Flying Disc Man from Mars

Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Directed by Fred C. Brannon
Produced by Franklin Adreon
Written by Ronald Davidson
Starring Walter Reed
Lois Collier
Gregory Gaye
James Craven
Harry Lauter
Richard Irving
Music by Stanley Wilson
Cinematography Walter Strenge
Distributed by Republic Pictures
Release date(s) United States 25 October 1950 (serial)[1]
United States 28 March 1958 (feature)[1]
Running time 12 chapters / 167 minutes (serial)[1]
75 minutes (feature)[1]
Country  United States
Language English
Budget $152,640 (negative cost: $157,439)[1]

Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950) is a Republic film serial. This is considered a weak example of the serial medium, even compared to other post-World War II serials.

Contents

Plot

Martian invader, Mota, attempts to conquer the Earth as Mars is worried about its use of new atomic technology. They consider that it would be much safer, and beneficial for both Earth and Mars, if the Martians were in charge. Mota, having been shot down by an experimental ray gun, blackmails American scientist, and former Nazi, Dr Bryant into assisting him and hires some criminals to be his henchmen.

Kent Fowler, the private pilot who shot down Mota with Dr Bryant's ray gun, gets caught up in these events while working security for atomic industrial sites.

Cast

Production

Flying Disc Man from Mars was budgeted at $152,640 although the final negative cost was $157,439 (a $4,799, or 3.1%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1950.[1]

It was filmed between 21 August and 12 September 1950 under several working titles: Atom Man from Mars, Disc Man from Mars, Disc Men of the Skies, Flying Planet Men and Jet Man from Mars.[1] The serial's production number was 1709.[1]

This is a sequel to earlier serial The Purple Monster Strikes. The villain Mota reuses the Purple Monster costume from that serial.[2]

Special effects

The Flying Disc from King of the Mounties is reused for this serial. The Japanese logo is still visible on its side.[2]

Stock footage from several earlier serials was used to pad out the serial and keep costs down. This includes the Rocket crash from The Purple Monster Strikes, a car chase from Secret Service in Darkest Africa and various pieces from G-Men vs. the Black Dragon.[2]

All effects in this serial were produced by the Lydecker brothers, the in-house duo who worked on most of Republic's serials.

Stunts

  • Dale Van Sickel Kent Fowler/Watchman (doubling Walter Reed)
  • David Sharpe Henchman Ryan/Technician (doubling Richard Irving)
  • Tom Steele as Henchman Drake/Trent/Taylor (doubling Harry Lauter & Michael Carr)

Cliffhangers

Walter Reed survives the serial by bailing out of whatever vehicle he was in.[3]

Release

Theatrical

Flying Disc Man from Mars's official release date is 25 October 1950, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges.[1]

This was followed by a re-release of The Tiger Woman, re-titled as Perils of the Darkest Jungle, instead of a new serial. The next new serial, Don Daredevil Rides Again, followed in spring of 1951.[1]

A 75-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on 28 March 1958 under the new title Missile Monsters. It was one of fourteen feature films Republic made from their serials.[1]

Chapter titles

  1. Menace from Mars (20min)
  2. The Volcano's Secret (13min 20s)
  3. Death Rides the Stratosphere (13min 20s)
  4. Execution by Fire (13min 20s)
  5. The Living Projectile (13min 20s)
  6. Perilous Mission (13min 20s)
  7. Descending Doom (13min 20s)
  8. Suicidal Sacrifice (13min 20s)
  9. The Funeral Pyre (13min 20s)
  10. Weapons of Hate (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapter
  11. Disaster on the Highway (13min 20s)
  12. Volcanic Vengeance (13min 20s)

Source:[1][4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mathis, Jack. Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement. Jack Mathis Advertising. pp. 3, 10, 122–123. ISBN 0-9632878-1-8. 
  2. ^ a b c Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut. "2. "We Come from 'Earth', Don't You Understand?"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 55–56. ISBN 9780713000979. 
  3. ^ Stedman, Raymond William. "5. Shazam and Good-by". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9780806109275. 
  4. ^ Cline, William C.. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc.. p. 251. ISBN 078640471X. 

External links

Preceded by
Desperadoes of the West (1950)
Republic Serial
Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950)
Succeeded by
Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Man with the Steel Whip — Directed by Franklin Adreon Produced by Franklin Adreon Written by Ronald Davidson Starring …   Wikipedia

  • Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars — Directed by Ford Beebe Robert F. Hill Frederick Stephani (uncredited) Written by …   Wikipedia

  • The Purple Monster Strikes — Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet Fred C. Brannon Produced by Ronald Davidson …   Wikipedia

  • Unidentified flying object — UFO redirects here. For other uses, see UFO (disambiguation). Photograph of alleged UFO, New Jersey, July 31, 1952 A term originally coined by …   Wikipedia

  • Commando Cody — For the American rock musician, see Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Commando Cody Commando Cody in Radar Men from the Moon! Also known as Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe …   Wikipedia

  • Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe — Commando Cody (Judd Holdren) and Joan Gilbert (Aline Towne) Also known as Commando Cody Genre Science fiction Written by …   Wikipedia

  • Don Daredevil Rides Again — Directed by Fred C. Brannon Produced by Franklin Adreo …   Wikipedia

  • Lois Collier — (born Madelyn Jones) (21 March, 1919 – 27 October, 1999) was an American film actress born in Salley, South Carolina. She was sometimes credited as Lois Collyer .Collier s acting career started in 1938, when she had a small but credited role in A …   Wikipedia

  • Desperadoes of the West — Directed by Fred C. Brannon Produced by Franklin Adreon …   Wikipedia

  • Dick Tracy (serial) — Dick Tracy Directed by Alan James Ray Taylor Produced by Nat Levine J. Laurence Wickland (Associate) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”