King of the Rocket Men (1949)

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

Director:

Fred C. Brannon

Writers:

Royal K. Cole (as Royal Cole), William Lively

Stars:

Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tristram Coffin	...	Jeffrey 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	...	Martin - Henchman [Ch.1] / Prof. Drake [Ch. 1] / Gates - Henchman [Chs. 6-7, 9-11]
Tom Steele	...	Knox - Henchman [Chs. 1, 3-4, 7] / Taxi Driver [Chs. 10-11]
David Sharpe	...	Blears - Henchman / Cliff / Stark
Eddie Parker	...	Rowan [Ch. 3]
Michael Ferro	...	Turk - Henchman [Ch. 8]
Frank O'Connor	...	Warehouse Guard [Chs. 1, 10]

Storyline

Prof. Millard pretends to be dead and helps Jeff King ferret out Vulcan, the evil traitor at the science academy. Donning his Rocket Man costume King goes from one hair raising rescue to the next in order to keep the newly invented Decimator out of the clutches of Vulcan and his minions.

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | double feature film | serial | cliffhanger | episodic | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der König der Raketenmänner

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$165,592 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

167 min (12 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The exterior entrance to the Science Associates Administration is the same one as used for Commando Cody's office in Radar Men from the Moon.

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Goofs

At the end of Chapter 6/ beginning of Chaper 7, when the truck smashes through the warehouse wall and goes over the cliff the rear wheels and axle become completely detached from the undercarriage, but when the truck plunges into the water the axles and wheels are attached to the truck.

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Quotes

Glenda Thomas: Am I glad you caught up with me again.
Jeffrey King: It's getting to be a habit that I'd like to break.
Glenda Thomas: Well, I was only trying to help.
Jeffrey King: The best you can do is help yourself to a ride back to town. The highway is right over there.

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Alternate Versions

This Republic serial was edited down to a feature film and released under the title "Lost Planet Airman."

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Connections

Edited into Matinee Movie Serials: Mystery of the Rocket Man (2018)

User Reviews

Its a bird, its a plane, its Rocket Man

Dr. Vulcan, a mysterious criminal, has been sabotaging the experiments of a group of scientists at Science Associates (SA), as well as murdering the ones who come close to discovering his identity. He murders Prof. Millard, a rocket expert, who has been suspecting the nature of Vulcan's attacks. Millard is saved from his death by his colleague, Jeff King, a sonic propulsion expert. In order to save the works and surviving members of SA (where Vulcan in his true identity, serves as a member of the board of directors), King assumes the identity of Rocket Man, using a jet rocket pack designed by Millard. For 12 chapters, King/Rocket Man battles the forces of Vulcan and tries to prevents Millard's latest invention, the Sonic Desemator, from falling into the hands of Vulcan. For 1948, KOTR comes off as a good serial, but really you think it could have a been a wee bit better coming out of Republic. Coffin turns in a decent performance as King, after playing mainly villains all his career. Haggerty is great though as Vulcan's henchman Dirken, and makes you wish Republic used him more as a villain in more serials and Bs. Brannon is no Witney, English, or Bennett when it comes to serial directing, but this is one of his better serials. Many errors of logic in the serial, but does it matter in a serial about a scientist fighting crime in a rocket suit? Rating, based on serials, 6.