Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)

Director:

Fred C. Brannon

Writer:

Ronald Davidson (written by)

Release Date:

16 July 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Invasion From A Mystery Planet!

Plot:

The invaders come to Earth to create an H-bomb to blast Earth out of orbit so that Mars can take its place.

Plot Keywords:

Earth | Martian | Orbit | Security | Agent

Cast

Judd Holdren	...	Larry Martin
Aline Towne	...	Sue Davis
Wilson Wood	...	Bob Wilson
Lane Bradford	...	Marex
Stanley Waxman	...	Dr. Harding
John Crawford	...	Roth
Craig Kelly	...	Mr. Steele
Ray Boyle	...	Shane
Leonard Nimoy	...	Narab
Tom Steele	...	Thug in Launch [Ch. 3] / Truck Driver [Ch. 8]
Dale Van Sickel	...	Peralta Junction Station Agent [Chs. 1, 10]
Roy Engel	...	Boat Charter Operator [Ch. 3]
Jack Harden	...	Kerr
Paul Stader	...	Dock Heavy [Ch. 7]
Gayle Kellogg	...	Dick the Rocketship Pilot
Jack Shea	...	Rocketship Guard [Ch. 2]
Robert Garabedian	...	Elah - Zombie Pilot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Alten	...	Second Train Heavy [Ch. 1] (archive footage) (uncredited)
Roy Barcroft	...	Central Control Radio Operator [Chs. 1, 11] / Ross [Ch. 4] (voice) (uncredited)
Davison Clark	...	Ferndale Policeman [Ch. 5] (archive footage) (uncredited)
Floyd Criswell	...	Ferndale Policeman [Ch. 5] (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Daheim	...	Man (uncredited)
Paul Gustine	...	Plane Pilot [Ch. 4] (archive footage) (uncredited)
Cactus Mack	...	Gomez Siding Switchman [Ch. 1] (archive footage) (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	First Train Heavy [Ch. 1] (archive footage) (uncredited)
Henry Rowland	...	Dapper Gangster on Plane [Ch. 4] (archive footage) (uncredited)
Robert Strange	...	Sub Quartermaster [Ch. 7] (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ken Terrell	...	Man (uncredited)
Norman Willis	...	Sub Captain [Ch. 7] (archive footage) (uncredited)
Clifton Young	...	Ross - Smuggler Boss [Ch. 4] (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred C. Brannon

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ronald Davidson		written by

Produced by
Franklin Adreon	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Stanley Wilson

Cinematography by
John MacBurnie		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Cliff Bell Sr.		(as Cliff Bell)

Art Direction by
Fred A. Ritter

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.
James Redd

Makeup Department
Bob Mark	....	makeup supervisor
Peggy Gray	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Roy Wade	....	unit manager

Sound Department
Dick Tyler Sr.	....	sound (as Dick Tyler)

Special Effects by
Howard Lydecker	....	special effects
Theodore Lydecker	....	special effects
J. Lawrence Cassingham	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Stunts
John Daheim	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Magrill	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	....	stunt double: Judd Holdren (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adele Palmer	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Robert Armbruster	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
David Buttolph	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
R. Dale Butts	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Anthony Collins	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Mort Glickman	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Ernest Gold	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Frank Perkins	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Jerry Roberts	....	musical director (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Nathan Scott	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Victor Young	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
J. Lawrence Cassingham	....	technical advisor
John E. Baker	....	vice president of studio operations (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Republic Pictures (I)

Distributors

• Republic Pictures (I) (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• British Lion Film Corporation (1952) (UK) (theatrical)
• British Empire Films Canada (1952) (Canada) (theatrical)
• British Empire Films Australia (1952) (Australia) (theatrical)
• British Empire Films (N.Z.) (1952) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Republic Pictures (I) (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Roan Group, The (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  optical effects
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

167 min (12 chapters)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15680)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: - 1) The Zombie Vanguard - 2) Battle of the Rockets - 3)Undersea Agents - 4) Contraband Cargo - 5) The Iron Executioner - 6) Murder Mine - 7) Death on the Waterfront - 8) Hostage for Murder - 9) The Human Torpedo - 10) Flying Gas Chamber - 11) Man Vs. Monster - 12) Tomb of the Traitors

Movie Connections:

Edited from Mysterious Doctor Satan (1940)

Cheeze to Pleeze -- It's a Whiz!

This one (so to speak) is for lovers of the old Republic Serials, those incredibly silly (by modern standards) episodic films that kept our parents or grandparents coming back to the Saturday matinée week after week. Produced on budgets not much larger than Ed Wood ever had, and on sets sometimes recycled from film to film, they still offered a weekly dose of action and adventure in the days when those terms were not synonymous with earth-splitting explosions, computerized special effects, and "I'll be back." The plots were straightforward; of course, most a/a genre films are simple of plot even today, but there is something about these old cans of cheeze that satisfies more than constant viewings of "Terminatorsaur" and "Predatalienator". The goods guys wear white hats (so to speak) and smell good; the bad guys wear black hats and stink of cigarette smoke; and the simplicity of the 'fex are lovely in themselves. Yeah, things still blow up and burn down, but that is still a function of a/a films, I guess. The logic is, bigger isn't always better, and the serials prove the point.

In this Saturday-morning peanut-gallery special, the plan is for the aliens to blow up Earth, so that Mars can take its orbital place and get warm. Out to foil them is Larry, a "security agent," armed only with a .45 and a miraculous suit that lets him fly through the air just by twisting knobs (and jumping on a hidden trampoline for the initial takeoff). Can he stop the terrible zombies from completing their dastardly scheme before the train runs off the track, he gets burned in a raging inferno, or the movie runs out of reels? Return to the theater next week for the next exciting chapter...or just keep playing the tape. Get plenty of popcorn, settle in for a Saturday with the kids to introduce them to what film really was like, and keep your eyes open for Leonard Nimoy, sans ears and "Live Long and Prosper", in an early film appearance!

One of the best-remembered of the serials, as well as one of the last ones (Republic stopped producing them in the mid-Fifties or so; check a specialist film-history Web site). Warmly recommended to all, unless you have no tolerance for cheesy sci-fi. I only hope it comes out on DVD eventually, and with Nimoy to comment on it or do a special feature!