COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE

Judd Holdren  and Aline Towne

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE  (12 episode Republic series/1953). Directors: Harry Keller; Fred C. Brannon; Franklin Adreon.

In the near-future Commando Cody (Judd Holdren of Zombies of the Stratosphere) whose identity "must" be hidden behind a mask "for security reasons," and his team are up against, the Ruler (Gregory Gaye of Dodsworth), an outer space despot who is out to take over the earth, as he has other planets, or destroy it. The Ruler creates weather changes that lead to tidal waves, destroys atomic research stations, employs germ warfare, alternately freezes the earth than causes super-high temperatures via twin suns, then tries to tilt the earth using a magnetic field. In each episode the Commando and his assistants foil the Ruler's plans, taking off to such places as the moon and Mercury when they need to in the Commando's rocketship (he also uses a jet pack to fly). There has always been a debate over whether Commando Cody is a serial or a TV show. Apparently it was originally conceived as a TV series, but for some reason was shown in theaters first as a series of short films (the episodes don't end with cliffhangers as serials usually do, but are more or less self-contained). The series was then shown on television. In any case, Commando Cody is a lot of fun, with adequate acting and more than serviceable special effects. Along with the colorless Aline Towne, William Schallert [The Man from Planet X] and Richard Crane play Cody's associates, Lyle Talbot is cast as an equally colorless earth guy working with the Ruler, and Rick Vallin plays Captain Duron. Gloria Pall is the space babe who answers messages for the Ruler; she is decorative and little else.

Verdict:  You either love this stuff or you just hate it! ***.

TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS

Khan (Jan Arvan) confers with Trader Tom ( Harry Lauter)

TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS (12 chapter Republic serial/1954). Director: Franklin Adreon.

In what is supposed to be the China seas but looks more like the coast of California, Trader Tom (Harry Lauter) is importuned to take over from a murdered special agent, James Dean (William Hudson), who was investigating smugglers who are trying to foment revolution in an Asian country by stirring up the natives; the leader of these bad guys is Tarent (Lyle Talbot, as professional and bland as ever). Captain's daughter Vivian (Aline Towne) joins with Tom to discover Tarent's hide-out and secret cache of munitions, which includes a deadly poison gas. The interesting thing about this serial is that Tom and Vivian are equal partners; she's just as brave as he is and just as likely to pull out a gun and start shooting at everyone, and Tom just seems to take it as a matter of course. When the action doesn't take place at sea or underwater -- in chapter three Tom must fight off a fat murderous fellow as his air supply is running out -- it's in the mythical country where Tom has a secret meeting with the leader Khan (Jan Arvan). This is one of the last of the Republic serials, and it's as smooth, fast-paced and entertaining as most of their product, if decidedly on the minor side. "Handsome" Harry Lauter is fine as the hero, Towne is game for anything, and Robert Shayne, Tom Steele, and Victor Sen Yung are also in the cast. Lauter had about a zillion credits and Towne was also busy, appearing in such serials as Don Daredevil Rides Again and Radar Men from the Moon.

Verdict: Standard Republic serial is nevertheless fun. **1/2.

DON DAREDEVIL RIDES AGAIN

DON DAREDEVIL RIDES AGAIN (12 chapter Republic serial/1951). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

In the old southwest, a man named Stratton (Roy Barcroft) is using phony documents to try to grab up all the land in the county. Opposing him is Patricia (Aline Towne) and her lawyer cousin, Lee (Ken Curtis), who is importuned to dress up as an ancestor who wore a mask and outfit and called himself Don Daredevil. So now Don Daredevil is back, riding out against the bad guys and keeping out of the hands of the sheriff thanks to his dual identity. DD's headquarters is in a cavern behind a waterfall. There are a few clever if unspectacular cliffhangers in this -- the hero finds himself nearly impaled on more than one occasion --  as well as a few that have been borrowed from the earlier Zorro's Black Whip. Old Buck is played by the familiar Hank Patterson while Tom Steele shows up as the usual bad guy. There's a terrific fistfight in a saloon in chapter nine. Curtis, probably most famous nowadays for Killer Shrews, makes an unusual but effective masked hero in this. Towne has very little to do. Barcroft is competent as the villain but just as colorless as ever.

Verdict: Minor serial with its share of fun moments. **1/2.

ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE

ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE (1952). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

The third and last of the rocket man serials replaces Commando Cody of the second serial (Radar Men from the Moon) with Larry Martin (Judd Holdren). Those pesky martians are at it again and trying to take over the Earth. The “zombies” of the title are simply the drone martians who work under Marex (Lane Bradford), the bad guy from Mars. (One of the zombies, Naran, is played by Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame. Marex blackmails Dr. Harding (Stanley Waxman), a scientist who's been selling atomic secrets into helping him. Working against Harding and the men from Mars are Larry and his associate Bob (Wilson Wood). [Aline Towne as get-the-coffee Sue has virtually nothing to do.] The slick production features some good cliffhanger situations, such as a thrilling train wreck in chapter one and a boat going over a dam in chapter two. There's also a kind of tin can robot and a larger, more impressive model that actually seems dangerous. The martians hide out in a cavern that has a underwater section through which they gain access to the main cave deep within. The performances are good, and the movie is fun.

Verdict: The Rocket Man Rules. ***.

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON

RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON (1952). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

Although this is generally considered the sequel to King of the Rocket Men (and the second of three Rocket Man serials), it actually introduces a new character who wears the same helmet, uniform, and rocket pack: Commando Cody, played by George Wallace. Krog (Peter Brocco), an emissary from a Moon colony that needs to relocate to Earth due to atmospheric changes that threaten their survival, leads explosive attacks on US buildings, aided by some human thugs (one of whom is Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger himself, quite good as a nasty bad guy). Earth decides to take the fight to the Moon, and Cody, pilot Hank (Wilson Wood), and Joan (Aline Towne) take off into Outer Space in a rocket built by Commando Cody. There they encounter Moon ruler Retik (Roy Barcroft), as well as more moon nasties inside tanks. (The tanks and the rocket ship are pretty neat, actually.) William Bakewell is cast as Cody's assistant Ted. Memorable cliffhangers include a flood of molten rock and a genuinely thrilling plane crash, among others. The FX are more than adequate. George Wallace may not be flamboyant or super-macho enough for some, but he imbues his character with a certain amount of quiet, manly dignity.

Verdict: More fun than a barrel of moon-men! ***. 

THE INVISIBLE MONSTER

THE INVISIBLE MONSTER (1950). 12 chapter Republic serial. Director: Fred C. Brannon.

A bad guy who calls himself The Phantom Ruler brings illegal aliens over to the United States, then forces them to do his bidding by threatening to report them. Richard Webb is the investigator called upon to battle the Ruler, along with a new female associate named Carol (Aline Towne). An interesting aspect of this serial is that Carol not only shoots with the best of them, but constantly proves that she is as brave and resourceful as the at-first patronizing Webb or anyone else. (While heroines were often brave and daring in serials, other females usually had decorative parts and had to be rescued.) The Ruler wears a black cloak and hood but his identity is revealed in the first chapter so it makes little difference; as played by Stanley Price he's especially colorless. He can turn himself and others invisible and wants to create a transparent Army to conquer the world. There are some good cliffhangers in this, including a fall out of a skyscraper, a car that crashes through the wall of a building's upper story, and a tense business with a handcar and a speeding train on the same track. Webb is fine as the stalwart hero and Towne is just great.

Verdict: Snappy, fast-paced, and a lot of dumb fun. ***.