Zombies of the Stratosphere
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Zombies of the Stratosphere (Republic Studios, 1952) was intended as the second serial featuring new hero Commando Cody and the third 12-chapter serial featuring the rocket-powered flying suit introduced in King of the Rocketmen (1949).
The director was Fred C. Brannon, with screenplay by Ronald Davidson and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. The serial is remembered today mainly because Leonard Nimoy, in his first screen appearance, plays one of the two Martian invaders, Narab. Just as filming began, the name of the hero was changed to Larry Martin, as played by Judd Holdren, who had previously played Captain Video in a 1951 Columbia Pictures chapterplay, but he retains all the same sidekicks, high-tech props and laboratory facilities that Commando Cody had in the previous serial, Radar Men from the Moon. As in Radar Men from the Moon (also 1952), most screen time is expended on fist fights between the heroes and a gang of crooks hired by Narab and his extraterrestrial colleague Marex to steal and stockpile supplies needed for construction of an H-bomb to throw the earth out of orbit so Mars can take its place.
The "Republic Robot," somewhat resembling a walking hot-water heater, and first seen in Undersea Kingdom of 1936 and later and prominently in The Mysterious Dr. Satan of 1940, makes a very welcome appearance. An addition to the Rocketman outfit, seen first in this serial, is a huge two-way radio about the size of a lunchbox that Larry Martin wears hanging heavily from his belt when dressed in the flying suit. This radio is also seen in some stills of Cody in the flying suit in Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe. Martin also uses an ordinary police revolver instead of the ray gun favored by Cody in earlier and later appearances. Because most flying sequences are reused footage from earlier Rocketman films, the radio usually disappears when Cody is in flight.
Critics and viewers found the serial to be quite dull and unimaginative, not nearly as interesting as Radar Men from the Moon is. The use of stock footage from earlier serials is also not quite as overwhelming as it was in earlier or later Cody outings, as greater emphasis is placed on fistfights than scenes with the rocket suit. Holdren's performance is quite stiff and amateurish, especially when compared to the smooth professionalism of the old Republic pros who surround him on screen.
[edit] See also
[edit] References and External Links:
- Science Fiction Serials by Roy Kinnard (McFarland, NC, 1998). ISBN 0-7864-0545-7.
- Roaring Rockets Serial Pages
- Commando Cody serials
- Summary of Casts and Credits for the Republic "Rocketman" Films
- Another very detailed list of cast and credits for the "Rocketman" films
- King of the Rocket Men at the Internet Movie Database
- Radar Men from the Moon at the Internet Movie Database
- Zombies of the Stratosphere at the Internet Movie Database
- Zombies of the Stratosphere at the Internet Movie Database
- Nostalgia League article on the "Rocketman" serials
- Gary Johnson, "The Serials"
