Zombies of the Stratosphere
Encyclopedia
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. In 1958 a feature film called Satan's Satellites was made by re-editing footage from this serial.
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.
to Larry Martin, as played by Judd Holdren
, who had previously played TV hero 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 Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
. 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.
Zombies of the Stratosphere was budgeted at $172,838 although the final negative cost
was $176,357 (a $3,519, or 2%, overspend). It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1952. It was filmed between April 14, and May 1, 1952. At seventeen days this is the joint-shortest, with King of the Carnival
, filming period of all Republic serials. The serial's production number was 1933.
Zombies of the Stratosphere reuses the "Republic Robot" (somewhat resembling a walking hot-water heater), along with stock footage of it in action (such as the Bank Robbery by Robot scene from Mysterious Doctor Satan
), and black and white footage from a color Roy Rogers
film. It is also heavily padded with footage from King of the Rocket Men, to which this was a pseudo-sequel. However, although this serial has Martians as the villains, they are not the version shown in the earlier serial The Purple Monster Strikes
. The Robot was first seen in Undersea Kingdom
(1936) and prominently featured in Mysterious Doctor Satan
(1940).
, 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 Adventures of Captain Marvel
(1941).
, followed in 1953. A 70-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on March 28, 1958 under the new title Satan's Satellites. It was one of fourteen feature films Republic made from their serials.
. 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. Cline describes this serial as just a "quickie."
Source:
Commando Cody
Commando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, which was followed up 1953 with the 12 episode Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe....
and the third 12-chapter serial featuring the rocket-powered flying suit introduced in King of the Rocket Men
King of the Rocket Men
King of the Rocket Men is a 1949 Republic movie serial, in twelve chapters, notable for introducing the "Rocketman Character" who reappeared under a variety of names in later serials Radar Men from the Moon, Zombies of the Stratosphere and the semi-serial Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the...
(1949). Instead, the hero is "Larry Martin", preventing Martian invaders from using a hydrogen bomb
Teller-Ulam design
The Teller–Ulam design is the nuclear weapon design concept used in most of the world's nuclear weapons. It is colloquially referred to as "the secret of the hydrogen bomb" because it employs hydrogen fusion, though in most applications the bulk of its destructive energy comes from uranium fission,...
to blow Earth away from the Sun so that Mars can take its orbital place. The director was Fred C. Brannon
Fred C. Brannon
Fred C. Brannon was an American film director of the 1940s and 1950s.He directed over 40 films between 1945 and his death.His first film The Purple Monster Strikes in 1945 was co-directed with Spencer Gordon Bennett....
, with screenplay by Ronald Davidson
Ronald Davidson
Ronald Davidson was an American screenwriter. He was born in Arizona and died in San Diego, California.Ronald Davidson started his career as a short story writer and in 1943 was appointed as story editor for Republic Studios movie serials and some feature films...
and special effects by the Lydecker brothers
Lydecker 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...
. The serial is remembered today mainly because Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
plays one of the three Martian invaders, Narab. In 1958 a feature film called Satan's Satellites was made by re-editing footage from this serial.
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 bombTeller-Ulam design
The Teller–Ulam design is the nuclear weapon design concept used in most of the world's nuclear weapons. It is colloquially referred to as "the secret of the hydrogen bomb" because it employs hydrogen fusion, though in most applications the bulk of its destructive energy comes from uranium fission,...
being used to blow Earth out from the Sun.
As in 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...
(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
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
to throw 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...
out of orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
so 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...
can take its place.
Cast
- Judd HoldrenJudd HoldrenJudd Holdren was an American film actor best known for his starring roles in the serials Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere, Zombies of the Stratosphere, The Lost Planet and the semi-serial Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe during 1951 - 1953.- Early life :He was born near...
as Larry Martin - Aline TowneAline TowneAline Towne born Fern Aline Eggen, also known as Fern Aline Waller, was an American film and television actress, best remembered for her lead roles in 1950s Republic serials, such as Radar Men from the Moon.Towne was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota.Towne appeared in dozens of roles on television, in...
as Sue Davis - Wilson WoodWilson WoodWilson Wood is a Scottish former footballer who played primarily as a midfielder.-Career:A former lab assistant with the National Coal Board, Wood started his professional career with Newcastle United whom he joined from Shotts Bon Accord aged 17...
as Bob Wilson - Lane BradfordLane Bradford- Career :Born in Yonkers, New York, U.S.. He has appeared in many television series and b western movies. On stage, he co-starred in Desperadoes' Outpost , The Great Sioux Uprising , Apache Warrior .....
as Marex - Stanley Waxman as Dr Harding
- John CrawfordJohn Crawford (actor)John Crawford was an American actor.Crawford was born Cleve Allen Richardson in Colfax, Washington. In films from the 1940s, Crawford appeared in bit parts for many years before playing leads in several films in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
as Roth - Craig Kelly as Mr Steele
- Ray Boyle as Shane
- Leonard NimoyLeonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
as Narab
Production
Just as filming began on this serial, the name of the hero was changed from Commando CodyCommando Cody
Commando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, which was followed up 1953 with the 12 episode Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe....
to Larry Martin, as played by Judd Holdren
Judd Holdren
Judd Holdren was an American film actor best known for his starring roles in the serials Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere, Zombies of the Stratosphere, The Lost Planet and the semi-serial Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe during 1951 - 1953.- Early life :He was born near...
