''King of the Rocket Men'' is a 1949 12-chapter

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

movie serial from

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City a ...

, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed

Fred C. Brannon Fred C. Brannon (April 26, 1901 – April 6, 1953) was an American film director of the 1940s and 1950s. He directed over 40 films between 1945 and his death. His first film ''The Purple Monster Strikes'' in 1945 was co-directed with Spencer ...

, that stars Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke,

Don Haggerty Don Haggerty (July 3, 1914 – August 19, 1988) was an American actor of film and television. Early life and education Before he began appearing in films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the United States Army ...

House Peters, Jr. Robert House Peters Jr. (January 12, 1916 – October 1, 2008) was an American character actor most noted for his roles in 1950s B movies and westerns. He is perhaps best remembered as the face and body of Mr. Clean in the Procter and Gamble cl ...

, James Craven, and I. Stanford Jolley. This movie serial is notable for featuring the only character actually called "Rocket Man", a misnomer applied by fans to the other Republic rocket-powered heroes that followed in their later serials: ''

Radar Men from the Moon ''Radar Men from the Moon'' is a 1952 black-and-white Republic Pictures' 12-chapter movie serial, the first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody, Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, and serial veteran Roy Barcroft ...

'' (1952), ''

Zombies of the Stratosphere ''Zombies of the Stratosphere'' is a 1952 black-and-white Republic Studios serial directed by Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson, and special effects by Republic's Lydecker brothers. It was intended to be Republic's second se ...

'' (1952), and '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe'' (1953).

Plot

An evil genius of unknown identity, calling himself "Dr. Vulcan" (heard only as a voice and seen as a mysterious shadow on a brightly lit wall), plots to conquer the world. He needs to first eliminate, one by one, the members of the Science Associates, an organization of America's greatest scientists. After narrowly escaping an attempt on his life by Vulcan, one member of Science Associates, Dr. Millard ( James Craven) goes into hiding. He soon outfits another member, Jeff King ( Tristram Coffin) with an advanced, atomic-powered rocket backpack, attached to a leather jacket with a bullet-shaped, aerodynamic flight helmet, and a raygun that they had been developing together. Using the flying jacket and helmet and other inventions provided by Dr. Millard, and aided by magazine reporter and photographer Glenda Thomas ( Mae Clarke), Jeff King, as Rocket Man, battles Vulcan and his

henchmen A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies pri ...

through a dozen action-packed Republic serial chapters. Eventually, Vulcan steals Millard's most dangerous invention, a Sonic Decimator, and uses it to flood, then destroy New York City. The mysterious Dr. Vulcan is eventually unmasked and brought to justice by Jeff King while in his Rocket Man persona.

Chapter titles

#"Dr. Vulcan – Traitor" (20min) #"Plunging Death" (13min 20s) #"Dangerous Evidence" (13min 20s) #"High Peril" (13min 20s) #"Fatal Dive" (13min 20s) #"Mystery of the Rocket Man" (13min 20s) #"Molten Menace" (13min 20s) #"Suicide Flight" (13min 20s) #"Ten Seconds to Live" (13min 20s) #"The Deadly Fog" (13min 20s), a re-cap chapter #"Secret of Dr. Vulcan" (13min 20s) #"Wave of Disaster" (13min 20s) _Source:

Cast

* Tristram Coffin as Jeff King aka Rocket Man * Mae Clarke as Glenda Thomas *

as Tony Dirken *

as Burt Winslow * James Craven as Dr. Millard * I. Stanford Jolley as Professor Bryant/Dr. Vulcan * Stanley Price as Gunther Von Strum * Ted Adams as Martin Conway * Marshall Bradford as Dr. Graffner

Production

Kirk Alyn Kirk Alyn (born John Feggo Jr.; October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial ''Superman'' and its 1950 sequel ''At ...

was considered for the lead as Jeff King/Rocket Man, but the part eventually went to Coffin. ''King of the Rocket Men'' was budgeted at $164,984, although the final negative cost was $165,592 (a $608, or 0.4%, overspend); it was the most expensive Republic serial of 1949. The serial, Republic production number 1704, was filmed between April 6 and 27, 1949. The main character in this serial was Jeff King, otherwise known as Rocket Man. His flight sequences were inspired by the Buck Rogers comic strip.Harmon and Glut 1973, pp. 282–283, 285–288. Two streamlined, bullet-shaped prop helmets were used with the sonic-powered, rocket-equipped backpack attached to a leather flying jacket. The first was made of lighter-weight materials and worn only during the various stunt action scenes; during filming, the single-hinged visors on both helmets frequently warped and would stick open or closed. ''King of the Rocket Men'' lacks a colorful costumed

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...

along the lines of Republic's earlier serials ''

Adventures of Captain Marvel ''Adventures of Captain Marvel'' is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English and William Witney, that stars Tom Tyler in the title role of Captain ...

'' and ''

The Crimson Ghost ''The Crimson Ghost'' is a 1946 American film serial directed by Fred C. Brannon and William Witney. Produced by Republic Pictures and written by Albert DeMond, Basil Dickey, Jesse Duffy, and Sol Shor, it was the last serial that Witney dir ...

''. The final chapter's flooding and destruction footage had previously been used by the studio as the centerpiece for 1941's ''

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. ''Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.'' (1941) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials. It was the last of ...

