The Purple Monster Strikes
Encyclopedia
The Purple Monster Strikes (1945
) is a Republic
Movie serial. It was also released as a television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes. The sequel to this serial was the 1950 Flying Disc Man from Mars
, which used much of the footage from the original.
Dr Cyrus Layton works on his new airplane design in his observatory
, he gets three surprises. The first is seeing what he thinks is a meteor
landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila Layton, advising her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery. The second surprise, he goes to take a look at the meteor and discovers that it is actually a spaceship with a still living pilot inside. The pilot emerges from the spaceship and explains to Layton that he is from the planet Mars
.
Mistakenly thinking the alien to be friendly, Layton takes him back to the observatory. There Layton gets his third and final surprise. The Martian, who calls himself "The Purple Monster", wishes to see the designs for the airplane/spaceship that Layton was working on. The astronomer
/engineer
proudly shows the alien the designs. It is then that the alien explains that he is really here to steal the designs, build one of the spaceships for himself, fly back to Mars, have his people build a fleet of these spaceships and invade the Earth
. When Dr. Layton objects to this plan, The Martian kills him with a Martian weapon that emits a "carbo-oxide" gas which kills humans instantly. The alien then transforms into a ghost and takes over Dr Layton's body. This enables him to fool the astronomer's niece Sheila and criminologist Craig Foster, both of whom work for the same scientific foundation as Dr Layton. The foundation is also responsible for commissioning the spaceship project in the first place.
Posing as Dr. Layton also enables the Martian to witness the unrelated attempt of an Earth gangster named Garrett to also try to steal Layton's spaceship design. The Martian convinces Garrett and his henchmen to aid in the invasion plot. With the criminals' aid the alien begins building the spaceship. However, in spite of the Martian's best efforts at pretending to be Dr Layton, Craig Foster and Sheila Layton begin to get wise to what is happening. A long series of action scenes ensue as the pair try to figure out what the alien is doing on Earth and put a stop to it. Craig and Sheila are constantly battling the Purple Monster's henchmen led by Garrett who use mind-controlling poisons, carjackings, gunplay, a vacant apartment that remotely turns into an execution chamber and other tactics to dispose of Craig and Sheila.
The closest the criminals come to succeeding is in Chapter 7 "The Evil Eye" when Sheila is lured into a trap at a house the gang is using as a hideout. Foster gets the information out of a captured gang member and speeds to the house to save Sheila, who has been tied up and gagged inside a room filled with explosives sent to detonate when an electric eye in the doorway is tripped. There is a continuity error here. Foster arrives, and is clearly seen step into the electric eye, which triggers the 5-second timer and the building blows up. In the next episode, we're shown that Shelia manages to de-gag herself and alert the Hero just before he steps into the electric eye, and he then jumps over it. A moment later, once safely out of the building, he turns and shoots a henchman back in the building, and he falls into the electric eye and sets off the bomb. Cop out, indeed. Foster just barely manages to get Sheila out before the house explodes in a huge fireball. In time the alien even calls the Emperor of Mars for aid and a female Martian, named Marcia, is sent earthward. In the long run she is not much help.
In the last chapter Craig and Sheila realize that the Purple Monster is using Professor Layton's body as a disguise to his real identity, and devise a plan to uncover the truth. While Sheila gets the supposed Doctor Layton to come downtown to sign some papers needed for funding, Craig slips into Layton's office and secretly installs a silent movie camera which will be remotely activated when the telephone is picked up. Foster then escapes before the Purple Monster returns, and calls him to advise him that he will be bringing a squad of men to search the observatory which he has discovered is being used as the Purple Monster's hideout. Craig and Sheila arrive to find the observatory deserted. Sheila goes to the document basement where she stumbles upon Purple Monster's subterranean lair and is kidnapped. Foster goes to check on Sheila and finds the basement empty, and then himself discovers the secret lair where Sheila has been bound and gagged by the Purple Monster who orders his henchmen to dispose of her and destroy the observatory once he escapes.
The story ends with Craig Foster using a separated component of the spaceship, a sonic pulse cannon device to destroy meteors, to destroy the alien spaceship with the Purple Monster inside as he attempts to escape back to Mars and lead the invasion fleet to Earth. This ends the Martian threat.
was $183,803 (a $23,746, or 14.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1945. It was filmed between 17 April and 19 May 1945 under the working title
The Purple Shadow Strikes. The serial's production number was 416. This was the first post-war science fiction serial.
Roy Barcroft lived close (about a mile) to Republic Studios and jogged to work to keep fit for this job. When told that the costume included tights he decided to lose weight and lost about 30lb in 30 days. He called the serial "The Jerk in Tights from Boyle Heights".
The Purple Monster costume was re-used in Flying Disc Man from Mars
(for Mota), Radar Men from the Moon
(for Retik) and Commando Cody
(the agent played by Stanley Waxman). Stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes was also re-used in these serials. The rocket crash footage was re-used for Flying Disc Man from Mars
.
This was the last Republic serial with 15-chapters. The remaining serials were either 12- or 13-chapters in length.
. A problem occurred with the effects sequence of the rocketship crash in the first chapter. In the first attempt, the rocket struck an underground water pipe causing a geyser and forcing a retake.
The name of the aircraft that is intended to travel to Mars is always called the "jet plane". This startles technically minded people because a jet aircraft cannot do that. However, jets were new at the time the series was made and Universal Studios
' serial Flash Gordon
had the copyright on the word "rocketship" for use in serials and their featurizations.
The serial was re-released on 25 March 1957 between the similar re-releases of Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
and Zorro's Black Whip
. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival
in 1955.
Source:
) is a Republic
Movie serial. It was also released as a television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes. The sequel to this serial was the 1950 Flying Disc Man from Mars
, which used much of the footage from the original.
Dr Cyrus Layton works on his new airplane design in his observatory
, he gets three surprises. The first is seeing what he thinks is a meteor
landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila Layton, advising her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery. The second surprise, he goes to take a look at the meteor and discovers that it is actually a spaceship with a still living pilot inside. The pilot emerges from the spaceship and explains to Layton that he is from the planet Mars
.
