King of the Rocket Men (1949)

Director:

Fred C. Brannon

Writers:

Royal K. Cole (written by) and
William Lively (written by) ...

Release Date:

8 June 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

And they hit the moon! 12 thrilling chapters about the most fascinating man who ever lived! (original poster)

Plot:

Jeff King in his experimental rocket suit battles the evil Dr. Vulcan.

Plot Keywords:

Secret | Science | Remote Control | Professor | Rescue

Cast

Tristram Coffin	...	Jeff King
Mae Clarke	...	Glenda Thomas
Don Haggerty	...	Tony Dirken
House Peters Jr.	...	Burt Winslow
James Craven	...	Prof. Millard [Chs. 1-7, 10]
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Prof. Bryant
Douglas Evans	...	Chairman [Ch. 12]
Ted Adams	...	Martin Conway [Chs. 1-4]
Stanley Price	...	Gunther Von Strum
Dale Van Sickel	...	Prof. Drake [Ch. 1] / Henchman Gates [Chs. 6-7, 9-11]
Tom Steele	...	Henchman Knox [Chs. 1, 3-4, 7] / Taxi Driver [Chs. 10-11]
David Sharpe	...	Henchman Blears / Cliff / Stark
Eddie Parker	...	Rowan [Ch. 3]
Michael Ferro	...	Henchman Turk [Ch. 8]
Frank O'Connor	...	Warehouse Guard [Chs. 1, 10]

Runtime:

167 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

As in other Republic serials, Republic's top stuntmen, Dale Van Sickel, Tom Steele and David Sharpe, not only did stunts for other actors, they were given multiple roles throughout the serial. The audience were meant to see only one episode per week and therefore not expected to remember the faces of each henchman or extra.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Misery (1990)

The BEST movie serial ever (next to The Adventures of Captain Marvel)

King of the Rocket Men is one of the most original movie serials ever produced post-WWII. This is the stuff that dreams are still made of. What kid wouldn't give anything to be able to fly in a sonically propelled rocket pack and kick some bad guys butt? More than 50 years after it was made, this serial still has the pulse-quickening action adventure and really great acting that made it the classic that it is. The acting was serious, which made you believe this could actually happen. These actors were highly under-appreciated, yet were better than many of the celebrity "actors" that demand to be the center of attention today. The Rocketeer was based on this serial, and even though it had great production, it just barely induced the kind of excitement Jeff King gave us for 12 exciting episodes. It's a shame the sequels to this were silly and unbelievable. Allen Duffis hit the nail on the head. This is the standard that ALL of the Saturday morning and prime time adventure shows that came after wished they could be. The only thing that was as good was the first Indiana Jones movie, and that got it's inspiration from show's like this. I still marvel at the flying scenes through the canyons and across the Culver City skyline, which still look so real it's breath-taking. The Liedecker Brothers were geniuses. I wish they could make new serials just as good as this one today. I wish a really good sharp copy of these serials could be professionally put on DVD to preserve these serials forever. This one deserves to be protected for the future.