, who had previously played TV hero Captain Video in a 1951 Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
chapterplay
Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere
Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere is a 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...
, but he retains all the same sidekicks, high-tech props and laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
facilities that Commando Cody
Commando Cody
Commando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, which was followed up 1953 with the 12 episode Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe....
had in the previous serial, 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...
.
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 Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
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...
. As most flying sequences are reused stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
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.
Zombies of the Stratosphere was budgeted at $172,838 although the final negative cost
Negative 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 $176,357 (a $3,519, or 2%, overspend). It was the cheapest Republic serial of 1952. It was filmed between April 14, and May 1, 1952. At seventeen days this is the joint-shortest, with 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...
, filming period of all Republic serials. The serial's production number was 1933.
Zombies of the Stratosphere reuses the "Republic Robot" (somewhat resembling a walking hot-water heater), along with stock footage of it in action (such as the Bank Robbery by Robot scene from Mysterious Doctor Satan
Mysterious Doctor Satan
Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is The Copperhead, a masked mystery man secretly Bob Wayne....
), and black and white footage from a color Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
film. It is also heavily padded with footage from King of the Rocket Men, to which this was a pseudo-sequel. However, although this serial has Martians as the villains, they are not the version shown in the earlier serial The Purple Monster Strikes
The Purple Monster Strikes
The Purple Monster Strikes is a Republic Movie serial. It was also released as a television film under the title D-Day on Mars .The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes...
. The Robot was first seen in Undersea Kingdom
Undersea Kingdom
Undersea Kingdom is a Republic Pictures film serial released in response to Universal's Flash Gordon. It was the second of the sixty-six serials made by Republic...
(1936) and prominently featured in Mysterious Doctor Satan
Mysterious Doctor Satan
Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is The Copperhead, a masked mystery man secretly Bob Wayne....
(1940).
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 Larry Martin (doubling Judd Holdren) - 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:...
Special Effects
All the special effects in Zombies of the Stratosphere were produced 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...
, Republic's in-house effects team. The flying effects, using a dummy running along a wire, were first used in the Darkest Africa
Darkest Africa
Darkest Africa is a Republic movie serial. This was the first serial produced by Republic Pictures and was a loose sequel to a Mascot Pictures serial called The Lost Jungle, also starring Clyde Beatty. Mascot, and other companies, had been taken over in 1935 by Consolidated Film Laboratories and...
(1936) and Adventures of Captain Marvel
Adventures of Captain Marvel
Adventures of Captain Marvel is a 1941 twelve-chapter film serial directed by John English and William Witney for Republic Pictures, adapted from the popular Captain Marvel comic book character then appearing in Fawcett Comics publications such as Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures...
(1941).
Theatrical
Zombies of the Stratospheres official release date is July 16, 1952, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. This was followed by a re-release of Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc., re-titled as Dick Tracy vs. Phantom Empire, instead of a new serial. The next new serial, Jungle Drums of AfricaJungle Drums of Africa
Jungle Drums of Africa is a 12-episode, American serial film, shot in black-and-white, which was an original commissioned screenplay by Ronald Davidson produced by Franklin Adreon and directed by Fred C. Brannon for Republic Pictures...
, followed in 1953. A 70-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on March 28, 1958 under the new title Satan's Satellites. It was one of fourteen feature films Republic made from their serials.
Television
Zombies of the Stratosphere was one of two Republic serials to be colorized for television in the 1990s.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 MoonRadar 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...
. The use of stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
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
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....
pros who surround him on screen. Cline describes this serial as just a "quickie."
Chapter titles
- The Zombie Vanguard (20min)
- Battle of the Rockets (13min 20s)
- Undersea Agents (13min 20s)
- Contraband Cargo (13min 20s)
- The Iron Executioner (13min 20s)
- Murder Mine (13min 20s)
- Death on the Waterfront (13min 20s)
- Hostage for Murder (13min 20s)
- The Human Torpedo (13min 20s)
- Flying Gas Chamber (13min 20s) - a re-cap chapterClip showA clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
- Man vs. Monster (13min 20s)
- Tomb of the Traitors (13min 20s)
Source: