THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

Dennis Moore and Linda Stirling

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (15-chapter Republic serial/1945). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred C. Brannon. Colorized. 

A malevolent visitor from Mars who is inexplicably called the "Purple Monster" (Roy Barcroft) kills scientist Cyrus Layton (James Craven), and inhabits his corpse -- when he isn't in his own body -- as he goes about his deadly business. His main goal is to steal an interplanetary jet plane that will get him back to Mars so he can lead a major invasion force. Working against him are Layton's niece, Sheila (Linda Stirling, and agent Craig Foster (Dennis Moore). Working with the Purple Monster are would-be extortionist Hodge Garrett (Bud Geary) and -- briefly -- the Martian witch Marcia (Mary Moore), who tries to throw Sheila off of a cliff. 

Dennis Moore in a death trap

The Purple Monster Strikes is another lively Republic cliffhanger that moves at a breakneck pace, has an exciting musical score that bolsters every scene, action-packed fisticuffs in which every bit of furniture is broken as the antagonists literally hurl themselves at each other, and some memorable cliffhangers. Foster nearly falls to his death when a ladder is toppled in chapter one; a car in a garage plummets down onto the hero in chapter eight; and a clever phone trap has Foster nearly punctured by sharp rods when iron bars come down from the ceiling. Meanwhile Sheila nearly drowns when she falls into a room through a trapdoor, a room that rapidly fills with rushing water. 

Roy Barcroft and Bud Geary

However, if you're expecting logic be warned that it is not in great supply in this serial. For instance, in the aforementioned sequence there is simply no reason why a kindly professor would have such a secret room under the floor in his laboratory. The whole business with Tony (Anthony Warde), a supposedly blind associate of Garrett's, doesn't make much sense. The actors go through their paces with professionalism, although Stirling mostly seems bored. Handsome Moore is a stalwart hero, however. Craven and Barcroft show why they were both much in demand for serial action. John Davidson appears a couple of times as the Emperor of Mars, as does Ken Terrell as another bad guy. Stuntman and actor Bud Geary had nearly 300 credits in serials, westerns, and other types of movies, generally playing nasty gunsels. 

Verdict: Fun cliffhanger from Republic! ***. 

PROJECT MOON BASE

Ross Ford and Donna Martell

PROJECT MOON BASE (1953). Director: Richard Talmadge.

A foreign agent named Roundtree (Herb Jacobs) engineers the substitution of a prominent scientist, Dr Wernher (Larry Johns), for a duplicate whose mission is to destroy the U.S. space station. (From there the Americans hope to eventually build a base on the moon.) During the switch, Roundtree pretends to be a bellboy! Colonel Briteis (Donna Martell) is to pilot a ship to the moon but there is a slight contretemps when she learns her co-pilot is to be her former boyfriend, the handsome Major Moore (Ross Ford of Reform School Girl). "Wernher" comes along with the bickering couple -- who are secretly in love, of course -- but gives the game away when he doesn't know the name of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team -- he must be a spy! 

the space station

Very little happens even after this revelation, as the phony scientist is easily subdued and not very threatening in any case. There's a lot of talk and minimal, if decent, special effects work. Project Moon Base was the pilot for a television program that was released to theaters instead, where people had to pay to see something that wouldn't have been worth watching for free. Hayden Rorke, who plays the project head, later wound up on I Dream of Jeannie, and indeed he plays General Greene as if he were in a sitcom. Barbara Morrison also plays reporter Polly Prattles (!) as if this were a sitcom. James Craven of innumerable cliffhanger serials has a small role. The only really interesting thing about the movie, which was co-scripted (and disavowed) by Robert Heinlein, is that both the chief moon pilot and American president are women. 

Verdict: Pretty bad. *1/2. 

FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS -- IN COLOR!

Walter Reed and James Craven

FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS (12-chapter Republic serial/1950.) Director: Fred C. Brannon. Colorized.

Martian Mota (Gregory Gaye) has come to earth and enlisted a former Nazi scientist named Bryant (James Craven of The Purple Monster Strikes) to assist him in conquering the planet, something which Bryant seems eager to do. His chief opponents are Air Patrol security officers Kent Fowler (Walter Reed of Government Agents vs Phantom Legion), Helen Hall (Lois Collier), and Steve (Sandy Sanders). Since Mota's spaceship, or flying disc, has been destroyed, Bryant helps him construct what he calls a smaller "semi-disc" which is hidden inside a volcano HQ when it isn't in use. For twelve chapters Fowler and his associates do their level best to foil the dastardly plans of Mota, Bryant and their own associates, including Drake (Harry Lauter of It Came from Beneath the Sea) and Ryan (Richard Irving). 

