Planet Outlaws (1953)

A 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.

Directors:

Ford Beebe (uncredited), Saul A. Goodkind (uncredited)

Writers:

Norman S. Hall, Helen Leighton (narrative)

Stars:

Buster Crabbe, Constance Moore, Jackie Moran

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Crabbe	...	Buck Rogers (archive footage) (as Larry 'Buster' Crabbe)
Constance Moore	...	Wilma Deering (archive footage)
Jackie Moran	...	'Buddy' Wade (archive footage)
Jack Mulhall	...	Capt. Rankin (archive footage)
Anthony Warde	...	Killer Kane (archive footage)
Philson Ahn	...	Prince Tallen (archive footage)
C. Montague Shaw	...	Dr. Huer (archive footage) (as Montague Shaw)
Guy Usher	...	Aldar (archive footage)
William Gould	...	Air Marshal Kragg (archive footage)
Henry Brandon	...	Capt. Lasca (archive footage)
Kenne Duncan	...	Lt. Lacy (archive footage)
Reed Howes	...	Capt. Roberts (archive footage)
Wheeler Oakman	...	Lieutenant Patten (archive footage)
Carleton Young	...	Scott (archive footage)

Storyline

Buck Rogers (1939) re-edited from serial to feature format and re-released for theatrical distribution in 1953; an American soldier suspended in time wakes up to find himself in the futuristic world of the year 2500. Once settled he realizes that an evil villain, along with his gang of outlaws, has been trying his best to gain total control the the universe and everything in it. Buck Rogers has other plans for these thoughtless henchmen and will do anything he in his power to stop them in their tracks.

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Plot Keywords:

suspended animation | 25th century | spacecraft | space travel | good versus evil | 

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Taglines:

ATOMIC WAR comes from outer space!

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Genres:

Action | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is an edited version of the 1939 serial Buck Rogers (1939).

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Quotes

Dr. Huer, Scientist General: By means of a gas discovered by Professor Morgan, these two people have remained in suspended animation for five hundred years.
Col. Buck Rogers: Five hundred years?
George 'Buddy' Wade: That makes me old enough to be my own great grandfather.

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Crazy Credits

Revised version based on cartoon strip "Buck Rogers" by HARRY JAQUES REVIER

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Connections

Featured in The Schlocky Horror Picture Show: Planet Outlaws (1953) (2009)

User Reviews

Not bad low-budget sci-fi fun from the 1930's--I simply wish I was watching the entire, original and unedited serial instead!

Let me say right off the bat that at least for me, there were two things working in this film's favour even before I started it (as 2 nifty percent of my infamous Mill Creek 50-pack, 'Nightmare Worlds'): a) I love the old-time serials, a part a week at the theatres, each with a cliffhanger ending; and b) I'm a fan of Buster Crabbe, from seeing him previously both as Tarzan and in a Flash Gordon serial. Directors Beebe and Goodkind were masters at the format, and this is no exception (although since it's from the 30's, and with B-movie budgetary restrictions at that, I readily dismiss all negative comments from people complaining that for the 1950's, it's really crappy filmmaking--it's NOT from the 50's, but simply edited then into a feature-length film the company could then sell, most probably to television stations).

I enjoyed it, though I wish that instead of seeing this, I was watching the unedited, undiluted full serial that was originally made. I have read that the best and most exciting parts were edited out.