El rey de los hombres cohetes

It's one of Republic's last great serials, the inspiration for Disney's "The Rocketeer," and just great fun. Really standout special effects, the patented Republic furniture-smashing, body-slamming fights, a goofy plot, and just as much action and movement as you can stand. Any kid that didn't wish to be a "rocket man" sometime in their childhood had no red blood in them. Highly recommended. Star Tris Coffin should be rediscovered.

Dr. Vulcan, a mysterious criminal, has been sabotaging the experiments of a group of scientists at Science Associates (SA), as well as murdering the ones who come close to discovering his identity. He murders Prof. Millard, a rocket expert, who has been suspecting the nature of Vulcan's attacks. Millard is saved from his death by his colleague, Jeff King, a sonic propulsion expert. In order to save the works and surviving members of SA (where Vulcan in his true identity, serves as a member of the board of directors), King assumes the identity of Rocket Man, using a jet rocket pack designed by Millard. For 12 chapters, King/Rocket Man battles the forces of Vulcan and tries to prevents Millard's latest invention, the Sonic Desemator, from falling into the hands of Vulcan. For 1948, KOTR comes off as a good serial, but really you think it could have a been a wee bit better coming out of Republic. Coffin turns in a decent performance as King, after playing mainly villains all his career. Haggerty is great though as Vulcan's henchman Dirken, and makes you wish Republic used him more as a villain in more serials and Bs. Brannon is no Witney, English, or Bennett when it comes to serial directing, but this is one of his better serials. Many errors of logic in the serial, but does it matter in a serial about a scientist fighting crime in a rocket suit? Rating, based on serials, 6.

King of the Rocket Men is one of the most original movie serials ever produced post-WWII. This is the stuff that dreams are still made of. What kid wouldn't give anything to be able to fly in a sonically propelled rocket pack and kick some bad guys butt? More than 50 years after it was made, this serial still has the pulse-quickening action adventure and really great acting that made it the classic that it is. The acting was serious, which made you believe this could actually happen. These actors were highly under-appreciated, yet were better than many of the celebrity "actors" that demand to be the center of attention today. The Rocketeer was based on this serial, and even though it had great production, it just barely induced the kind of excitement Jeff King gave us for 12 exciting episodes. It's a shame the sequels to this were silly and unbelievable. Allen Duffis hit the nail on the head. This is the standard that ALL of the Saturday morning and prime time adventure shows that came after wished they could be. The only thing that was as good was the first Indiana Jones movie, and that got it's inspiration from show's like this. I still marvel at the flying scenes through the canyons and across the Culver City skyline, which still look so real it's breath-taking. The Liedecker Brothers were geniuses. I wish they could make new serials just as good as this one today. I wish a really good sharp copy of these serials could be professionally put on DVD to preserve these serials forever. This one deserves to be protected for the future.

This has some of the most convincing flying sequences for its time. The later Superman serial had him "fly" as a cartoon: here, King appears really to fly. I have read that the flying sequences used a lightweight dummy on wires. It looks pretty convincing.

Minor spoiler: There was only one "rocket man": the serial title suggests more. (The hero's name is Jeff King) For that matter, the flight controller is marked, "Slow," "Fast," "Up," and "Down." Not bad, but rough if one had to change direction in flight.

Naturally, the serial uses the standard formula of a colorful villain who's out to steal a secret, whom the hero has to contend with.

Worth viewing, but light entertainment.

"King of the Rocket Men" was the first appearance of the man in the flying suit. In later years it would become associated with the Commando Cody character both in film and on TV.

The "king" of the title is Jeff King (Tristram Coffin) who is trying to unmask the evil Dr. Vulcan who is secretly trying to undermine a desert research project being conducted by Science Associates. Overseeing the project is a board of directors of whom a Dr. Vulcan, his identity unknown, is a member. It seems that one of their number, Professor Millard (James Craven) has developed a powerful machine called "the Decimater" which is capable of mass destruction. The rest of the serial is spent with Dr. Vulcan and his chief henchman Dirken (Don Haggerty) attempting to steal the discovery and Rocket Man's thwarting them at every turn. Mae Clarke as a reporter and House Peters Jr. as Chief of Security assist King.

This serial is one of the better of Republic's post war serials. There is plenty of action throughout, including chases, fights, cliffhangers and an appearance by Rocket Man in every chapter. The stunt work performed mainly by Tom Steele, Dale Van Sickel and David Sharpe (doubling Coffin in the Rocket Man sequences), is up to Republic's usual high standards. You'll spot each of the aforementioned stuntmen appearing in several minor roles as henchmen.

But the real star of the serial are its magnificent special effects created by Theodore and Howard Lydecker. Rocket Man seems to have borrowed his flying ability from Republic's earlier serial "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941). The Lydeckers employed the use of an oversized dummy running up and down an almost invisible cable and photographing it from different angles to make it appear life-size. It's quite realistic for its time.

The best sequence is saved for the end when Dr. Vulcan attempts to destroy New York City. There are earthquakes, tidal waves and scenes of mass destruction achieved through the skillful use of miniatures.

The acting is better than most serials. Coffin, who usually played oily villains, gives a creditable performance in the lead. Mae Clarke, who had achieved notoriety in "Public Enemy" by having James Cagney push a grapefruit in her face, does her best with limited material as the heroine. Don Haggerty as Dirken makes a formidable villain in what I believe was his only serial. Haggerty can usually be seen in featured roles as a cop or thug. He never got the credit or the roles he deserved.

So who was Dr. Vulcan? To find out, tune into the next chapter of "King of the Rocket Men" at this theatre next week.