very stiff and unnatural at some points, like the actors are just reciting lines without any natural pacing or emotion. The movie serial format is known for sticking to the tropes of its format, and The Green Hornet Strikes Back! is no exception. However, it is sticking to the formula of its predecessor, which deviated from the format in having more stand-alone episodes rather than dragging out one overarching story. With this in mind it is still a good example of the format, with interesting characters, good action and intriguing investigations that have a decent amount of entertainment value.
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#395 – Dick Tracy’s Dilemma (1947)
Dick Tracy’s Dilemma (1947)
Film review #395
Director: John Rawlins
SYNOPSIS: A robbery at a vault full of furs also leaves one person dead and a suspicious insurance claim. Homicide detective Dick Tracy and his partner Pat Patton are put on the case where they investigate the involvement of a man known only as “the Claw”…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Dick Tracy’s Dilemma is a 1947 film and the third Dick Tracy feature film. The film opens up with a robbery being committed on a safe at a storage facility. The watchman attempts to intervene, but later when it is found that he is missing, homicide detective Dick Tracy and his partner Pat Patton are put on the case and find the safe, which was supposed to be full of imported furs, empty. Tracy investigates the involvement of the vault’s insurance company, as well as the involvement of a man known only as “The Claw”. The story is very similar to the other two films of the series, with a murder investigation being the primary thread running through the film, with lots of little investigations and twists tying into it. The runtime of sixty minutes is again similar to its predecessors, which keeps everything streamlined and without unnecessary filler. It is well paced with a variety of locations and colourful characters to keep things interesting.
The most notable element of this film compared to the others is the return of Ralph Byrd to the role of Dick Tracy in place of Morgan Conway from the first two. Byrd starred as Tracy in the four movie serials released between 1941 and 1947, and his return is very much welcome. While Conway probably looked more like the Dick Tracy from the comics, Byrd has a much more likeable charm and personality, and just seems to fit in better with the other cast members. The rest of the cast also has plenty of personality, and embody the type of comic book characters of the original format, with the ridiculously cartoony names and all. Tess Trueheart as Tracy’s girlfriend returns, and is a better fit with Byrd’s Tracy, as she always looked far too young to be Conway Tracy’s girlfriend. The English theatre actor Vitamin (see what I mean about cartoony names?) as some comic relief and eccentricity, along with the accident prone Pat Patton. The Claw himself is also fairly menacing, but is very similar to the other villains in the earlier films. The film balances the gritty crime-noir aesthetics with high contrast lighting and dramatic angles with these comic-esque characters that would appeal to a younger audience. Again, the film balances these two genres very well without undermining one another.
There is not much else to say about this film that I didn’t mention in my reviews of the earlier ones. Dick Tracy’s Dilemma, following its predecessors, has hit a sweet spot balancing crime-noir with a comic book style that can appeal to a wide range of viewers (which is what you want in a feature film). It doesn’t change much from the previous films, and sticks very much to the sixty minute runtime, but again it doesn’t need to really innovate if it already has a successful formula. The return of Ralph Byrd to the role of Dick Tracy is certainly the only tweak the formula needed to make. Another solid entry in the series, even if it lacks anything innovative.
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#394 – The Green Hornet (1940)
The Green Hornet (1940)
Film review #394
Director: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor
SYNOPSIS: A racketeering gang is causing all sorts of crimes across the city. Meanwhile, the owner of The Sentinel newspaper Britt Reid, upon learning of these criminal activities, has decided to fight back in disguise as The Green Hornet, accompanied by his valet Kato and their super fast car, they attempt to shut down the criminal rackets all the while trying to avoid having their identities uncovered by their friends at The Sentinel…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Green Hornet is a 1940 movie serial based on the radio series of the same name. The story opens up showing a crime racket running amok in a city, with The Sentinel newspaper trying to chase down the stories behind their criminal activities. Britt Reid, the head of the newspaper, decides it is time for someone to deal with these criminals, and he dons the disguise of “The Green Hornet,” a masked vigilante who visits these criminals and tries to uncover who is leading the rackets. The plot unfolds over the thirteen serial chapters, with each chapter introducing a new racket that The Green Hornet must confront. With each chapter introducing something new, there’s enough variety to keep viewers returning and engaged with the story. There’s the usual high-speed chases and fist fights you would expect, and these are executed pretty well. Maybe nothing too memorable, but still entertaining enough to watch.
