| Commando Cody | |
|---|---|
 Commando Cody in Radar Men from the Moon | |
| Created by | Republic Pictures |
| Portrayed by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Commander |
| Nationality | American |
Commando Cody is the hero in two 12-chapter science fiction serials made by Republic Pictures, played by George Wallace in Radar Men from the Moon (1952) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and Judd Holdren in Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (1953). [6]
Another 12-chapter "rocket man" movie serial, Zombies of the Stratosphere , was written as the direct sequel to Radar Men from the Moon . [7] The name of the serial's main character was changed from Commando Cody to the more prosaic Larry Martin when the shooting schedule began. This lead character renaming happened after the footage was shot for the first three episodes of Republic's proposed science fiction syndicated television series, Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe. This was first released (for contractual reasons) to movie theaters instead of TV. Republic, meanwhile, released both of the "rocket man" serials during 1953. [4] [8] A feature film was made from the King of the Rocket Men serial called Lost Planet Airmen , later inspiring the name of the rock group Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.
Because of Sky Marshal's original television production origins, the greater length (approximately 25 minutes) of its weekly serial chapters, and their lack of traditional cliffhanger endings, many serial fans refuse to acknowledge the theatrical release of Sky Marshal as a true movie serial. This is despite its having been released weekly to theaters and having a storyline that progresses through a dozen numbered and titled "chapters" until the villain is finally defeated in the 12th. [6] Sky Marshal was finally syndicated to NBC television in 1955 as a dozen 30-minute episodes (including commercials).
Commando Cody serials are sometimes confused with King of the Rocket Men (1949), because the rocket-powered flying suit and helmet costume worn by the title character, Jeff King, was recycled to become the flying suit worn by Cody. To add to the confusion, serial hero Larry Martin, who started out to be Commando Cody, wore the same costume again in Zombies of the Stratosphere .
Referring to these different Republic characters wearing the same costume collectively as "the rocket man" was a retro concept formulated decades later by Dave Stevens' Rocketeer (best known for its 1991 film adaptation), which was in turn a nod to the various Republic "rocket-suited" serial characters.
A similar character with a similar name was Commander Corry, hero of the ABC TV and radio series Space Patrol , which ran from 1950 to 1955. Corry's title was "Commander-in-Chief of the Space Patrol".
Project Moonbase is a 1953 independently made black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Jack Seaman, directed by Richard Talmadge, and starring Ross Ford, Donna Martell, and Hayden Rorke. It co-stars Larry Johns, Herb Jacobs, Barbara Morrison, and Ernestine Barrier. The film was distributed by Lippert Pictures and is based on a story by Robert A. Heinlein, who shares the screenwriting credit with producer Jack Seaman.
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen is a country rock band.
Ronald Anstuther Davidson Sr was an American screenwriter, story editor and associate producer.
Adventures of Captain Marvel is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English and William Witney, that stars Tom Tyler in the title role of Captain Marvel and Frank Coghlan, Jr. as his alter ego, Billy Batson. The serial was adapted from the popular Captain Marvel comic book character, then appearing in the Fawcett Comics publications Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. The character is now owned by DC Comics and is known as Shazam.
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe is a 1953 twelve-chapter movie serial from Republic Pictures, which began life as a proposed syndicated television series. It consists of twelve 25-minute sequential episodes directed by Harry Keller, Franklin Adreon, and Fred C. Brannon. It stars Judd Holdren, Aline Towne, Gregory Gaye, William Schallert, Richard Crane, and Craig Kelly.
Many works of fiction have featured UFOs. In most cases, as the fictional story progresses, the Earth is being invaded by hostile alien forces from outer space, usually from Mars, as depicted in early science fiction, or the people are being destroyed by alien forces, as depicted in the film Independence Day. Some fictional UFO encounters may be based on real UFO reports, such as Night Skies. Night Skies is based on the 1997 Phoenix UFO Incident.
Radar Men from the Moon is a 1952 Republic Pictures' 12-chapter movie serial, the first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody, Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, and serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson, and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. This serial recycles the flying sequences from Republic's earlier 1949 serial King of the Rocket Men. It was later released by Republic in 1966 as the 100-minute television film Retik the Moon Menace.
