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 | damsel in distress | 

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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

There are several times when Jeff puts on the suit he forgets to close the trunk of his car.

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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 Satan's Satellites (1958)

User Reviews

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.