The character of Britt Reid and his alter-ego as the Green Hornet play a typical superhero role, with no-one knowing he is leading this double life. As such, this leads to many of his friends and colleagues at The Sentinel newspaper wondering whether The Green Hornet is a hero or villain, and in some cases working to apprehend him, which leads to some complications and interesting turns in the story. The only person who knows his identity is Britt’s valet Kato, who drives The Green Hornet’s car, which is a super speedy vehicle that makes a buzzing sound akin to a hornet. Kato stands out as a character as he is actually portrayed by an Asian actor, whereas a lot of the time Asian characters were portrayed by white actors in makeup to “look” Asian. Also of note is that when the serial was released in 1940, the U.S. had not entered world war two, although anti-Japanese sentiment was still growing, leading to Kato’s original origin being Japanese being changed to Korean for the serial (Keke Luke, the actor himself, was Chinese-American). Nevertheless, it is very rare to see a non-white person in a leading role at this time. Other characters include the one token female character, who works at The Sentinel and believes throughout that The Green Hornet is a force for good in spite of her colleagues believing otherwise. Also Britt’s bodyguard plays a bit of a comic relief character, and his being Irish leads to some stereotypical phrases that come out of his mouth. The villains don’t really have much of an impact as characters themselves, as they mostly change with each chapter and the new racket that the Green Hornet must thwart, but that’s not too much of a problem, as the protagonists are much more interesting.
Overall, The Green Hornet is a good example of the serial format. There’s plenty of action, the characters are interesting, and there’s enough variety to keep viewers entertained. It is also a good example of an early superhero-esque character who leads a double life and must balance the two roles.
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#393 – The Masked Marvel (1943)
The Masked Marvel (1943)
Film review #393
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet
SYNOPSIS: Warren Hamilton and Martin Crane hire The Masked Marvel to stop Mura Sakima, the head of a criminal organisation who is sabotaging projects for the war effort. When Hamilton is murdered by one of Sakima’s henchman, The Masked Marvel hires a group of investigators to help stop Sakima before he can destroy any more of America’s military technology…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Masked Marvel is a 1943 movie serial. The serial starts off with explosions. Lots of explosions. As various installations are blown up, the insurance company that insures them is having to pay up. Suspecting the Japanese spy Mura Sakima behind these attacks,, the chief executives Warren Hamilton and Martin Crane hire The Masked Marvel to find and stop Sakima. When Hamilton is murdered by one of Sakima’s henchman, The Masked Marvel hires four investigators to help with stopping Sakima, and along with Hamilton’s daughter Alice, they try to hunt Sakima down. The story is fairly standard, but executed quite well: there is a variety of action sequences with some well executed stunts. The serial takes place during World War II, and so the danger of the story having an impact on the war adds to the drama. Sakima as a Japanese spy also reflects this, as the Japanese were seen to be the U.S.’s main enemy. Unfortunately, this being 1943 means that Sakima is played by a white actor who is made to “look” Japanese with all the typical stereotypes you would expect (This is not without precedent, The Batman serial the same year also does this). This really does make the serial feel very dated.
One of the more novel twists on the format is that instead of the main villain being one of the ‘good guys’ in disguise with their identity concealed until the end, this time The Masked Marvel’s identity is the one that is hidden, the only clue being he is one of the four investigators that the Masked Marvel himself hired. This is a refreshing change on one of the staples of the format, although not entirely without precedent (the same idea was used in The Lone Ranger serial a few years earlier). The identity of the Masked marvel doesn’t really have much of an impact on the plot, but it’s a bit of extra fun trying to guess who he is. You may think that it would be easy to determine who the Marvel is, as he only wears half a face mask, but each of the four investigators wear the exact same suit, and the masked marvel puts on a different voice so there really is no way to determine who he is (his voice is dubbed over by a different person altogether). The body type also doesn’t help because whenever the Masked Marvel is on screen, he is played by stuntman Tom Steele. As the serial progresses, two of the investigators die so it slowly narrows down the suspects, which is again unusual for a serial to have such developments that impact on the story as a whole. Martin Crane takes a more typical role of being part of the protagonist’s team who is secretly working for Sakima without being discovered until the very end. Overall it’s a mixed bag of the usual tropes with a few twists to set itself apart.