Mistakenly thinking the alien to be friendly, Layton takes him back to the observatory. There Layton gets his third and final surprise. The Martian, who calls himself "The Purple Monster", wishes to see the designs for the airplane/spaceship that Layton was working on. The astronomer
/engineer
proudly shows the alien the designs. It is then that the alien explains that he is really here to steal the designs, build one of the spaceships for himself, fly back to Mars, have his people build a fleet of these spaceships and invade the Earth
. When Dr. Layton objects to this plan, The Martian kills him with a Martian weapon that emits a "carbo-oxide" gas which kills humans instantly. The alien then transforms into a ghost and takes over Dr Layton's body. This enables him to fool the astronomer's niece Sheila and criminologist Craig Foster, both of whom work for the same scientific foundation as Dr Layton. The foundation is also responsible for commissioning the spaceship project in the first place.
Posing as Dr. Layton also enables the Martian to witness the unrelated attempt of an Earth gangster named Garrett to also try to steal Layton's spaceship design. The Martian convinces Garrett and his henchmen to aid in the invasion plot. With the criminals' aid the alien begins building the spaceship. However, in spite of the Martian's best efforts at pretending to be Dr Layton, Craig Foster and Sheila Layton begin to get wise to what is happening. A long series of action scenes ensue as the pair try to figure out what the alien is doing on Earth and put a stop to it. Craig and Sheila are constantly battling the Purple Monster's henchmen led by Garrett who use mind-controlling poisons, carjackings, gunplay, a vacant apartment that remotely turns into an execution chamber and other tactics to dispose of Craig and Sheila.
The closest the criminals come to succeeding is in Chapter 7 "The Evil Eye" when Sheila is lured into a trap at a house the gang is using as a hideout. Foster gets the information out of a captured gang member and speeds to the house to save Sheila, who has been tied up and gagged inside a room filled with explosives sent to detonate when an electric eye in the doorway is tripped. There is a continuity error here. Foster arrives, and is clearly seen step into the electric eye, which triggers the 5-second timer and the building blows up. In the next episode, we're shown that Shelia manages to de-gag herself and alert the Hero just before he steps into the electric eye, and he then jumps over it. A moment later, once safely out of the building, he turns and shoots a henchman back in the building, and he falls into the electric eye and sets off the bomb. Cop out, indeed. Foster just barely manages to get Sheila out before the house explodes in a huge fireball. In time the alien even calls the Emperor of Mars for aid and a female Martian, named Marcia, is sent earthward. In the long run she is not much help.
In the last chapter Craig and Sheila realize that the Purple Monster is using Professor Layton's body as a disguise to his real identity, and devise a plan to uncover the truth. While Sheila gets the supposed Doctor Layton to come downtown to sign some papers needed for funding, Craig slips into Layton's office and secretly installs a silent movie camera which will be remotely activated when the telephone is picked up. Foster then escapes before the Purple Monster returns, and calls him to advise him that he will be bringing a squad of men to search the observatory which he has discovered is being used as the Purple Monster's hideout. Craig and Sheila arrive to find the observatory deserted. Sheila goes to the document basement where she stumbles upon Purple Monster's subterranean lair and is kidnapped. Foster goes to check on Sheila and finds the basement empty, and then himself discovers the secret lair where Sheila has been bound and gagged by the Purple Monster who orders his henchmen to dispose of her and destroy the observatory once he escapes.
The story ends with Craig Foster using a separated component of the spaceship, a sonic pulse cannon device to destroy meteors, to destroy the alien spaceship with the Purple Monster inside as he attempts to escape back to Mars and lead the invasion fleet to Earth. This ends the Martian threat.
was $183,803 (a $23,746, or 14.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1945. It was filmed between 17 April and 19 May 1945 under the working title
The Purple Shadow Strikes. The serial's production number was 416. This was the first post-war science fiction serial.
Roy Barcroft lived close (about a mile) to Republic Studios and jogged to work to keep fit for this job. When told that the costume included tights he decided to lose weight and lost about 30lb in 30 days. He called the serial "The Jerk in Tights from Boyle Heights".
The Purple Monster costume was re-used in Flying Disc Man from Mars
(for Mota), Radar Men from the Moon
(for Retik) and Commando Cody
(the agent played by Stanley Waxman). Stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes was also re-used in these serials. The rocket crash footage was re-used for Flying Disc Man from Mars
.
This was the last Republic serial with 15-chapters. The remaining serials were either 12- or 13-chapters in length.
. A problem occurred with the effects sequence of the rocketship crash in the first chapter. In the first attempt, the rocket struck an underground water pipe causing a geyser and forcing a retake.
The name of the aircraft that is intended to travel to Mars is always called the "jet plane". This startles technically minded people because a jet aircraft cannot do that. However, jets were new at the time the series was made and Universal Studios
' serial Flash Gordon
had the copyright on the word "rocketship" for use in serials and their featurizations.
The serial was re-released on 25 March 1957 between the similar re-releases of Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
and Zorro's Black Whip
. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival
in 1955.
Source:
) is a Republic
Movie serial. It was also released as a television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes. The sequel to this serial was the 1950 Flying Disc Man from Mars
, which used much of the footage from the original.
Dr Cyrus Layton works on his new airplane design in his observatory
, he gets three surprises. The first is seeing what he thinks is a meteor
landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila Layton, advising her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery. The second surprise, he goes to take a look at the meteor and discovers that it is actually a spaceship with a still living pilot inside. The pilot emerges from the spaceship and explains to Layton that he is from the planet Mars
.
Mistakenly thinking the alien to be friendly, Layton takes him back to the observatory. There Layton gets his third and final surprise. The Martian, who calls himself "The Purple Monster", wishes to see the designs for the airplane/spaceship that Layton was working on. The astronomer
/engineer
proudly shows the alien the designs. It is then that the alien explains that he is really here to steal the designs, build one of the spaceships for himself, fly back to Mars, have his people build a fleet of these spaceships and invade the Earth
. When Dr. Layton objects to this plan, The Martian kills him with a Martian weapon that emits a "carbo-oxide" gas which kills humans instantly. The alien then transforms into a ghost and takes over Dr Layton's body. This enables him to fool the astronomer's niece Sheila and criminologist Craig Foster, both of whom work for the same scientific foundation as Dr Layton. The foundation is also responsible for commissioning the spaceship project in the first place.
