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King of the Rocket Men

  • 1949
  • Approved
  • 2h 47m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1K
YOUR RATING
King of the Rocket Men (1949)
SuperheroActionAdventureCrimeFamilySci-Fi

Jeff King in his experimental rocket suit battles the evil Dr. Vulcan.Jeff King in his experimental rocket suit battles the evil Dr. Vulcan.Jeff King in his experimental rocket suit battles the evil Dr. Vulcan.

  • Director
    • Fred C. Brannon
  • Writers
    • Royal K. Cole
    • William Lively
    • Sol Shor
  • Stars
    • Tristram Coffin
    • Mae Clarke
    • Don Haggerty
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Fred C. Brannon
    • Writers
      • Royal K. Cole
      • William Lively
      • Sol Shor
    • Stars
      • Tristram Coffin
      • Mae Clarke
      • Don Haggerty
    • 20User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos30

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    Top cast23

    Edit
    Tristram Coffin
    Tristram Coffin
    • Jeffrey King
    Mae Clarke
    Mae Clarke
    • Glenda Thomas
    Don Haggerty
    Don Haggerty
    • Tony Dirken
    House Peters Jr.
    House Peters Jr.
    • Burt Winslow
    James Craven
    James Craven
    • Prof. Millard [Chs. 1-7, 10]
    I. Stanford Jolley
    I. Stanford Jolley
    • Prof. Bryant
    Douglas Evans
    Douglas Evans
    • Chairman [Ch. 12]
    Ted Adams
    Ted Adams
    • Martin Conway [Chs. 1-4]
    Stanley Price
    Stanley Price
    • Gunther Von Strum
    Dale Van Sickel
    Dale Van Sickel
    • Martin - Henchman [Ch.1]…
    Tom Steele
    Tom Steele
    • Knox - Henchman [Chs. 1, 3-4, 7]…
    David Sharpe
    David Sharpe
    • Blears - Henchman…
    Eddie Parker
    Eddie Parker
    • Rowan [Ch. 3]
    Michael Ferro
    • Turk - Henchman [Ch. 8]
    Frank O'Connor
    Frank O'Connor
    • Warehouse Guard [Chs. 1, 10]
    Buddy Roosevelt
    Buddy Roosevelt
    • Phillips - Henchman [Chs. 9-10]
    Marshall Bradford
    Marshall Bradford
    • Prof. Graftner
    • (uncredited)
    Arvon Dale
    • Chairman's Aide [Ch. 12]
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Fred C. Brannon
    • Writers
      • Royal K. Cole
      • William Lively
      • Sol Shor
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews20

    6.71K
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    Featured reviews

    8alecwest

    The best of the three "rocket man" serials

    1949's "King of the Rocket Men" was the first of three serials from Republic Pictures featuring a man wearing essentially the same rocket suit and helmet. The other two, both released in 1952, were "Radar Men From the Moon" and "Zombies of the Stratosphere." All three have things going for them though, each time, Republic tried to reinvent the character ... Jeff King in "King," Commando Cody in "Radar," and Larry Martin in "Zombies." The first and second serials were later revised for different purposes. "King of the Rocket Men" was edited to remove the cliffhanger sequences and the "remember when" episode (the one which is primarily flashbacks of prior chapters) and re-released it as a feature film titled "Lost Planet Airmen" in 1951. And "Radar Men From the Moon" was released as a 12-episode TV series under the new title, "Commando Cody: Sky Marshall of the Universe" in 1953. The third serial, "Zombies," while not remade, is probably the best remembered since it marked the science-fiction feature film acting debut of Leonard Nimoy (later, Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame) playing Narab, a Martian zombie.

    But, "King of the Rocket Men" was the best of the three. Especially during 1949 and subsequent years, it was far more believable to envision a potential traitor, blackmailing government entities and possibly selling secrets to a foreign power than to believe in invaders from the Moon or Mars (in "Radar" and "Zombies," respectively). Also, and this is just my opinion, the two later serials seemed a bit contrived ... like they were merely attempting to cash in on the success of "King" ... a very well-acted serial for the time with an iron-clad plot line.

