King of the Rocketmen [VHS]

King of the Rocketmen [VHS]
by Fred C. Brannon

King of the Rocketmen [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Don Haggerty, House Peters Jr., James Craven, Mae Clarke, Tristram Coffin
Director: Fred C. Brannon
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Running Time: 180 minutes
Release Date: 1995-05-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Republic Pictures
Studio: Republic Pictures

VHS Movie Reviews of King of the Rocketmen [VHS]

Movie Review: "King of the Rocketmen" (1949) ... Fred C. Brannon ... A Republic 12 Chapter Serial"
Summary: 5 Stars

Republic Pictures present "KING OF THE ROCKETMEN" (1949) (163 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- is a 12-Chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Tristram Coffin, Mae Clark, Don Haggerty, I. Stanford Jolley, James Craven & House Peters Jr., relive those thrilling days week after week venue brought you to the theater, as you were mesmerized in your seat waiting for the final chapter ... exciting action within 12 episodes from the Republic Serials department, released on June 7, 1949, our chief villain is Doctor Vulcan the mysterious mastermind, in an attempt to steal newly developed weapons for sale to foreign governments, but is opposed by a two-fisted research scientist who has at his disposal a remarkable flying suit which enables him to become a jet propelled avenger known as Rocketman, who seems to know no fear when it comes to exciting cliffhangers..

Under Fred C. Brannon (Director), Franklin Adreon (Associate Producer), Royal K. Cole (Screenwriter), William Lively (Screenwriter), Sol Shor (Screenwriter), Stanley Wilson (Original Score), Ellis W. Carter (Cinematographer), Cliff Bell Sr.(Editor), Sam Starr (Editor), Fred A. Ritter (Art Director), John McCarthy Jr. (Set Decoration), James Redd (Set Decoration), Bob Mark (Makeup Artist), Roy Wade (Production Manager), Earl Crain Sr (Sound Dept.), Howard Lydecker (Special Effects), Theodore Lydecker (Special Effects) ------ the cast includes Tristram Coffin (Jeff King), Mae Clarke (Glenda Thomas), Don Haggerty (Tony Dirken), House Peters Jr. (Burt Winslow), James Craven (Prof. Millard), I. Stanford Jolley (Prof. Bryant), Douglas Evans (Chairman), Ted Adams (Martin Conway), Stanley Price (Gunther Von Strum), Dale Van Sickel (Prof. Drake), Tom Steele (Henchman Knox/Taxi Driver), David Sharpe (Henchman Blears/Cliff/Stark), Eddie Parker (Rowan), Buddy Roosevelt (Henchman Phillips), Carey Loftin (Henchman Sparks), Jack O'Shea (Eastern Electronics' Clerk), Bud Wolfe (Motorcycle Rider) ------ this Republic Serial has some of the greatest special effects for it's time, each episode has some exciting flying scenes never before on the big screen ... our hero Tristram Coffin made this his signature role for the rest of his career, as he wore the leather jacket with four control knobs in front with the famous bullet helmet and made all of us believe he could indeed fly ... great stunt work by the Republic stunt personnel David Sharpe (stunt double: Tristram Coffin in Rocket Man suit/Don Haggerty/I. Stanford Jolley), Tom Steele (stunt double: Tristram Coffin & House Peters, Jr.), Dale Van Sickel (stunt double: Don Haggerty), Carey Loftin (stunt double: House Peters, Jr.), Eddie Parker (stunts), Bud Wolfe (stunts) --- don't leave the theater until the final chapter "Wave of Disaster" ... another winner from the vaults of Republic Serials --- this is a must watch for the serial buffs in all of us.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Dr. Vulcan - Traitor
2. Plunging Death
3. Dangerois Evidence
4. High Peril
5. Fatal Dive
6. Mystery of the Rocket Man
7. Molten Menace
8. Suicide Flight
9. Ten Seconds To Live
10.The Deadly Fog
11.The Secret of Dr. Vulcan
12.Wave of Disaster

BIOS:
1. Tristram Coffin
Date of birth: 13 August 1909 - Mammoth, Utah
Date of death: 26 March 1990 - Santa Monica, California
[Special footnote, He donned the bullet helmet and gadget-laden leather jacket of "Rocket Man"
in the 1949 serial "King of the Rocket Men." Baby boomers might remember Coffin best as the
Arizona Ranger Captain in the '50s Western series "26 Men."]