One of the strongest points of the film is the stunts. As mentioned, the professional stuntman Tom Steele plays The Masked Marvel and gets into some pretty energetic fight scenes as he flies across sets and tackles various henchmen. It’s a shame his name doesn’t appear anywhere on the credits, as he does a great job. The cinematography also offers some interesting angles that add some dramatic flair to some scenes. There’s some bad as well, especially with the dummies that are used whenever someone ‘falls’ off a building or a cliff. In one of the cliffhangers, one of them falls from a building and you can clearly see its arm rip off as it hits the building on the way down, which is pretty funny. Given the quick turn-around for these serials (around three weeks from the start of filming to completion), any mistakes made were generally not re-shot because of the tight schedule. Overall, The Masked Marvel is a good serial that mixes things up slightly in terms of story, and also delivers high energy action. However, some dodgy effects and racial stereotyping hold the serial back and make it quite dated.
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#392 – The Purple Monster Strikes (1945)
The Purple Monster Strikes (1945)
Film review #392
Directors: Spencer Benet, Fred Bannon
SYNOPSIS: A rocket ship from the planet Mars makes a landing on Earth, and the astronomer Professor Layton goes to investigate. he finds a man from Mars as the only passenger on the ship and takes him to his observatory, where he learns the man is actually the first part of an invasion force come to conquer the Earth. After killing Layton, he has the ability to possess his dead body and attempt to get his prototype rocket ship design finish so he can use it to return to Mars and lead the invasion. The only person that can stop him is Layton’s assistant Craig Foster, accompanied by Layton’s niece Sheila.
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Purple Monster Strikes is a 1945 movie serial. The opening chapter sees a rocket ship crashing to Earth and Professor Layton going to the impact site. There he finds a man from Mars who it turns out to be the first of an invasion force sent to conquer the Earth. The Martian kills Layton and through the use of gas from the Martian atmosphere, is able to possess Layton’s dead body whenever he wants, which he does in order to get Layton’s rocket ship prototype finished, which is the final key to the invasion, as the Martian rocket ships are unable to return to Mars. Learning of the plans of the “Purple Monster”, Layton’s assistant Craig Foster and Layton’s niece Sheila must find a way to foil the Purple Monster’s plan to steal the rocket ship plans. The story unfolds in keeping with almost every other film in the serial format, with each chapter presenting a new scheme from the Purple Monster and Craig and Sheila attempting to foil it. The ability of the Purple Monster to possess Professor Layton’s dead body is a little dark, but it keeps it family-friendly by not dwelling on the details too much. The back-and-forth between the Purple Monster and Layton also adds an interesting dynamic between the characters. The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter are quite ambitious too, and full of high speed chases and explosions. You always know that they’ll result in someone escaping death at the last second, but it still puts some effort into pulling it off.
The characters themselves are a pretty dull bunch. The usual archetypes are all here: the main young white cowboy-esque hero, the token woman, the scientist, the mysterious villain and his henchman: there is nothing inspiring about any of them. We sometimes see the Martian emperor being contacted by the Purple Monster, and his assistant shows up near the end, but neither of them really offer anything exciting or interesting. The whole business with the Purple Monster being able to possess Layton really ties in with one of the main tropes of these serials of the enemy spy hiding in plain sight, and who could be anyone, which really ties into the paranoia around enemy spies in the U.S. during wartime. Other than that though, the cast is rather forgettable.
Overall, while The Purple Monster Strikes has some good special effects and fast-paced action scenes, its characters are dull and bland, and fail to stand out in the format. I think it sits comfortably in the middle of these serials: nothing special, but nothing catastrophically bad either. Being directed by two of the most prolific serial directors, Spencer Bennet and Fred Bannon, they certainly knew what they are doing, but they’re obviously doing it to create a stable source of income rather than trying to innovate at this point into the format’s history.
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#391 – Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)
Film review #391
Director: Gordon M. Douglas
SYNOPSIS: Police detective Dick Tracy is called to a murder scene on board a ship where a jeweller has been strangled and a valuable set of diamonds has been stolen. As he continues to investigate, he uncovers a conspiracy involving multiple people to sell the diamonds, and must apprehend the man known as Cueball, who is killing off the people involved…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is a 1946 crime-noir film and the second Dick Tracy feature film. As the film opens, we see a boat docking into port when a thief breaks into a jeweller’s cabin, killing him and stealing the diamonds. Dick Tracy is called out to investigate the murder, and suspects a much larger conspiracy to re-cut and sell the diamonds. The story follows the investigation through all its twists and turns, and it is a story that is easy enough to follow while having enough interesting developments to keep one’s interest. At just over sixty minutes, it is not a long film, but it still feels full of content along with offering a complete experience. There’s not too much else to say different than what I wrote for the review for the previous film: its’s more of the same, mixing comic book characters with the crime-noir setting resulting in an easy to follow story, but an entertaining one at the least. Unlike its predecessor though, this one feels a little more down to earth, without the odd mystical elements that didn’t quite belong or go anywhere.
The protagonists from the first film all return, and as there, each of them feel a little like the comic book characters they are based on. The various suspects too have their own particular appearances and personalities, and it’s fun watching them all interact with each other. Everybody has something going on or a role to play, and no one feels wasted. The main antagonist, Cueball, definitely feels very menacing, and a genuine threat throughout, made even more menacing by the use of lighting throughout in typical crime-noir fashion. Tracy’s assistant Pat Patton provides a bit of comic relief, along with the young Junior, and Tracy’s girlfriend Tess Trueheart also gets a role to play in the investigation. Overall, Dick Tracy vs. Cueball is very similar to its predecessor released in the previous year, but also manages to make some improvements by tightening the story, making it flow better, and making the villains more menacing. It’s not an exemplary example of the crime-noir genre, but it’s a good combination of it with the comic strip characters and personalities that gives it a bit of a unique flair. If you enjoyed the first one, you will certainly enjoy this one too.
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#390 – S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937)
S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937)
Film review #390
SYNOPSIS: The renegade scientist Boroff has invented a disintegrator gas that unsurprisingly disintegrates everything around it when released. Boroff’s ship gets in trouble at sea, leading the coast guard to mount a rescue. However, he is recognised by some reporters along for the ride as a wanted criminal and they give chase as Boroff tries to escape. When one of the coast guards is killed as Boroff escapes, his brother Lt. Terry Kent, also a member of the coast guard, swears revenge and he and the reporters Jean Norton and Snapper McGee attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding Boroff and to put a stop to his evil schemes.
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: S.O.S. Coast Guard is a 1937 movie serial by Republic Pictures. The serial starts off with a ship in distress off the coast and the coast guard being deployed. Jean Norman, a newspaper reporter and Snappy McGee, a photographer for the newspaper, recognise the man rescued from the ship as Boroff, a wanted scientist who has been developing deadly weapons to sell to foreign powers. The coast guard give chase, which ends up in the death of one of them, Ensign Jim Kent. His brother, Lt. Terry Kent, who is also a member of the coast guard, swears revenge, and attempts to track down Boroff with the help of Jane and Snapper. The serial unfolds very much like every other serial, so there shouldn’t be no surprise with the cliffhangers, chases and fist fights that fill the chapters. The setting of the coast guard does make it stand out a little, with the scenes at sea and on the ships being well executed. There’s enough variety and a tangible thread of story all the way throughout to make it a watchable serial, but again the format does show its age, and if you’ve seen one you’ve more or less seen them all. The format meant that a lot of content could be produced quickly and at a small cost, but nothing original or innovative was attempted outside of those original constraints.