Posing as Dr. Layton also enables the Martian to witness the unrelated attempt of an Earth gangster named Garrett to also try to steal Layton's spaceship design. The Martian convinces Garrett and his henchmen to aid in the invasion plot. With the criminals' aid the alien begins building the spaceship. However, in spite of the Martian's best efforts at pretending to be Dr Layton, Craig Foster and Sheila Layton begin to get wise to what is happening. A long series of action scenes ensue as the pair try to figure out what the alien is doing on Earth and put a stop to it. Craig and Sheila are constantly battling the Purple Monster's henchmen led by Garrett who use mind-controlling poisons, carjackings, gunplay, a vacant apartment that remotely turns into an execution chamber and other tactics to dispose of Craig and Sheila.
The closest the criminals come to succeeding is in Chapter 7 "The Evil Eye" when Sheila is lured into a trap at a house the gang is using as a hideout. Foster gets the information out of a captured gang member and speeds to the house to save Sheila, who has been tied up and gagged inside a room filled with explosives sent to detonate when an electric eye in the doorway is tripped. There is a continuity error here. Foster arrives, and is clearly seen step into the electric eye, which triggers the 5-second timer and the building blows up. In the next episode, we're shown that Shelia manages to de-gag herself and alert the Hero just before he steps into the electric eye, and he then jumps over it. A moment later, once safely out of the building, he turns and shoots a henchman back in the building, and he falls into the electric eye and sets off the bomb. Cop out, indeed. Foster just barely manages to get Sheila out before the house explodes in a huge fireball. In time the alien even calls the Emperor of Mars for aid and a female Martian, named Marcia, is sent earthward. In the long run she is not much help.
In the last chapter Craig and Sheila realize that the Purple Monster is using Professor Layton's body as a disguise to his real identity, and devise a plan to uncover the truth. While Sheila gets the supposed Doctor Layton to come downtown to sign some papers needed for funding, Craig slips into Layton's office and secretly installs a silent movie camera which will be remotely activated when the telephone is picked up. Foster then escapes before the Purple Monster returns, and calls him to advise him that he will be bringing a squad of men to search the observatory which he has discovered is being used as the Purple Monster's hideout. Craig and Sheila arrive to find the observatory deserted. Sheila goes to the document basement where she stumbles upon Purple Monster's subterranean lair and is kidnapped. Foster goes to check on Sheila and finds the basement empty, and then himself discovers the secret lair where Sheila has been bound and gagged by the Purple Monster who orders his henchmen to dispose of her and destroy the observatory once he escapes.
The story ends with Craig Foster using a separated component of the spaceship, a sonic pulse cannon device to destroy meteors, to destroy the alien spaceship with the Purple Monster inside as he attempts to escape back to Mars and lead the invasion fleet to Earth. This ends the Martian threat.
was $183,803 (a $23,746, or 14.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1945. It was filmed between 17 April and 19 May 1945 under the working title
The Purple Shadow Strikes. The serial's production number was 416. This was the first post-war science fiction serial.
Roy Barcroft lived close (about a mile) to Republic Studios and jogged to work to keep fit for this job. When told that the costume included tights he decided to lose weight and lost about 30lb in 30 days. He called the serial "The Jerk in Tights from Boyle Heights".
The Purple Monster costume was re-used in Flying Disc Man from Mars
(for Mota), Radar Men from the Moon
(for Retik) and Commando Cody
(the agent played by Stanley Waxman). Stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes was also re-used in these serials. The rocket crash footage was re-used for Flying Disc Man from Mars
.
This was the last Republic serial with 15-chapters. The remaining serials were either 12- or 13-chapters in length.
. A problem occurred with the effects sequence of the rocketship crash in the first chapter. In the first attempt, the rocket struck an underground water pipe causing a geyser and forcing a retake.
The name of the aircraft that is intended to travel to Mars is always called the "jet plane". This startles technically minded people because a jet aircraft cannot do that. However, jets were new at the time the series was made and Universal Studios
' serial Flash Gordon
had the copyright on the word "rocketship" for use in serials and their featurizations.
The serial was re-released on 25 March 1957 between the similar re-releases of Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
and Zorro's Black Whip
. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival
in 1955.
Source:
1945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) is a Republic
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
Movie serial. It was also released as a television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes. The sequel to this serial was the 1950 Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
, which used much of the footage from the original.
Plot
Late one night while astronomerAstronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Dr Cyrus Layton works on his new airplane design in his observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
, he gets three surprises. The first is seeing what he thinks is a meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila Layton, advising her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery. The second surprise, he goes to take a look at the meteor and discovers that it is actually a spaceship with a still living pilot inside. The pilot emerges from the spaceship and explains to Layton that he is from the planet Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
.
Mistakenly thinking the alien to be friendly, Layton takes him back to the observatory. There Layton gets his third and final surprise. The Martian, who calls himself "The Purple Monster", wishes to see the designs for the airplane/spaceship that Layton was working on. The astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
/engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
proudly shows the alien the designs. It is then that the alien explains that he is really here to steal the designs, build one of the spaceships for himself, fly back to Mars, have his people build a fleet of these spaceships and invade the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. When Dr. Layton objects to this plan, The Martian kills him with a Martian weapon that emits a "carbo-oxide" gas which kills humans instantly. The alien then transforms into a ghost and takes over Dr Layton's body. This enables him to fool the astronomer's niece Sheila and criminologist Craig Foster, both of whom work for the same scientific foundation as Dr Layton. The foundation is also responsible for commissioning the spaceship project in the first place.
Posing as Dr. Layton also enables the Martian to witness the unrelated attempt of an Earth gangster named Garrett to also try to steal Layton's spaceship design. The Martian convinces Garrett and his henchmen to aid in the invasion plot. With the criminals' aid the alien begins building the spaceship. However, in spite of the Martian's best efforts at pretending to be Dr Layton, Craig Foster and Sheila Layton begin to get wise to what is happening. A long series of action scenes ensue as the pair try to figure out what the alien is doing on Earth and put a stop to it. Craig and Sheila are constantly battling the Purple Monster's henchmen led by Garrett who use mind-controlling poisons, carjackings, gunplay, a vacant apartment that remotely turns into an execution chamber and other tactics to dispose of Craig and Sheila.
