Flying Disc Man from Mars

This one is absolutely "so bad, it's good". The characters are wooden, the dialog stiff, the plot contrived. All in all, it's one of the most entertaining films I have in my vast collection of classic sci-fi space movies. Sure, there isn't a whole lot of outer space in it, and few rockets...and way too many fist fights where nobody's hat falls off. But the leaps in logic, the never-ending stream of vehicles that the characters drive, the bad line deliveries...all worth the price you pay. On the truly plus side: it is beautifully photographed, and the editing is pretty tight. Personally, I can't wait till this one comes out in DVD. I consider this one better than the Commando Cody serials (1951, 1953), and I'm a big Cody fan. The only thing missing is Judd Holdren (Captain Video, Zombies from the Stratosphere, etc.). Delightful.

Doctor Bryant (James Craven) has been making some remarkable breakthroughs in the use of atomic energy as a weapon. This draws the attention of Mota (Gregory Gaye), a Martian sent to Earth to help orchestrate domination of the planet. Mota will conquer Earth in the name of the "Supreme Ruler of the Universe", and if Bryant will help in the effort, he will be named the governor of Earth in the Martians' name. It's up to Kent Fowler (Walter Reed), the head of a small aviation and security firm, to stop Mota and Bryant and their fiendish plans.

One of the worst of the Republic serials, this was a cheap stitch job using loads of footage from previous serials and other Republic pictures. Even the Martian costume, only briefly worn by Mota, was the same from their previous effort The Purple Monster Strikes. Almost all of the outdoor action scenes, whether it's a car chase, or flying vehicles, or buildings exploding, are lifted from other films. They were so cheap that they even reused the same exact footage more than once in the same movie, simply reversing the image from right to left to try and make it look like a new shot.

The hero played by Reed is bland, although it becomes unintentionally hilarious how he makes his miraculous escapes from the chapter-ending cliffhangers, which almost always involve him jumping from a vehicle of some sort. Better yet are the aerial escapes, such as a plane crash that he survives by jumping from the cockpit into a tree as the plane hits the ground, or when he survives injury-free from a fall from another plane by landing in a pile of hay at a farm. Still, this silliness doesn't really warrant the nearly 3 hours it takes to watch the whole thing, so only the most ardent serial fanatics need apply.

Dr. Bryant installs his atomic ray gun on Kent Fowler's fighter plane and he shots down a flying saucer from Mars. Bryant arrives to find a survivor who seems to know a lot about Earth. The alien wants to put Earth under galactic control and Bryant agrees to help just as he had helped Hitler in his bid to take over the world. Bryant lures two criminals to help in his villainous scheme.

This is a 12 part sci-fi serial that is sometimes combined into one movie. This has the classic structure of cliff-hangers and low budget action. There are a few problems. The biggest is the non-descript lead who dresses the same as everyone else, in a suit and hat. At times, I lose track of him and even forget his face. The hero does not have enough fun or generate enough charisma. The villain is almost good and the Martian could work. This is old style in a bad way. The worst is that it's boring.

Mota arrives on Earth from Mars, and takes into confidence manufacturer Bryant (a one time Nazi sympathizer) to launch a wave of destruction that will overwhelm Earth and put the planet under a Martian supreme dictator. Aerial patrolman Kent Fowler sees the theft going around Bryant's plant (by his two henchmen Drake and Ryan) and goes to stop the sabotage despite that his employer Bryant is the real criminal. Eventually Mota and Bryant develop their weapons to such a degree that they are able to start their campaign of destruction, unless Kent can stop them. Republic really threw in generous amounts of stock footage (I counted at least 4 different serials) to help overcome this corny script. The acting is pretty much wooden (even with veterans like Reed, Craven, and Lauter) and Gregory Gay makes for one of Republic's worst and most laughable villains. It's still entertaining enough, but pretty much an egg. Rating, based on serials, 3.5.

If you enjoy old republic serials with their cookie cutter villains and Wholesome as oatmeal heroes this is another one of those flicks. Nothing bad but nothing terribly special. It does feel like your watching a piece of the past though.