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)	25 October 1950 (serial)[1] 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.

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

• Walter Reed as Kent Fowler, pilot
• Lois Collier as Helen Hall
• Gregory Gaye as Mota, martian invader
• James Craven as Dr Bryant, scientist and secretly a former Nazi
• Harry Lauter as Drake, one of Mota's henchmen
• Richard Irving as Ryan, one of Mota's henchmen
• Sandy Sanders as Steve, Kent's sidekick
• Michael Carr as Trent, disc-ship pilot-henchman

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

• List of film serials by year
• List of film serials by studio

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

• Flying Disc Man from Mars at the Internet Movie Database
• Flying Disc Man from Mars at Todd Gault's Movie Serial Experience
• Chapter 1 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]^{[dead link]}
• Chapter 2 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 3 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 4 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 5 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 6 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 7 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 8 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 9 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 10 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 11 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Chapter 12 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

Preceded by Desperadoes of the West (1950)

Republic Serial Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950)

Succeeded by Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951)