The closest the criminals come to succeeding is in Chapter 7 "The Evil Eye" when Sheila is lured into a trap at a house the gang is using as a hideout. Foster gets the information out of a captured gang member and speeds to the house to save Sheila, who has been tied up and gagged inside a room filled with explosives sent to detonate when an electric eye in the doorway is tripped. There is a continuity error here. Foster arrives, and is clearly seen step into the electric eye, which triggers the 5-second timer and the building blows up. In the next episode, we're shown that Shelia manages to de-gag herself and alert the Hero just before he steps into the electric eye, and he then jumps over it. A moment later, once safely out of the building, he turns and shoots a henchman back in the building, and he falls into the electric eye and sets off the bomb. Cop out, indeed. Foster just barely manages to get Sheila out before the house explodes in a huge fireball. In time the alien even calls the Emperor of Mars for aid and a female Martian, named Marcia, is sent earthward. In the long run she is not much help.
In the last chapter Craig and Sheila realize that the Purple Monster is using Professor Layton's body as a disguise to his real identity, and devise a plan to uncover the truth. While Sheila gets the supposed Doctor Layton to come downtown to sign some papers needed for funding, Craig slips into Layton's office and secretly installs a silent movie camera which will be remotely activated when the telephone is picked up. Foster then escapes before the Purple Monster returns, and calls him to advise him that he will be bringing a squad of men to search the observatory which he has discovered is being used as the Purple Monster's hideout. Craig and Sheila arrive to find the observatory deserted. Sheila goes to the document basement where she stumbles upon Purple Monster's subterranean lair and is kidnapped. Foster goes to check on Sheila and finds the basement empty, and then himself discovers the secret lair where Sheila has been bound and gagged by the Purple Monster who orders his henchmen to dispose of her and destroy the observatory once he escapes.
The story ends with Craig Foster using a separated component of the spaceship, a sonic pulse cannon device to destroy meteors, to destroy the alien spaceship with the Purple Monster inside as he attempts to escape back to Mars and lead the invasion fleet to Earth. This ends the Martian threat.
Cast
- Dennis MooreDennis Moore (actor)Dennis Moore was an actor who specialized in western films and film serials....
as Craig Foster. The hero was known as Carry Foster even as far into production as the final shooting script. The name was pencilled out for filming. - Linda StirlingLinda StirlingLinda Stirling was an American showgirl, model and actress. In her later years, she had a second career as a college English professor for more than two decades...
as Sheila Layton - Roy BarcroftRoy BarcroftRoy Barcroft was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. Noted film critic Leonard Maltin acclaimed Barcroft as "Republic Pictures' number one bad guy".-Early life:...
as The Purple Monster. The villain was originally called "The Purple Shadow", which was also pencilled out for filming. - James Craven as Dr Cyrus Layton
- Bud GearyBud GearyBud Geary , was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946.He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48.-Selected filmography:* Robin Hood...
as Hodge Garrett, Henchman - Mary Moore as Marcia
- John DavidsonJohn Davidson (actor)John Davidson was an American film actor. He appeared in 148 films between 1915 and 1963.He was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
as Emperor of Mars - Joe Whitehead as Carl Stewart
- Anthony WardeAnthony WardeAnthony Warde was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964.-Career:A native of Pennsylvania, Warde started his Hollywood career in Escape by Night , appearing in a handful of undistinguished feature films before gaining popularity as one of the hardest working...
as Tony
Production
The Purple Monster Strikes was budgeted at $160,057 although the final negative costNegative cost
Negative cost is the cost of actually producing and shooting a film. It does not include such costs as distribution and promotion.Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.The term comes from the costs up to the...
was $183,803 (a $23,746, or 14.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1945. It was filmed between 17 April and 19 May 1945 under the working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
The Purple Shadow Strikes. The serial's production number was 416. This was the first post-war science fiction serial.
Roy Barcroft lived close (about a mile) to Republic Studios and jogged to work to keep fit for this job. When told that the costume included tights he decided to lose weight and lost about 30lb in 30 days. He called the serial "The Jerk in Tights from Boyle Heights".
The Purple Monster costume was re-used in Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
(for Mota), Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon is the first Commando Cody serial, in 12 chapters, starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody and Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, with serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C...
(for Retik) and Commando Cody
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe is a science fiction television series or serial. It consists of twelve 25-minute episodes. The series was filmed and intended to be broadcast as a television limited series but, due to contract restrictions, it was originally released in theaters as a...
(the agent played by Stanley Waxman). Stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes was also re-used in these serials. The rocket crash footage was re-used for Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
.
This was the last Republic serial with 15-chapters. The remaining serials were either 12- or 13-chapters in length.
Special effects
The special effects were created by the Lydecker brothersLydecker brothers
-Partial filmography:*Darkest Africa *Women in War - Oscar nominated*Adventures of Captain Marvel *Flying Tigers - Oscar nominated*Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe...
. A problem occurred with the effects sequence of the rocketship crash in the first chapter. In the first attempt, the rocket struck an underground water pipe causing a geyser and forcing a retake.
The name of the aircraft that is intended to travel to Mars is always called the "jet plane". This startles technically minded people because a jet aircraft cannot do that. However, jets were new at the time the series was made and Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
' serial Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (serial)
Flash Gordon is a 1936 science fiction film serial. Told in 13 installments, it was the first screen adventure for the comic-strip character Flash Gordon, and tells the story of his first visit to the planet Mongo and his encounter with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean...
had the copyright on the word "rocketship" for use in serials and their featurizations.
Stunts
- Dale Van SickelDale Van SickelDale Harris Van Sickel was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years...
as Craig Foster (doubling Dennis Moore) - Babe DeFreest as Sheila Layton (doubling Linda Stirling)
- Fred GrahamFred Graham (actor)Fred Graham was an American actor and stuntman, who performed in scores of films from the 1930s. A semi-professional baseball player, Graham appeared mainly in Westerns, doing stunts and playing opposite John Wayne among others. He also featured alongside Wayne in several films with director...
as The Purple Monster (doubling Roy Barcroft) - Tom SteeleTom Steele (stuntman)Tom Steele was a stunt man and actor, best remembered for appearing in serials, especially those produced by Republic Pictures, in both capacities.-Early life:...
as Hodge Garrett (doubling Bud Geary) - Polly Burson as Marcia (doubling Mary Moore)
- John Daheim
- Bud GearyBud GearyBud Geary , was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946.He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48.-Selected filmography:* Robin Hood...