Zombies of the Stratosphere is a 1952 black and white Republic Studios serial directed by Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson, and special effects by Republic's Lydecker brothers. It was intended to be Republic's second serial featuring "new hero" Commando Cody and the third 12-chapter serial featuring the rocket-powered flying jacket and helmet introduced in King of the Rocket Men (1949). Instead, for reasons unknown, the hero was renamed "Larry Martin", who must prevent Martian invaders from using a hydrogen bomb to blow Earth out of its orbit, so that the Martians can move a dying Mars into a much closer orbital position to the Sun. As in Radar Men from the Moon, much of the screen time for each of the dozen chapters is spent on fistfights and car chases between the heroes and a gang of earthly crooks hired by renegade scientist Dr. Harding and his extraterrestrial colleague Marex to steal and stockpile the Atomic supplies needed for construction of the H-bomb.
Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere is an American adventure horror science fiction film 15-chapter serial released by Columbia Pictures in 1951. It was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Wallace A. Grissel with a screenplay by Royal G. Cole, Sherman I. Lowe and Joseph F. Poland, based on a treatment by George H. Plympton. The serial is unique for several reasons--- in particular, it is the only film serial ever based on a television program, Captain Video and His Video Rangers.
The Lost Planet is a 1953 American science fiction serial film 15-chapter serial which has the distinction of being the last interplanetary-themed sound serial ever made. It was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet with a screenplay by George H. Plympton and Arthur Hoerl. It appears to have been planned as a sequel to the earlier chapterplay Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere and shares many plot-points, props and sets, as well as some of the same cast. However, the Video Rangers do not appear, and their uniforms are instead worn by "slaves" created electronically by Reckov, the dictator of the Lost Planet with the help of mad scientist Dr. Grood and enslaved "good" scientist Professor Dorn.
Judd Clifton Holdren was an American film actor best known for his starring roles in the serials Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (1951), Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), The Lost Planet (1953), and the semi-serial Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (1953). He committed suicide in 1974.
George Dewey Wallace was an American stage and screen actor. Wallace co-starred with Mary Martin in the Broadway musical Jennie and was nominated for a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for playing the male lead in New Girl in Town opposite Gwen Verdon. He is also remembered for playing Commando Cody in the movie serial Radar Men from the Moon.
Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 American film serial directed by William Witney and John English. Produced by Republic Pictures, the serial stars Edward Ciannelli, Robert Wilcox, William Newell, C. Montague Shaw, Ella Neal, and Dorothy Herbert. The title of the serial is derived from that of its chief villain.
J-Men Forever, originally titled "The Secret World War", is a 1979 comedy film by Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman of the Firesign Theatre. The film is a pastiche using film clips from Republic serials, re-dubbed with comic dialog to tell a tale of world conquest by sex, drugs and rock and roll.
The Purple Monster Strikes is a 1945 Republic Movie serial. It was also released as a Century 66 television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
King of the Rocket Men is a 1949 12-chapter movie serial from Republic Pictures, produced by Franklin Adreon, directed Fred C. Brannon, that stars Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters, Jr., James Craven, and I. Stanford Jolley.
Roy Barcroft was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. From 1937 to 1957, he appeared in more than 300 films for Republic Pictures. Film critic Leonard Maltin acclaimed Barcroft as "Republic Pictures' number one bad guy".
Fred C. Brannon was an American film director of the 1940s and 1950s.
Clone troopers are fictional characters from the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. First introduced in the live-action film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), they have since appeared in various other Star Wars media, including Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021–2024), and Tales of the Jedi (2022–present) as well as comics, novels, and video games set in both the Star Wars Legends expanded universe and the current canon.
A serial film,film serial, movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, generally advancing weekly, until the series is completed. Usually, each serial involves a single set of characters, protagonistic and antagonistic, involved in a single story, which has been edited into chapters after the fashion of serial fiction and the episodes cannot be shown out of order or as a single or a random collection of short subjects.
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