The characters are one of the noteworthy aspects of the serial, with some recognisable faces amongst the cast. The character themselves are pretty typical: you have the young, courageous American male for the lead, one female character, a mad scientist villain, and a comic relief character. Lt. Terry Kent is the typical lead, this time played by Ralph Byrd, who would be recognisable from the successful Dick Tracy serial that was released earlier in the same year. His character wears a hat most of the time so he distinguishes himself from Tracy enough that you wouldn’t be distracted by the similarities, but Byrd’s appearance in this serial definitely rides the success that Dick Tracy had. The villain is played by famous horror actor Bela Lugosi, who is not in a horror film role because of the ban on making horror movies that was put into effect between 1936 and 1938. The name of his character Boroff is more than likely a reference to fellow horror movie actor and Lugosi’s somewhat rival Boris Karloff. The character of Snappy McGee is very similar to the character of Mike McGurk in the Dick Tracy serial, and I was quite surprised to see it wasn’t the same actor, as they are very similar in terms of looks and mannerisms. Jean Norman’s actress Maxine Doyle also went on to marry the director of this serial (William Witney), so all round an interesting bit of trivia from the casting, even though their characters aren’t as stand-out.
Being set at sea for a decent amount of the runtime, there’s a lot of scenes on the ocean which are all executed fairly well. In the opening chapter we see Boroff’s ship the Carfax caught in a storm, and the set definitely looks like a boat in a storm, with huge waves soaking the set and the actors. There’s some decent effects and props which also breathe some life into the predictable storyline. While setting a serial in the coast guards might not sound as thrilling as a Flash Gordon serial or the like, it still manages a decent story with a good cast. If you liked the Dick Tracy serial, no doubt you would have sought this serial out as well.
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#389 – Radar Men from the Moon (1952)
Radar Men from the Moon (1952)
Film review #389
Director: Fred C. Brannon
SYNOPSIS: After a series of devastating attacks across the planet, Commando Cody is assigned to travel to the moon in a rocket ship to investigate the theory that the attacks are being launched from there. While there, he finds that the ruler of the moon Retick has been ordering the attacks in order to pave the way for a full scale invasion of Earth, and only Commando Cody and his friends can stop it…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Radar Men from the Moon is a 1952 movie serial comprised of twelve chapters. The first chapter opens showing aerial attacks across the globe, destroying vital infrastructure. Commando Cody and his friends are visited by a government official who believes that the attacks are originating from the moon. Cody has also come to the same conclusion and coincidentally his friend ted has just finished building a rocketship that can fly to the moon. Cody and his friends travel to the moon to investigate, where they find the leader of the moon, Retik, has ordered the attacks to prepare for a full-scale invasion as the moon’s atmosphere is evaporating and making it uninhabitable. Cody manages to steal one of their ray guns and take it back to Earth, while one of the Moon’s inhabitants, Korg, who is stationed on Earth, tries to get the ray gun back and stop Cody along with his hired goons. The fundamentals of the story have been done in many serials before (Flash Gordon, Brick Bradford etc.) so it’s nothing really original, and it’s got all the usual action scenes, chases, cliffhangers and the like. I’ve reviewed so many of these serials now they all somewhat blend into one, and it takes something special to draw my attention. As I have mentioned before, this is the sort of thing you could get away with at the time, as there was no home media or way to rewatch them, and as these are mostly aimed at a younger audience, they may not have seen the older ones, so it was easy to get away with it. With the onset of television at this time though, people could start watching this serial format at home rather than going to the theatre every week, so serials would become less and less popular, although not too many people would have televisions, so the serial format had a few years of life yet. By this time though, the tropes of the format had been well and truely done to death.
This serial is the first to feature Commando Cody, who would have another serial a year later. The flying rocket suit he uses however, was featured in the 1949 serial King of the Rocket Men. There’s no continuity between the two, but as mentioned the younger audience would probably not have watched the previous serial, but may recognise the imagery, as it was quite a unique suit, and the flying mechanics and effects were something new. Radar Men from the Moon re-uses a lot of the rocket suit footage from that film of him flying through the air and such, which again it could be gotten away with at the time. The rest of the characters are the usual cast for the format: one female, a sidekick, the villainous henchman and the alien leaders dressed in bizarre clothing so you know they are alien. There’s some interesting props and sets when the cast are on the moon, with vehicles and underground bases, but that’s the only thing that really stands out. Overall, Radar Men from the Moon is just another standard sci-fi serial. Nothing horrifically bad about it, but nothing to set it apart from all the others that do the exact same thing. Just another one for the pile I guess.