- Carey LoftinCarey LoftinCarey Loftin was an American actor and stuntman. One of his most famous roles was as the truck driver in Steven Spielberg's Duel, although his face was never seen...
- Cliff LyonsCliff Lyons (actor)Clifford William Lyons was an American motion picture stuntman, second-unit director, and actor, primarily of Westerns, particularly the films of John Ford and John Wayne.Lyons, the son of Garrett Thomas Lyons and Wilhamena Johnson Lyons, was raised on a South Dakota farm,...
- Henry WillsHenry WillsHenry Wills was a British journalist and photographer with a passion for local history and archaeology. He is best remembered for his writings on British anti-invasion preparations of World War II, his most often cited work being Pillboxes — A Study of UK Defences 1940.Henry Wills worked for...
Theatrical
The Purple Monster Strikes official release date is 6 October 1945, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.The serial was re-released on 25 March 1957 between the similar re-releases of Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
Dangers of the Canadian Mounted is a Northern Republic film serial.-Cast:* Jim Bannon as Sergeant Chris Royal, RCMP* Virginia Belmont as Roberta "Bobbie" Page* Anthony Warde as Mort Fowler* Dorothy Granger as Skagway Kate...
and Zorro's Black Whip
Zorro's Black Whip
Zorro's Black Whip is a 1944 Republic Pictures film serial starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the popular 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of The Mark of Zorro and Republic was unable to use the character himself, but still wanted to capitalize on it. However, and despite the title,...
. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival
King of the Carnival
King of the Carnival is a Republic movie serial. It contains a substantial amount of stock footage from the earlier Republic serial Daredevils of the Red Circle. This was the last serial ever made by Republic and is often considered to be one of the worst produced by that company...
in 1955.
Television
The Purple Monster Strikes was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to D-Day on Mars. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.Chapter titles
- The Man in the Meteor (22min 20s)
- The Time Trap (13min 20s)
- Flaming Avalanche (13min 20s)
- The Lethal Pit (13min 20s)
- Death on the Beam (13min 20s)
- The Demon Killer (13min 20s)
- The Evil Eye (13min 20s)
- Descending Doom (13min 20s)
- The Living Dead (13min 20s)
- House of Horror (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapter
- Menace from Mars (13min 20s)
- Perilous Plunge (13min 20s)
- Fiery Shroud (13min 20s)
- The Fatal Trial (13min 20s)
- Take-off to Destruction (13min 20s)
Source:
External links
The Purple Monster Strikes (19451945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) is a Republic
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
Movie serial. It was also released as a television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes. The sequel to this serial was the 1950 Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
, which used much of the footage from the original.
Plot
Late one night while astronomerAstronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Dr Cyrus Layton works on his new airplane design in his observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
, he gets three surprises. The first is seeing what he thinks is a meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila Layton, advising her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery. The second surprise, he goes to take a look at the meteor and discovers that it is actually a spaceship with a still living pilot inside. The pilot emerges from the spaceship and explains to Layton that he is from the planet Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
.
Mistakenly thinking the alien to be friendly, Layton takes him back to the observatory. There Layton gets his third and final surprise. The Martian, who calls himself "The Purple Monster", wishes to see the designs for the airplane/spaceship that Layton was working on. The astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
/engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
proudly shows the alien the designs. It is then that the alien explains that he is really here to steal the designs, build one of the spaceships for himself, fly back to Mars, have his people build a fleet of these spaceships and invade the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. When Dr. Layton objects to this plan, The Martian kills him with a Martian weapon that emits a "carbo-oxide" gas which kills humans instantly. The alien then transforms into a ghost and takes over Dr Layton's body. This enables him to fool the astronomer's niece Sheila and criminologist Craig Foster, both of whom work for the same scientific foundation as Dr Layton. The foundation is also responsible for commissioning the spaceship project in the first place.
Posing as Dr. Layton also enables the Martian to witness the unrelated attempt of an Earth gangster named Garrett to also try to steal Layton's spaceship design. The Martian convinces Garrett and his henchmen to aid in the invasion plot. With the criminals' aid the alien begins building the spaceship. However, in spite of the Martian's best efforts at pretending to be Dr Layton, Craig Foster and Sheila Layton begin to get wise to what is happening. A long series of action scenes ensue as the pair try to figure out what the alien is doing on Earth and put a stop to it. Craig and Sheila are constantly battling the Purple Monster's henchmen led by Garrett who use mind-controlling poisons, carjackings, gunplay, a vacant apartment that remotely turns into an execution chamber and other tactics to dispose of Craig and Sheila.
The closest the criminals come to succeeding is in Chapter 7 "The Evil Eye" when Sheila is lured into a trap at a house the gang is using as a hideout. Foster gets the information out of a captured gang member and speeds to the house to save Sheila, who has been tied up and gagged inside a room filled with explosives sent to detonate when an electric eye in the doorway is tripped. There is a continuity error here. Foster arrives, and is clearly seen step into the electric eye, which triggers the 5-second timer and the building blows up. In the next episode, we're shown that Shelia manages to de-gag herself and alert the Hero just before he steps into the electric eye, and he then jumps over it. A moment later, once safely out of the building, he turns and shoots a henchman back in the building, and he falls into the electric eye and sets off the bomb. Cop out, indeed. Foster just barely manages to get Sheila out before the house explodes in a huge fireball. In time the alien even calls the Emperor of Mars for aid and a female Martian, named Marcia, is sent earthward. In the long run she is not much help.
In the last chapter Craig and Sheila realize that the Purple Monster is using Professor Layton's body as a disguise to his real identity, and devise a plan to uncover the truth. While Sheila gets the supposed Doctor Layton to come downtown to sign some papers needed for funding, Craig slips into Layton's office and secretly installs a silent movie camera which will be remotely activated when the telephone is picked up. Foster then escapes before the Purple Monster returns, and calls him to advise him that he will be bringing a squad of men to search the observatory which he has discovered is being used as the Purple Monster's hideout. Craig and Sheila arrive to find the observatory deserted. Sheila goes to the document basement where she stumbles upon Purple Monster's subterranean lair and is kidnapped. Foster goes to check on Sheila and finds the basement empty, and then himself discovers the secret lair where Sheila has been bound and gagged by the Purple Monster who orders his henchmen to dispose of her and destroy the observatory once he escapes.