''.

Stunts

* David Sharpe as Jeff King/Tony Dirken/Prof Bryant (doubling Tristram Coffin in rocket suit, Don Haggerty & I. Stanford Jolley) * Tom Steele as Jeff King/Burt Winslow (doubling Tristram Coffin and House Peters, Jr.) *

Dale Van Sickel Dale Harris Van Sickel (November 29, 1907 – January 25, 1977) was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years. Van ...

as Jeff King/Tony Dirken (doubling Tristram Coffin in the helmet/rocket backpack and Don Haggerty) * Carey Loftin as Burt Winslow (doubling House Peters Jr) * Eddie Parker *

Bud Wolfe Roland "Bud" Wolfe (January 12, 1918 – January 28, 1994), was an American pilot who parachuted from an RAF Spitfire plane into a peat bog on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland, on 30 November 1941. The incident initiated a dip ...

Rocket Man in action was played by three different Republic stuntmen. Dave Sharpe performed the leaps into the air and acrobatics necessary to simulate flight. Tom Steele was the second stuntman in the rocket pack and helmet, and Dale Van Sickel took the role when Steele and Sharpe were unavailable or were being used in the same stunt shot. The first appearance of Rocket Man (Dave Sharpe) has him flying directly into the back of a fast-moving, tarp-covered truck, driven by stuntman Tom Steele, then getting into a fist-fight with Vulcan's henchmen; in that same fight sequence Tom Steele is also the stuntman in the Rocket Man costume.

Special effects

Several shots in the serial feature the Rocket Man character flying across broad vistas of barren landscape, an effect achieved by Howard and Theodore Lydecker running a full-sized dummy on internal pulleys along a very long, taut wire tilted at a downward angle to the horizontal. The same strategy had produced remarkable flying sequences in the earlier Republic serial ''

'' (1941). Dave Sharpe's take-offs were accomplished with concealed springboards, and his landings by simply jumping down from some raised position into the film frame. The shots of King as Rocket Man taking off, flying, and landing were reused in three subsequent Republic productions featuring flying heroes: ''

'' (1952), ''

'' (1952), and '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe'' (1953). Rocket Man's raygun "appeared to be a German Luger (acceptable in this post-wartime serial) with a silvery cone propped over the barrel". The tidal wave in the serial's final chapter is actually

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stoc ...

taken from RKO's once-thought-lost science fiction feature film, '' Deluge'' (1933). Stock footage was being used for most of the chapters' cliffhanger endings, showing the "downward trend of late 1940s Republic serials".

Release

Theatrical

''King of the Rocket Mens official release date was June 8, 1949, although this was actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. A 65-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on July 25, 1951; it was one of 14 feature films Republic made from their serials. The title was changed to '' Lost Planet Airmen'' after using the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

s ''The Lost Planet'' and ''Lost Planetmen''. The ending was changed for the feature version. Instead of New York City being reduced to rubble by a deluge, as in the serial, those events are dismissed as just the "dream of a mad man" and did not really happen. (A similar change was made in the feature version of '' Drums of Fu Manchu''.) ''King of the Rocket Men'' was re-released on July 16, 1956 between the similar re-releases of ''

Adventures of Frank and Jesse James ''Adventures of Frank and Jesse James'' is a 1948 Republic film serial directed by Fred C. Brannon and Yakima Canutt and starring Clayton Moore, Steve Darrell, Noel Neill, George J. Lewis, John Crawford, and Sam Flint. Plot Cast * Clayton ...

'' and ''

Federal Operator 99 ''Federal Operator 99'' is a 1945 Republic film serial. It was later edited down into a feature version titled ''F.B.I. 99'' for television. The serial is about an FBI agent named Jerry Blake who battles gentleman thief Jim Belmont, who escapes ...

''. The last original Republic serial release was ''

King of the Carnival ''King of the Carnival'' (1955) is a Republic movie serial that contains a substantial amount of stock footage from the earlier Republic serial ''Daredevils of the Red Circle''. It is the 66th and final serial produced by Republic and is often ...

'' in 1955.

Critical reception

Film historian William C. Cline describes this serial as "one of Republic's last cliff-hangers with any originality to it". He singles out Clarke's performance, noting she is "a refreshing note in an otherwise routine proceeding".Cline 1984, p. 91.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Cline, William C. "2. In Search of Ammunition"; "5. A Cheer for the Champions (The Heroes and Heroines)"; "11. New Masks for New Heroes "Get That Masked Trouble Maker"; "Filmography". ''In the Nick of Time''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. . * Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. "8. The Detectives "Gangbusters!"; "9. The Superheroes "Could Superman Knock Out Captain Marvel"; "11. New Masks for New Heroes "Get That Masked Trouble Maker". ''The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury''. London: Routledge Publishing, 1973. . * Mathis, Jack. ''Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement''. South Barrington, Illinois: Jack Mathis Advertising, 1995. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. ''To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. .

External links

* *
Detailed Review of ''King of the Rocket Men''

* ttp://www.colemanzone.com/Cody's_Commandos/ A tribute page for all the Rocket Man serials* {{DEFAULTSORT:King Of The Rocket Men 1949 films 1940s science fiction films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Republic Pictures film serials Films directed by Fred C. Brannon American aviation films Films adapted into comics American science fiction films 1940s American films