Radar Men from the Moon (1952)

Director:

Fred C. Brannon

Writer:

Ronald Davidson (written by)

Release Date:

9 January 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

HILLS OF DEATH! SUPER-SCIENCE STRUGGLE!

Plot:

Strategic targets on Earth are being destroyed by an unknown weapon. Government security head Henderson...

Plot Keywords:

Archive Footage | Planet | USA | Killer | Duplicity

Cast

George Wallace	...	Commando Cody
Aline Towne	...	Joan Gilbert
Roy Barcroft	...	Retik, Ruler of the Moon
William Bakewell	...	Ted Richards (Cody's lab assistant)
Clayton Moore	...	Graber - Henchman
Peter Brocco	...	Krog
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Daly (Graber's Henchman) (as Bob Stevenson)
Don Walters	...	Mr. Henderson
Tom Steele	...	Zerg
Dale Van Sickel	...	Alon
Wilson Wood	...	Hank (Cody's Pilot)
Noel Cravat	...	Robal
Baynes Barron	...	Nesor, Retik's Lab Aide [Ch.2]
Paul McGuire	...	Bream
Ted Thorpe	...	Al's Cafe Bartender [Ch. 6, 7, 12]

Also Known As:

Planet Men from Mars (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

167 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Made by Republic in the final years of serial production, it recycled the "rocketman suit" from the studio's wildly popular serial King of the Rocket Men (1949).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ordering the rocket ship to turn around the pilot is told to make a "quick 360" turn. In fact, a 360 turn would simply turn the ship completely around in a circle to resume it's present course.

Quotes:

Graber: How 'bout a ride to town, mister?
Motorist: Sure. Hop in.
Graber: There's a man in a flying suit chasing us. Step on it.
Motorist: Huh?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Corpse Vanishes (#2.4)" (1989)

Ludicrous, but groundbreaking

O.K., let's forget about all the little inaccuracies of the series, from clouds on the moon or the fact that Commando Cody always escapes from the deadly peril in a scene we didn't see in the last episode's cliffhanger.

Let's remember that fabulous flying rocket suit, which spurred the imaginations of both scientists at Bell Labs who tried to recreate it, to the imitators, such as the graphic novel turned movie, "The Rocketeer" or several episodes of "Star Trek:Voyager" spoofing the classic Republic serials.

Add to it the incredible work of brothers Howard and Theodore Lydecker, whose expert flying rigs made all the amazing flights so realistic (I dare you to find the wires attached to the models!). Their work became the industry standard long before computerized digital effects. They were responsible for the smooth flights of fancy by famous fantasy crafts such as the Flying Sub in "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea", the Proteus in "Fantastic Voyage" and the Jupiter II in "Lost In Space" (Look to the third episode of the series, where the Jupiter II crash lands on the first alien world, as the saucer emerges from the fog over a ridge. Irwin Allen knew he had a winning effect, so to save money (He was Mister Cheap), he shot it in color, to be used again two seasons later when the series upgraded from B&W).