Charming and brutal

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I wont give a summary of this serial as that has been done very well by some other reviewers. Just want to make a few observations. In this serial,"King of the Rocket Men," we see a gray car with a white top going over a cliff when it turns into an all white car. This same gray car with a white top becoming an all white car when it goes over a cliff can be seen in other serials. The use of stock footage was a staple in making serials as it reduced production costs. Another observation is that "henchmen" played more than one role. Here we wee David Sharpe killed off in one episode only to appear later as another henchman. Seeing this as a kid watching from week to week we didn't notice this as one henchman looked pretty much like another and we didn't know anything about stunt men. Another observation we can make as adults and didn't question as kids. We see this in several serials. The villain has a TV camera that can see anywhere he wants. There is a scene where the Vulcan can see our heroes in an apartment and hear every word they say. Why didn't he have his camera on them all the time and know all of their plans? All in all this is a pretty good serial,but not my favorite.

This is a highly entertaining Republic serial, with some pretty good performances, especially Don Haggerty as the heavy, Dirken, and James Craven as Professor Millard, forever inventing things that must never, and always do, fall into the wrong hands. The real stars, though, are the Lydeckers' special effects, as the flying Rocket Man is excellent.As with any Saturday morning serial, criticism is superfluous. But one is left with some nagging queries. Why do they keep inventing these terrible weapons? If they invented a new type of wheat, or something, wouldn't that be so much more constructive? And, given his extraordinary ingenuity, why doesn't Dr Vulcan simply patent his own brilliant inventions, especially the remote control for cars? He could have made a legitimate fortune.We should also note that Jeff King actually fails at the end. Dr Vulcan destroys New York City. King destroys the decimator about a minute before it would have been destroyed anyway. Isn't that a bit of a failure? And, given New York has been destroyed, isn't everyone a little bit cheerful in the final scene? A more serious criticism is that episode 10, The Deadly Fog, is actually a very tedious rehash, in flashback, of the whole plot. King tells Burt the story, even though he already knows it. Skip to the cliffhanger.Two final quibbles. The title, King of the Rocket Men, is a little misleading, as there is only one Rocket Man. And Rocket Man himself looks remarkably like The Man With The Stick from Vic Reeves' Big Night Out.

This was a fantastic serial with great special effects for it's time. Unfortunately, many who review such fare today do so from feature length versions. One must always remember that these serials were meant to be viewed, chapter by chapter, on a weekly basis. It was the draw that got you back to the theater and a five cent bag of fresh popcorn with real butter, not butter substitute. This cherished specialized cinema of the 1940's and early 50's, produced mainly for kids, was known widely as "Saturday Mornings At the Movies".To understand and appreciate such cinema, one really needs to have the inventive mind of a child, growing up during such exciting times of pioneering new technology. There was no 24 hour television in color or black and white, VCR's, or anything to get in the way of a child's greatest attribute, their imagination. This was the generation that would grow up to make all of these modern day wonders come true.It is also fair to mention that stars like Tristram Coffin, deserved to be remembered for the fine actors they were; despite the limited range of the roles they played. After all, it takes a fine actor to make even a child believe that a man can strap two powerful flaming rockets to his back, attached to a flimsy leather jacket with four simple control knobs in front, and fly convincingly - without being killed. How many of our high paid, so-called actors of today can effectively accomplish such a feat?

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.