2. Mae Clarke (aka: Violet Mary Klotz)
Date of birth: 16 August 1910 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date of death: 29 April 1992 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
[Special footnote, Immortal as the recipient of Cagney's classic grapefruit-in-the-face in
'The Public Enemy' (1931), also her role as Dr. Frankenstein's wife in 1931]

3. I. Stanford Jolley (aka: Isaac Stanford Jolley)
Date of birth: 24 October 1900 - New Jersey
Date of death: 7 December 1978 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
[Special footnote, the boss villain in the '40s, mostly appearing for such poverty-row companies
as Monogram and PRC, a regular member of the Republic Pictures' stock company, appeared in
"Crimson Ghost" (1946), plus 25 films for them between 1936 and 1954.]

4. Fred C. Brannon (Director) ("Zombies of the Stratosphere" - 1952/Serial)
Date of birth: 26 April 1901 - Louisiana, USA
Date of death: 6 April 1953 - Los Angeles, California
[Special footnote, "King of the Rocket Men" has a truly amazing mid-air chase in one of its early
chapters, ending with a startlingly realistic piece of stunt work as the rocket man flies in pursuit of
a plane, Brannon also directed episodes of the "Commando Cody" (1953) television series]

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)
5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)
8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)
9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)
11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)
13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 163 mins on VHS ~ Republic Video ~ (5/30/1995)

Movie Review: inspiration behind the Rocketeer and a good serial too!
Summary: 5 Stars

Although this one runs a little too long it still holds up as an entertaining video. If you like the old time movie serials than it's right up there with Captain Marvel in the action department. I really loved this because it shows where creator Dave Stevens got the idea for the Rocketeer. Now why doesn't he burn his backside when he takes off?

Movie Review: THIS NEEDS TO BE BOUGHT TO DVD!!!!!!; 4.5 STARS
Summary: 4 Stars

THIS CLASSIC 12 CHAPTER SERIAL IS A DEFINITE MASTERPIECE. IN ORDER TO SELL SOME SECRETS TO FOREIGN POWERS, A CROOKED DOCTOR STEALS SECRETS FROM INVENTORS AND HE KILLS THE INVENTORS AND COVERS THEIR DEATHS UP. ANOTHER DOCTOR DONS A ROCKET SUIT AND HE INVESTIGATES THE DEATHS UNDER THE NAME ROCKETMAN. GOOD SERIAL. FULL OF ACTION AND IT'S INTERESTING. SERIAL FANS DEFINITELY WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED WITH THIS ONE! BUT, PLEASE RELEASE THIS ON DVD SOON!!!!!

Movie Review: The Original Rocketeer
Summary: 3 Stars

Republic loved to have kings in its movies (Roy Rogers, the king of the cowboys) and serials (King of the Texas Rangers, King of the Forest Rangers, King of the Rocket Men), usually because the serial hero has that last name (as with Rocket Men, Jeff King). Maybe it started when the studio did the serial version of "King of the Royal Mounted." The studio used the same excellent flying effects by the Lydecker brothers that had been used in its earlier "Captain Marvel" serial. Rocket Man's flying suit and jet pack proved such an enduring image that Republic used it again in two unrelated serials ("Radar Men from the Moon" and "Flying Disc Man from Mars," each featuring a different actor and character, not to mention a short-lived "Commando Cody" TV series) -- so much so that the relatively-recent "Rocketeer" movie did it for a new generation. But the original is still the most fun.

Movie Review: The original Rocketeer is a blast for serial fans
Summary: 5 Stars

Tristram Coffin (in an unusual heroic role) dons a cutting-edge flying suit to become crime-busting Rocket Man. Whenever the power-hungry criminal strikes, the ubiquitous Rocket Man is there. (There's really only ONE Rocket Man in this 1949 serial; his surname happens to be King.) The action is impressively staged: when Rocket Man soars across the skies and leaps into a moving truck, for example, the effect is dazzling. The serial plays like a live-action comic book, and this is one cliffhanger in which the villain actually succeeds in carrying out his master plan (find out for yourself how much he gets away with!). Action fans will get a big kick out of this.

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