Zombies of the Stratosphere

Infobox Film
name = Zombies of the Stratosphere


caption = Judd Holdren as Larry Martin
director =Fred C. Brannon
producer =Franklin Adreon
writer =Ronald Davidson
starring =Judd Holdren
Aline Towne
Wilson Wood
Lane Bradford
Stanley Waxman
John Crawford
Craig Kelly
Ray Boyle
Leonard Nimoy
cinematography =John MacBurnie
distributor =Republic Pictures
released = Flagicon|USA 16 July 1952
runtime =12 chapters (167 min)
country = USA
language =English
preceded_by = "Radar Men from the Moon" (1952) "(intended)"
followed_by = "" (1953) "(intended)"
budget =
awards =
imdb_id =0045352
"Zombies of the Stratosphere" (Republic Studios, 1952) was intended as the second serial featuring "new hero" Commando Cody and the third 12-chapter serial featuring the rocket-powered flying suit introduced in "King of the Rocket Men" (1949). Instead, the hero is "Larry Martin", preventing Martian invaders from using a hydrogen bomb to blow Earth away from the Sun so that Mars can take its orbital place. The director was Fred C. Brannon, with screenplay by Ronald Davidson and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. The serial is remembered today mainly because Leonard Nimoy, plays one of the three Martian invaders, Narab.

Plot

Mars is too far from the Sun and its ecology is dying. The Martian invaders want to swap Earth's and Mars' orbits, so Mars will be closer to the Sun and Earth can have Mars's old orbit, with a hydrogen bomb being used to blow Earth out from the Sun.

As in "Radar Men from the Moon" (also 1952), most screen time is expended on fist fights between the heroes and a gang of crooks hired by Narab and his extraterrestrial colleague Marex to steal and stockpile supplies needed for construction of an H-bomb to throw the earth out of orbit so Mars can take its place.

Cast

*Judd Holdren as Larry Martin
*Aline Towne as Sue Davis
*Wilson Wood as Bob Wilson
*Lane Bradford as Marex
*Stanley Waxman as Dr Harding
*John Crawford as Roth
*Craig Kelly as Mr Steele
*Ray Boyle as Shane
*Leonard Nimoy as Narab

Chapter titles

#The Zombie Vanguard
#Battle of the Rockets
#Undersea Agents
#Contraband Cargo
#The Iron Executioner
#Murder Mine
#Death on the Waterfront
#Hostage for Murder
#The Human Torpedo
#Flying Gas Chamber
#Man Vs. Monster
#Tomb of the Traitors

Production

Just as filming began on this serial, the name of the hero was changed from Commando Cody to Larry Martin, as played by Judd Holdren, who had previously played Captain Video in a 1951 Columbia Pictures chapterplay, but he retains all the same sidekicks, high-tech props and laboratory facilities that Commando Cody had in the previous serial, "Radar Men from the Moon".

An addition to the Rocketman outfit, seen first in this serial, is a huge two-way radio about the size of a lunchbox that Larry Martin wears hanging heavily from his belt when dressed in the flying suit. This radio is also seen in some stills of Cody in the flying suit in "". As most flying sequences are reused stock footage from earlier Rocketman serials, the radio usually disappears when Cody is in flight. Martin also uses an ordinary police revolver instead of the ray gun favored by Cody in earlier and later appearances.

The "Republic Robot," somewhat resembling a walking hot-water heater, and first seen in "Undersea Kingdom" of 1936 and later and prominently in "Mysterious Doctor Satan" of 1940, makes a very welcome appearance.

Reception

Critics and viewers found the serial to be relatively dull and unimaginative, not as interesting as even the somewhat tedious "Radar Men from the Moon". The use of stock footage from earlier serials is not quite as overwhelming as it was in the earlier or later Cody outings, as greater emphasis is placed on fistfights than scenes with the rocket suit. Holdren's performance is often stiff and amateurish, especially when compared to the smooth professionalism of the old Republic pros who surround him on screen.

Feature Length Version

A feature length version assembled from parts of the series was released in 1958 under the title Satan's Satellites.

tunts & Effects

pecial Effects

All the special effects in "Zombies of the Stratosphere" were produced by the Lydecker brothers, Republic's in-house effects team. The flying effects, using a dummy running along a wire, were first used in the "Darkest Africa" (1936) and "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941).

tunts

*Dale Van Sickel as Larry Martin (doubling Judd Holdren)
*Tom Steele

ee also

* List of film serials
* List of film serials by studio

References and External Links

*
* "Science Fiction Serials" by Roy Kinnard (McFarland, NC, 1998). ISBN 0-7864-0545-7.
* [http://slick-net.com/space/serial/index.phtml Roaring Rockets Serial Pages]
* [http://slick-net.com/space/serial/index.phtml Commando Cody serials]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Garden/3622/cast.htm Summary of Casts and Credits for the Republic "Rocketman" Films]
* [http://aa.1asphost.com/CTVA/US/SciFi/RepublicSciFiSerials.htm Another very detailed list of cast and credits for the "Rocketman" films]
* [http://thenostalgialeague.com/fsfh/sciencefiction-ghrocket.html Nostalgia League article on the "Rocketman" serials]
* [http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue04/infocus/introduction4.htm Gary Johnson, "The Serials"]
* [http://www.serialexperience.com/showarticle.php?fldRecNum=172 Zombies of the Stratosphere] at [http://www.serialexperience.com/ Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience]
###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Republic Serial
before=Radar Men from the Moon (1952)
years=Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)
after=Jungle Drums of Africa (1953)