Main Cast: George Wallace, Aline Towne, Roy Barcroft, William Bakewell, Clayton Moore
Release Year: 1952
Country: US
Run Time: 12ch minutes
Plot
In the second of Republic Pictures' three "Rocket Man" serials, the government assigns Commando Cody (George Wallace) to look into a series of strange atomic explosions threatening the United States' defense systems. As Cody discovers, the threat comes from the Moon, whose ruler, Retik (Roy Barcroft), is planning an invasion of Mother Earth due to a severe lack of atmosphere on his own planet. Retik works through Krog (Peter Brocco), an inter-planetary henchman who does all the financing and hiring on Earth. Unfortunately, the hooded lunar visitor fails miserably on both fronts: the preparations for the invasion are severely under funded and the hired guns, such as former prison inmate Graber (Clayton Moore), less than competent. But despite these caveats, Commando Cody and his fellow space travelers, Joan Gilbert (Aline Towne) and Ted Richards (William Bakewell), have to suffer through 12 chapters before finally destroying the threat from the planet Moon. Radar Men From the Moon was filmed between October 17, 1951, and November 6, 1951, on a budget of $172,840. Most location filming, not excluding plenty of stock footage from earlier Republic serials, was done at the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, California. The serial was followed by a brief television series, Commando Cody: Sky Marshal, which retained Aline Towne as Joan Gilbert but replaced George Wallace and William Bakewell with Judd Holdren and William Schallert. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Review
Because of Republic Pictures' budget restrictions, due mainly to the increasing threat from television, Radar Men From the Moon has a goofy feel to it not unlike the sci-fi travails of Edward D. Wood, Jr. For one thing, considering the threat of a lunar invasion, the United States government seems fairly lackadaisical, depending solely on Commando Cody and his "rocket suit." Ah, yes, Cody also commandeers a rather sparse space ship featuring what for all intent and purposes looks like office chairs on rollers. Not that the opposition is all that fierce, either, consisting mostly of a couple of tightlipped thugs and their baroque ruler Retik, the latter played by veteran Republic villain Roy Barcroft who remembered spending a single day filming his scenes in a modified version of the outfit he had worn in 1945's The Purple Monster Strikes. In the same vein, the spectacular lunar city over which he lords comes complete from Darkest Africa (1935). The casting of the rather dour George Wallace in the lead -- instead of, say, handsome Clayton Moore, who is relegated to playing a henchman -- may seem strange but at this early stage in his career, Wallace bore a striking resemblance to ace stuntman Dale Van Sickel, a much more persuasive factor at Republic than mere looks and acting prowess. Yet despite wooden acting (a cigar store Indian is livelier than the Wallace-Towne-Bakewell combo), slipshod production values and the inevitable budget-saving recap chapter (# 10 in this case), Radar Men From the Moon remains highly entertaining, what with the customary fine special effects by the Lydecker brothers and such verbal highlights as Miss Towne persuading Commando Cody to bring her along on the very first manned trip to outer space by reminding him how felicitous it will be to "have someone along to cook your meals." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Peter Brocco - Krog; Bob Stevenson - Daly; Don Walters - Henderson; Tom Steele - Zerg; Dale Van Sickel - Alon; Wilson Wood - Hank; Noel Cravat - Robal; Baynes Barron - Nasor; Paul McGuire - Bream; Ted Thorpe - Bartender; Dick Cogan - Jones; Stephen Gregory - Gregory; Paul Palmer - Bill; Harry Hollins - Brad; Carey Loftin - man; Jack Shea - Officer Doyle; Billy Dix - Duke; William Marke - guard; Claude Dunkin - Kern; Sam Sebby - Moon scout; Arthur Walsh - motorcycle officer; Joe Bailey - police officer; Guy Teague - police officer; Dick Rich - police officer; Tony Merrill - sam; John Marshall - Smith; Ken Terrell - stunts
Credit
Fred A. Ritter - Art Director, Franklin Adreon - Associate Producer, Fred C. Brannon - Director, Cliff Bell - Editor, Stanley Wilson - Musical Direction/Supervision, John MacBurnie - Cinematographer, John McBurnie - Cinematographer, James S. Redd - Set Designer, John McCarthy - Set Designer, Howard Lydecker - Special Effects, Theodore Lydecker - Special Effects, Dick Tyler - Sound/Sound Designer, Roy Wade - Unit Production Manager, Ronald Davidson - Screenwriter, Bob Mark - Makeup Supervisor, James S. Redd - Set Decorator, John McCarthy - Set Decorator
Radar Men from the Moon (Republic Pictures, 1952) was the first Commando Cody serial, in 12 chapters, starring newcomer George Wallace (1917-2005) as Cody and Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, with serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. It was also released as a television film under the new title Retik the Moon Menace (1966).
