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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Taglines:

Faster than light! (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

This was another of Republic's titles to use a play-on-words for "King of..." "King" was actually the name of the main character.

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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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Connections

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

User Reviews

Up, Up, and AWAY!

This has some of the most convincing flying sequences for its time. The later Superman serial had him "fly" as a cartoon: here, King appears really to fly. I have read that the flying sequences used a lightweight dummy on wires. It looks pretty convincing.

Minor spoiler: There was only one "rocket man": the serial title suggests more. (The hero's name is Jeff King) For that matter, the flight controller is marked, "Slow," "Fast," "Up," and "Down." Not bad, but rough if one had to change direction in flight.

Naturally, the serial uses the standard formula of a colorful villain who's out to steal a secret, whom the hero has to contend with.

Worth viewing, but light entertainment.