    So, why the 8 of 10 rating? Back in 1949, money was tight in the studios. And sometimes, it was cheaper to "buy" special effects than it was to make them. That's exactly what Republic Pictures did. Since they wanted cataclysmic special effects in the last chapter but didn't want to spend the money, they simply bought rights to the 1933 film, "Deluge," for the sole purpose of borrowing the special effects footage for use in "King." And while there's nothing inherently wrong in such a practice (it has been done many times by Hollywood), it almost forced "Deluge" into obscurity. There were very few copies of "Deluge" available and, after Republic borrowed the scenes, they trashed the rest of the footage. Fortunately, one copy (not the Italian one with English subtitles) was discovered in France and it has since been preserved (though not openly released by any studio). In English? Don't know.
    8StarCastle99

    A Treat as long as you don't take it seriously

    While I don't want to date myself, this is the first film I actually saw made. It's a 13 part chapter play, aka serial, that fifties kids enjoyed on Saturdays at the movies. All serials had a formula. They ended with a cliffhanger, they began with the "take out" of the previous week's episode, and featured lots of action and lame dialog. This one also offered the best human flying effects to that time. In fact, nobody surpassed them until Superman: The Movie. You can thank the Lydecker Brothers who not only created the effect, but nearly sunk NY City with a tidal wave. 4.5 hours of film on a budget of $175,000. You can only shake your head in amazement. I've seen the series a dozen times. I can recall seeing a screening of it in a local theater where they played all 13 episodes back to back. It got so that one section of the audience would cheer the producer and another the director. Everybody booed the actors. When did you last have a movie going experience like that?
    10dbrewster-2

    The BEST movie serial ever (next to The Adventures of Captain Marvel)

    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.
    7AlsExGal

    A big hit, even if cheaply produced.

    In this 12-chapter action serial from Republic Pictures and director Fred C. Brannon, the mysterious Dr. Vulcan is responsible for a series of murders of prominent scientists, as well as the theft of their scientific breakthroughs, which he sells to foreign powers. It's up to Jeff King (Tristram Coffin), a member of the Science Associates, a gathering of America's greatest thinkers, to discover the identity of Dr. Vulcan and bring him to justice. King is assisted by plucky reporter Glenda Thomas (Mae Clarke) and Associates member Burt Winslow (House Peters Jr.), as well as by the believed-dead Professor Millard (James Craven). Millard has developed a prototype rocket-suit that will allow the wearer to fly through the air at great speeds. Jeff King dons the apparatus to become...King of the Rocket Men!

    This was more cheaply produced than the other Republic serials, utilizing much stock footage, and even padding most of one chapter with clips from earlier chapters. Still, this was a big enough hit to spawn a few more "Jet-Pack" serials in the years to come. The final chapter is quite epic, even if a lot of it is repurposed scenes from older movies. Most of the action scenes are the usual fist-fights and driving off of cliffs. It's all entertaining, in a simple way, but not one of the more memorable serials in Republic history, outside of the Rocket Man's image.
    6skallisjr

    Up, Up, and AWAY!

    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.

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    Related interests

    Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Hemsworth
    Superhero
    Bruce Willis in Piège de cristal (1988)
    Action
    Still frame
    Adventure
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in Les Soprano (1999)
    Crime
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    Family
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in L'Empire contre-attaque (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was another of Republic's titles to use a play-on-words for "King of..." "King" was actually the name of the main character.
    • Goofs
      At the end of Chapter 6/ beginning of Chaper 7, when the truck smashes through the warehouse wall and goes over the cliff the rear wheels and axle become completely detached from the undercarriage, but when the truck plunges into the water the axles and wheels are attached to the truck.
    • Quotes

      Glenda Thomas: Am I glad you caught up with me again.

      Jeffrey King: It's getting to be a habit that I'd like to break.

      Glenda Thomas: Well, I was only trying to help.

      Jeffrey King: The best you can do is help yourself to a ride back to town. The highway is right over there.

    • Alternate versions
      This Republic serial was edited down to a feature film and released under the title "Lost Planet Airman."
    • Connections
      Edited into Lost Planet Airmen (1951)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 8, 1949 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Der König der Raketenmänner
    • Filming locations
      • Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Science Associates headquarters, etc.)
    • Production company
      • Republic Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $165,592 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 47m(167 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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