The story ends with Craig Foster using a separated component of the spaceship, a sonic pulse cannon device to destroy meteors, to destroy the alien spaceship with the Purple Monster inside as he attempts to escape back to Mars and lead the invasion fleet to Earth. This ends the Martian threat.
Cast
- Dennis MooreDennis Moore (actor)Dennis Moore was an actor who specialized in western films and film serials....
as Craig Foster. The hero was known as Carry Foster even as far into production as the final shooting script. The name was pencilled out for filming. - Linda StirlingLinda StirlingLinda Stirling was an American showgirl, model and actress. In her later years, she had a second career as a college English professor for more than two decades...
as Sheila Layton - Roy BarcroftRoy BarcroftRoy Barcroft was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. Noted film critic Leonard Maltin acclaimed Barcroft as "Republic Pictures' number one bad guy".-Early life:...
as The Purple Monster. The villain was originally called "The Purple Shadow", which was also pencilled out for filming. - James Craven as Dr Cyrus Layton
- Bud GearyBud GearyBud Geary , was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946.He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48.-Selected filmography:* Robin Hood...
as Hodge Garrett, Henchman - Mary Moore as Marcia
- John DavidsonJohn Davidson (actor)John Davidson was an American film actor. He appeared in 148 films between 1915 and 1963.He was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
as Emperor of Mars - Joe Whitehead as Carl Stewart
- Anthony WardeAnthony WardeAnthony Warde was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964.-Career:A native of Pennsylvania, Warde started his Hollywood career in Escape by Night , appearing in a handful of undistinguished feature films before gaining popularity as one of the hardest working...
as Tony
Production
The Purple Monster Strikes was budgeted at $160,057 although the final negative costNegative cost
Negative cost is the cost of actually producing and shooting a film. It does not include such costs as distribution and promotion.Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.The term comes from the costs up to the...
was $183,803 (a $23,746, or 14.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1945. It was filmed between 17 April and 19 May 1945 under the working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
The Purple Shadow Strikes. The serial's production number was 416. This was the first post-war science fiction serial.
Roy Barcroft lived close (about a mile) to Republic Studios and jogged to work to keep fit for this job. When told that the costume included tights he decided to lose weight and lost about 30lb in 30 days. He called the serial "The Jerk in Tights from Boyle Heights".
The Purple Monster costume was re-used in Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
(for Mota), Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon is the first Commando Cody serial, in 12 chapters, starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody and Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, with serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C...
(for Retik) and Commando Cody
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe is a science fiction television series or serial. It consists of twelve 25-minute episodes. The series was filmed and intended to be broadcast as a television limited series but, due to contract restrictions, it was originally released in theaters as a...
(the agent played by Stanley Waxman). Stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes was also re-used in these serials. The rocket crash footage was re-used for Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
.
This was the last Republic serial with 15-chapters. The remaining serials were either 12- or 13-chapters in length.
Special effects
The special effects were created by the Lydecker brothersLydecker brothers
-Partial filmography:*Darkest Africa *Women in War - Oscar nominated*Adventures of Captain Marvel *Flying Tigers - Oscar nominated*Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe...
. A problem occurred with the effects sequence of the rocketship crash in the first chapter. In the first attempt, the rocket struck an underground water pipe causing a geyser and forcing a retake.
The name of the aircraft that is intended to travel to Mars is always called the "jet plane". This startles technically minded people because a jet aircraft cannot do that. However, jets were new at the time the series was made and Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
' serial Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (serial)
Flash Gordon is a 1936 science fiction film serial. Told in 13 installments, it was the first screen adventure for the comic-strip character Flash Gordon, and tells the story of his first visit to the planet Mongo and his encounter with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean...
had the copyright on the word "rocketship" for use in serials and their featurizations.
Stunts
- Dale Van SickelDale Van SickelDale Harris Van Sickel was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years...
as Craig Foster (doubling Dennis Moore) - Babe DeFreest as Sheila Layton (doubling Linda Stirling)
- Fred GrahamFred Graham (actor)Fred Graham was an American actor and stuntman, who performed in scores of films from the 1930s. A semi-professional baseball player, Graham appeared mainly in Westerns, doing stunts and playing opposite John Wayne among others. He also featured alongside Wayne in several films with director...
as The Purple Monster (doubling Roy Barcroft) - Tom SteeleTom Steele (stuntman)Tom Steele was a stunt man and actor, best remembered for appearing in serials, especially those produced by Republic Pictures, in both capacities.-Early life:...
as Hodge Garrett (doubling Bud Geary) - Polly Burson as Marcia (doubling Mary Moore)
- John Daheim
- Bud GearyBud GearyBud Geary , was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946.He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48.-Selected filmography:* Robin Hood...
- Carey LoftinCarey LoftinCarey Loftin was an American actor and stuntman. One of his most famous roles was as the truck driver in Steven Spielberg's Duel, although his face was never seen...
- Cliff LyonsCliff Lyons (actor)Clifford William Lyons was an American motion picture stuntman, second-unit director, and actor, primarily of Westerns, particularly the films of John Ford and John Wayne.Lyons, the son of Garrett Thomas Lyons and Wilhamena Johnson Lyons, was raised on a South Dakota farm,...
- Henry WillsHenry WillsHenry Wills was a British journalist and photographer with a passion for local history and archaeology. He is best remembered for his writings on British anti-invasion preparations of World War II, his most often cited work being Pillboxes — A Study of UK Defences 1940.Henry Wills worked for...
Theatrical
The Purple Monster Strikes official release date is 6 October 1945, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.The serial was re-released on 25 March 1957 between the similar re-releases of Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
Dangers of the Canadian Mounted is a Northern Republic film serial.-Cast:* Jim Bannon as Sergeant Chris Royal, RCMP* Virginia Belmont as Roberta "Bobbie" Page* Anthony Warde as Mort Fowler* Dorothy Granger as Skagway Kate...
and Zorro's Black Whip
Zorro's Black Whip
Zorro's Black Whip is a 1944 Republic Pictures film serial starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the popular 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of The Mark of Zorro and Republic was unable to use the character himself, but still wanted to capitalize on it. However, and despite the title,...
. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival
King of the Carnival
King of the Carnival is a Republic movie serial. It contains a substantial amount of stock footage from the earlier Republic serial Daredevils of the Red Circle. This was the last serial ever made by Republic and is often considered to be one of the worst produced by that company...
in 1955.
Television
The Purple Monster Strikes was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to D-Day on Mars. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.Chapter titles
- The Man in the Meteor (22min 20s)
- The Time Trap (13min 20s)
- Flaming Avalanche (13min 20s)
- The Lethal Pit (13min 20s)
- Death on the Beam (13min 20s)
- The Demon Killer (13min 20s)
- The Evil Eye (13min 20s)
- Descending Doom (13min 20s)
- The Living Dead (13min 20s)
- House of Horror (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapter
- Menace from Mars (13min 20s)
- Perilous Plunge (13min 20s)
- Fiery Shroud (13min 20s)
- The Fatal Trial (13min 20s)
- Take-off to Destruction (13min 20s)
Source:
External links
The Purple Monster Strikes (19451945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) is a Republic
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
Movie serial. It was also released as a television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes. The sequel to this serial was the 1950 Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
, which used much of the footage from the original.
Plot
Late one night while astronomerAstronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Dr Cyrus Layton works on his new airplane design in his observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
, he gets three surprises. The first is seeing what he thinks is a meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila Layton, advising her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery. The second surprise, he goes to take a look at the meteor and discovers that it is actually a spaceship with a still living pilot inside. The pilot emerges from the spaceship and explains to Layton that he is from the planet Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
.
Mistakenly thinking the alien to be friendly, Layton takes him back to the observatory. There Layton gets his third and final surprise. The Martian, who calls himself "The Purple Monster", wishes to see the designs for the airplane/spaceship that Layton was working on. The astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
/engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
proudly shows the alien the designs. It is then that the alien explains that he is really here to steal the designs, build one of the spaceships for himself, fly back to Mars, have his people build a fleet of these spaceships and invade the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. When Dr. Layton objects to this plan, The Martian kills him with a Martian weapon that emits a "carbo-oxide" gas which kills humans instantly. The alien then transforms into a ghost and takes over Dr Layton's body. This enables him to fool the astronomer's niece Sheila and criminologist Craig Foster, both of whom work for the same scientific foundation as Dr Layton. The foundation is also responsible for commissioning the spaceship project in the first place.
Posing as Dr. Layton also enables the Martian to witness the unrelated attempt of an Earth gangster named Garrett to also try to steal Layton's spaceship design. The Martian convinces Garrett and his henchmen to aid in the invasion plot. With the criminals' aid the alien begins building the spaceship. However, in spite of the Martian's best efforts at pretending to be Dr Layton, Craig Foster and Sheila Layton begin to get wise to what is happening. A long series of action scenes ensue as the pair try to figure out what the alien is doing on Earth and put a stop to it. Craig and Sheila are constantly battling the Purple Monster's henchmen led by Garrett who use mind-controlling poisons, carjackings, gunplay, a vacant apartment that remotely turns into an execution chamber and other tactics to dispose of Craig and Sheila.
The closest the criminals come to succeeding is in Chapter 7 "The Evil Eye" when Sheila is lured into a trap at a house the gang is using as a hideout. Foster gets the information out of a captured gang member and speeds to the house to save Sheila, who has been tied up and gagged inside a room filled with explosives sent to detonate when an electric eye in the doorway is tripped. There is a continuity error here. Foster arrives, and is clearly seen step into the electric eye, which triggers the 5-second timer and the building blows up. In the next episode, we're shown that Shelia manages to de-gag herself and alert the Hero just before he steps into the electric eye, and he then jumps over it. A moment later, once safely out of the building, he turns and shoots a henchman back in the building, and he falls into the electric eye and sets off the bomb. Cop out, indeed. Foster just barely manages to get Sheila out before the house explodes in a huge fireball. In time the alien even calls the Emperor of Mars for aid and a female Martian, named Marcia, is sent earthward. In the long run she is not much help.
In the last chapter Craig and Sheila realize that the Purple Monster is using Professor Layton's body as a disguise to his real identity, and devise a plan to uncover the truth. While Sheila gets the supposed Doctor Layton to come downtown to sign some papers needed for funding, Craig slips into Layton's office and secretly installs a silent movie camera which will be remotely activated when the telephone is picked up. Foster then escapes before the Purple Monster returns, and calls him to advise him that he will be bringing a squad of men to search the observatory which he has discovered is being used as the Purple Monster's hideout. Craig and Sheila arrive to find the observatory deserted. Sheila goes to the document basement where she stumbles upon Purple Monster's subterranean lair and is kidnapped. Foster goes to check on Sheila and finds the basement empty, and then himself discovers the secret lair where Sheila has been bound and gagged by the Purple Monster who orders his henchmen to dispose of her and destroy the observatory once he escapes.
The story ends with Craig Foster using a separated component of the spaceship, a sonic pulse cannon device to destroy meteors, to destroy the alien spaceship with the Purple Monster inside as he attempts to escape back to Mars and lead the invasion fleet to Earth. This ends the Martian threat.
Cast
- Dennis MooreDennis Moore (actor)Dennis Moore was an actor who specialized in western films and film serials....
as Craig Foster. The hero was known as Carry Foster even as far into production as the final shooting script. The name was pencilled out for filming. - Linda StirlingLinda StirlingLinda Stirling was an American showgirl, model and actress. In her later years, she had a second career as a college English professor for more than two decades...
as Sheila Layton - Roy BarcroftRoy BarcroftRoy Barcroft was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. Noted film critic Leonard Maltin acclaimed Barcroft as "Republic Pictures' number one bad guy".-Early life:...
as The Purple Monster. The villain was originally called "The Purple Shadow", which was also pencilled out for filming. - James Craven as Dr Cyrus Layton
- Bud GearyBud GearyBud Geary , was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946.He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48.-Selected filmography:* Robin Hood...
as Hodge Garrett, Henchman - Mary Moore as Marcia
- John DavidsonJohn Davidson (actor)John Davidson was an American film actor. He appeared in 148 films between 1915 and 1963.He was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
as Emperor of Mars - Joe Whitehead as Carl Stewart
- Anthony WardeAnthony WardeAnthony Warde was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964.-Career:A native of Pennsylvania, Warde started his Hollywood career in Escape by Night , appearing in a handful of undistinguished feature films before gaining popularity as one of the hardest working...
as Tony
Production
The Purple Monster Strikes was budgeted at $160,057 although the final negative costNegative cost
Negative cost is the cost of actually producing and shooting a film. It does not include such costs as distribution and promotion.Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost.The term comes from the costs up to the...
was $183,803 (a $23,746, or 14.8%, overspend). It was the most expensive Republic serial of 1945. It was filmed between 17 April and 19 May 1945 under the working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
The Purple Shadow Strikes. The serial's production number was 416. This was the first post-war science fiction serial.
