Ad Sense

Thursday, August 13, 2020

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

Linda Stirling and Dennis Moore
THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (15 chapter Republic serial/1945). Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennett and Fred C. Brannon.

 A man from  Mars (Ray Barcroft), the first wave of an invasion force and who calls himself the "Purple Monster," kills Dr. Layton (James Craven) and periodically takes over his body to use in his nefarious schemes. (Apparently his animating the corpse of Dr. Layton also prevents obvious decomposition.) Unaware that her uncle is actually a Martian invader, Layton's niece Sheila (Linda Stirling) and her associate, Craig (Dennis Moore), an insurance investigator, find themselves persistently in deadly conflict with the Purple Monster and a variety of earth gangsters headed by a man named Garrett (Bud Geary).
Dennis Moore about to be incinerated
The Monster first wants the rocket ship invented by Layton, then goes after a deadly "annihilator," as well as a Dimensional Magnet and a Stabilizer. Naturally Craig and Sheila do their best to keep these weapons out of the hands of the Monster and his men. At one point the Monster brings in a female Martian named Marcia (Mary Moore), who kills and takes over the body of poor Helen (Rosemonde James), a scientist's assistant who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sheila and the Martian witch have a "cat fight" on top of a cliff that doesn't go well for Marcia in chapter twelve. The Monster reports to the Emperor of Mars (John Davidson), who isn't certain that Barcroft is the right man for the job.
James Craven and Dennis Moore
The Purple Monster Strikes is full of lively fight scenes and a variety of cliffhangers. Sheila is almost shot into space inside a rocket in chapter one. Craig nearly falls off a ladder between two buildings when it totters and crashes into a wall in chapter two. There is a watery death trap for Sheila in chapter six and Craig is nearly squashed by a falling auto hanging on an overhead pulley in chapter eight. A moving wall pushes Craig towards bars lined with spikes in chapter ten. Dennis Moore is swell as Craig and has one of the best voices of any leading man. Stirling is decorative and reasonably adept as well. Craven and Barcroft are enthusiastic supporting players. There is no scene showing Sheila's remorse when she learns that her uncle has been dead all this time! Craven played a scientist who forms an alliance with an invading Martian in the later Flying Disc Man from Mars.

 Verdict: Crazy but lots of action and fun. ***. 
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

4 comments:

  1. Neil A RussellAugust 13, 2020 at 11:34 PM

    I don't know how recently you watched this serial, it's been several months for me, but there was something glaring in either the last or next to last chapter (I know, it's a serial...).
    There's a scene where the hero and his girl are in the dead scientist's office waiting for the Purple Monster to show up and if I'm not mistaken, the corpse of the scientist would be in the chair across the room.
    Yet they don't say a word!
    There were a few other little hiccups but I'll have to watch it again.
    Overall it was one of the better serials!

    ReplyDelete
  2. WilliamAugust 14, 2020 at 12:39 AM

    It's been a few months since I watched this too as I "publish" posts sometimes weeks or months in advance of the actual publication, right after I've watched them. (I'm even confusing myself.)

    Anyway I've no doubt there are a few head-scratching moments in "Purple Monster." It also may be that they thought the scientist-uncle was only unconscious -- after all he wasn't decomposing or they would have noticed (or not).

    I agree - it was a real fun serial!

    ReplyDelete
  3. angelman66August 14, 2020 at 10:16 AM

    Mm, Dennis Moore. I gotta watch more B movies!
    -Chris

    ReplyDelete
  4. WilliamAugust 14, 2020 at 11:07 AM

    Yes, Mr. Moore was a very attractive fellow with what one might call a "bedroom voice." He had one official wife, but reportedly he had several others. He mostly appeared in low-budget westerns and did a few serials. Attacked a co-star with a knife while drunk but the other fellow forgave him! Anyway, in the next decade heavy drinking had taken its toil and he looked years older than he was, cast as old men when he was only middle-aged. Too bad. He was not a bad actor.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)