This famous serial recycles the rocket-powered flying suit from King of the Rocket Men (1949). The main character, Commando Cody, is a civilian researcher with a sizable staff of employees and a large laboratory building. (The building is actually the front office of Republic Pictures with a "Cody Laboratories" sign attached next to the door.)
Commando Cody has available for his use the rocket-powered flying suit and a rocket ship capable of reaching the moon. When the U.S. finds itself under attack from a mysterious something that wipes out military bases and industrial complexes, Cody deduces that the Earth faces a menace from our own moon, and rockets there to discover and confront the moon's dictator Retik, who boldly announces plans to conquer our planet and move his subjects there.
Cody spends most of the serial's running time on Earth battling an elusive lunar native called Krog and the gang of human crooks he has hired to steal and stockpile supplies for the invasion. Clayton Moore plays Krog's chief Earthling assistant.
Radar Men from the Moon's first chapter spawned the somewhat famous expression "Atomic activity on the Moon. Atomic blast on the Earth" (uttered by Henderson when divulging to the scientists the government's research conclusions).
Cast
George Wallace as Commando Cody. The character Commando Cody is introduced in this serial. The character is announced before the title in the opening credits and above both the title and actors names in the posters.[1]
Roy Barcroft as Retik, Ruler of the Moon. Barcroft was cast as Retik to match the stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes. He wears the same costume in both serials.[2]
Radar Men from the Moon was budgeted at $172,840 although the final negative cost was $185,702 (a $12,862, or 7.4%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1952.[1] It was filmed between 17 October and 6 November 1951 under the working title Planet Men from Mars.[1] The serial's production number was 1932.[1]
However the numbers may look, in practice the budget was so tight that there was no stunt double for lead actor George Wallace. His nose was broken while filming a fight with Clayton Moore. The actor was also suspended (by lying on a board with the rocket suit's jacket closed around it) in front of a rear projection screen for some flying shots. Wallace performed his own take-offs by jumping onto a springboard that would send him over the camera.[3]
The serial is heavily padded with footage from King of the Rocket Men, to which this was a pseudo-sequel. A repainted Juggernaut from Undersea Kingdom is also used.[2] Radar Men from the Moon shows space to be brightly lit and the characters walking on the moon in normal gravity without a suit.[2] The exterior of Commando Cody's office is really the Republic Pictures office.[2]
Two helmets were used for the Commando Cody costume, with a lighter version for use in the stunt scenes. The visors of the helmets would always get stuck. [2]
Release
Theatrical
Radar Men from the Moon's official release date is 9 January 1952, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]
This was followed by a re-release of Perils of Nyoka, re-titled as Nyoka and the Tigermen, instead of a new serial. The next new serial, Zombies of the Stratosphere, which also used the flying suit and related stock effects footage seen here, followed in the summer.[1]
Radar Men from the Moon was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to Retik the Moon Menace. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.[1]
Mystery Science Theater 3000
In 1989, the serial regained notoriety as the first shorts used by the cult classic Mystery Science Theater 3000. The first nine-and-a-half chapters of the serial were lampooned before the main feature of the week. (Only half of the tenth installment was shown, with the in-show excuse being that "the film broke".)
Critical reception
Cline describes this serial as just a "quickie."[4]