The fabulous "seni-disc"

Fred C. Brannon had co-directed a number of Republic serials but eventually helmed the productions single-handedly and did just fine. Flying Disc Man moves at a swift pace and is colorful, action-packed fun. Fowler is one of the luckiest heroes in serials as on two occasions he survives falls from great heights -- in planes no less -- merely by landing on some bushes or a hay stack (this after falling through a bomb bay)! There are also exciting cliffhangers involving a train trestle, a fiery rag stuffed into a gas tank, oil from a rocket ignited by sparks, and others. The actors all go through their paces playing it in just the right note. 

Verdict: Even more fun in color! ***. 

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. ***. 

FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS

Walter Reed and James Craven

FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS (12 chapter Republic serial/1950). Director: Fred C. Brannon. 

Dr. Bryant (James Craven of King of the Rocket Men), a possible German sympathizer during WW 2, fears that some strange flying ships are spying on his laboratories, so he sets out to find one -- and discovers a Martian man named Mota (Gregory Gaye) who just happens to have an Italian accent. As is typical in these serials, Mota is the lone advance guard for an invasion force, and he assures Bryant that if he helps him he will be made emperor of the Earth once the Martians take over. The two men enlist the aid of criminals Drake (Harry Lauter) and Ryan (Richard Irving), and their first mission is to get themselves some uranium for weapons. Many other dastardly deeds, including murder, follow.

the wild "semi-disc Plane"

Fighting against Mota and his associates are Kent Fowler (Walter Reed) of "Fowler Air Patrol" (whatever that means) and his assistants Steve (Sandy Sanders) and Helen (Lois Collier). Mota and his gang fly around in a weird-looking "semi-disc plane" and shrewdly -- or stupidly -- have their main HQ inside an active volcano! Kent has to make do with ordinary planes, at least three of which are utterly destroyed during the proceedings. At one point Kent manages to get inside the flying disc only to be dropped out of the bomb bay in mid-air. Kent also blacks out as he reaches too high an altitude in pursuit of the disc, nearly leading to disaster (and another wrecked plane). In chapter seven the prone Kent is nearly sliced in two by a heavy metal door sliding down upon him, and is apparently thrown into a furnace in chapter four. (In a blatant and amusing "cheat," in the next chapter we suddenly see that it's another man who falls into the furnace.)

Sanders, Collier, Reed

At least in this serial one of the characters, Bryant, displays some astonishment at the realization that an alien is walking around on the earth, a situation which most people take in stride in these chapter plays as if it were an everyday occurrence. Stanley Wilson's musical score, especially the theme, helps keep things hopping, and the FX work of the Lydecker brothers works swell for this type of production. Walter Reed amassed nearly 300 credits during his long career, and pretty Collier had over sixty. Sanders did a lot of TV and western film work. Gregory Gaye (also spelled "Gay" in many productions) had close to 200 credits. Harry Lauter played the hero in the cliffhanger Trader Tom of the China Seas and King of the Carnival. The acting in this is professional all around but no one is especially distinctive. 

Verdict: Fun, exciting Republic serial. ***. 

KING OF THE ROCKET MEN

The Rocket Man takes to the air

KING OF THE ROCKET MEN (12 Chapter Republic serial/1949). Director: Fred C. Brannon. 

Jeffrey King (Tristram Coffin) is the director of security for a group called Science Associates, and also happens to be a rocket propulsion expert. When a series of scientists are killed in "accidents" Jeff helps Professor Millard (James Craven) fake his own death so that he can work in secret against the person responsible. Millard creates an atomic-powered rocket suit that Jeff (and at one point Millard) wears as "Rocket Man." His opponent is the mysterious Dr. Vulcan, whom both Jeff and Millard suspect is one of the members of the Science Associates board. 

Mae Clarke and Don Haggerty

King of the Rocket Men is the first of three Republic serials -- four if you count Commando Cody, the serial/TV series -- that use the rocket man suit and feature a flying hero who has various identities. This serial is exciting and suspenseful as our hero dodges a river of lava in a cave (chapter six) and other dastardly traps. The cliffhangers generally aren't that inventive, but there is still a lot of action and fun. The climactic chapter features Dr. Vulcan unleashing his "decimator" and practically destroying Manhattan, wherein stock footage from the old disaster flick Deluge -- still impressive -- comes in. Jeff's partner is Burt Winslow (House Peters Jr.) and both men suspect the other of being in league with Vulcan at various points during the serial. 

Tristram Coffin

Other cast members include Mae Clarke, famous for Frankenstein and the grapefruit scene in Public Enemy, who plays feisty reporter Glenda Thomas. At 39 Clarke was older than the typical serial heroine or female colleague. Don Haggerty makes an impression as the persistent thug Dirken who works for Dr. Vulcan. Stanley Wilson's music score keeps things hopping, and everything moves at a very swift pace. Tristram Coffin was offered a very rare leading role in this serial; he appeared in a number of previous serials in supporting or villainous roles. Coffin amassed 260 credits, and appeared in numerous movies and TV shows such as the "Country Club Dance" episode of I Love Lucy. 

Verdict: Great fun for serial devotees. ***.