Roy Barcroft lived close (about a mile) to Republic Studios and jogged to work to keep fit for this job. When told that the costume included tights he decided to lose weight and lost about 30lb in 30 days. He called the serial "The Jerk in Tights from Boyle Heights".
The Purple Monster costume was re-used in Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
(for Mota), Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon
Radar Men from the Moon is the first Commando Cody serial, in 12 chapters, starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody and Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, with serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C...
(for Retik) and Commando Cody
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe is a science fiction television series or serial. It consists of twelve 25-minute episodes. The series was filmed and intended to be broadcast as a television limited series but, due to contract restrictions, it was originally released in theaters as a...
(the agent played by Stanley Waxman). Stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes was also re-used in these serials. The rocket crash footage was re-used for Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars
Flying Disc Man from Mars 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:...
.
This was the last Republic serial with 15-chapters. The remaining serials were either 12- or 13-chapters in length.
Special effects
The special effects were created by the Lydecker brothersLydecker brothers
-Partial filmography:*Darkest Africa *Women in War - Oscar nominated*Adventures of Captain Marvel *Flying Tigers - Oscar nominated*Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe...
. A problem occurred with the effects sequence of the rocketship crash in the first chapter. In the first attempt, the rocket struck an underground water pipe causing a geyser and forcing a retake.
The name of the aircraft that is intended to travel to Mars is always called the "jet plane". This startles technically minded people because a jet aircraft cannot do that. However, jets were new at the time the series was made and Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
' serial Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (serial)
Flash Gordon is a 1936 science fiction film serial. Told in 13 installments, it was the first screen adventure for the comic-strip character Flash Gordon, and tells the story of his first visit to the planet Mongo and his encounter with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean...
had the copyright on the word "rocketship" for use in serials and their featurizations.
Stunts
- Dale Van SickelDale Van SickelDale Harris Van Sickel was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years...
as Craig Foster (doubling Dennis Moore) - Babe DeFreest as Sheila Layton (doubling Linda Stirling)
- Fred GrahamFred Graham (actor)Fred Graham was an American actor and stuntman, who performed in scores of films from the 1930s. A semi-professional baseball player, Graham appeared mainly in Westerns, doing stunts and playing opposite John Wayne among others. He also featured alongside Wayne in several films with director...
as The Purple Monster (doubling Roy Barcroft) - Tom SteeleTom Steele (stuntman)Tom Steele was a stunt man and actor, best remembered for appearing in serials, especially those produced by Republic Pictures, in both capacities.-Early life:...
as Hodge Garrett (doubling Bud Geary) - Polly Burson as Marcia (doubling Mary Moore)
- John Daheim
- Bud GearyBud GearyBud Geary , was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946.He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48.-Selected filmography:* Robin Hood...
- Carey LoftinCarey LoftinCarey Loftin was an American actor and stuntman. One of his most famous roles was as the truck driver in Steven Spielberg's Duel, although his face was never seen...
- Cliff LyonsCliff Lyons (actor)Clifford William Lyons was an American motion picture stuntman, second-unit director, and actor, primarily of Westerns, particularly the films of John Ford and John Wayne.Lyons, the son of Garrett Thomas Lyons and Wilhamena Johnson Lyons, was raised on a South Dakota farm,...
- Henry WillsHenry WillsHenry Wills was a British journalist and photographer with a passion for local history and archaeology. He is best remembered for his writings on British anti-invasion preparations of World War II, his most often cited work being Pillboxes — A Study of UK Defences 1940.Henry Wills worked for...
Theatrical
The Purple Monster Strikes official release date is 6 October 1945, although this is actually the date the seventh chapter was made available to film exchanges.The serial was re-released on 25 March 1957 between the similar re-releases of Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
Dangers of the Canadian Mounted
Dangers of the Canadian Mounted is a Northern Republic film serial.-Cast:* Jim Bannon as Sergeant Chris Royal, RCMP* Virginia Belmont as Roberta "Bobbie" Page* Anthony Warde as Mort Fowler* Dorothy Granger as Skagway Kate...
and Zorro's Black Whip
Zorro's Black Whip
Zorro's Black Whip is a 1944 Republic Pictures film serial starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the popular 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of The Mark of Zorro and Republic was unable to use the character himself, but still wanted to capitalize on it. However, and despite the title,...
. The last original Republic serial release was King of the Carnival
King of the Carnival
King of the Carnival is a Republic movie serial. It contains a substantial amount of stock footage from the earlier Republic serial Daredevils of the Red Circle. This was the last serial ever made by Republic and is often considered to be one of the worst produced by that company...
in 1955.
Television
The Purple Monster Strikes was one of twenty-six Republic serials re-released as a film on television in 1966. The title of the film was changed to D-Day on Mars. This version was cut down to 100-minutes in length.Chapter titles
- The Man in the Meteor (22min 20s)
- The Time Trap (13min 20s)
- Flaming Avalanche (13min 20s)
- The Lethal Pit (13min 20s)
- Death on the Beam (13min 20s)
- The Demon Killer (13min 20s)
- The Evil Eye (13min 20s)
- Descending Doom (13min 20s)
- The Living Dead (13min 20s)
- House of Horror (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapter
- Menace from Mars (13min 20s)
- Perilous Plunge (13min 20s)
- Fiery Shroud (13min 20s)
- The Fatal Trial (13min 20s)
- Take-off to Destruction (13min 20s)
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