COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE (1953 serial)

Mr. Henderson, government official "in charge of all operations in outer space," is at Commando Cody's office and meets Cody's new assistants Ted and Joan, who have been hired to work on a top secret project: an atomic powered rocket ship capable of reaching any planet in the solar system. (I was pleased to see more security here than in the previous Cody serial RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON; in fact, Cody now wears a domino mask to hide his identity. Also, who the hell appointed Cody "sky marshal of the universe," which seems to be an official title?) When missiles were being fired at Earth from outer space, Cody developed a "radioactive cosmic dust layer" which was put in place above our planet to burn up any object heading toward Earth. As we later learn, a robed villain called The Ruler is creating this havoc from his headquarters on Venus, with some help from a band of henchmen on Earth. Cody has created a dispersal ray that allows his rocket to pass through the dust layer, and the bulk of this serial involves the Ruler's attempts to get his ships through the dust to invade. Over the twelve chapters, Cody and his team have to face an earth-melting ray (using footage from KING OF THE ROCKET MEN), destructive floods, germ warfare weapons, a lumbering robot, explosions intended to knock the moon out of its orbit, climate changes, hydrogen hurricanes, and a trip to visit the Queen of Mercury (!) before their final showdown with the Ruler. 

First, let's deal with the Cody character problem. Though the same Rocket Man suit is used in four Republic serials (ROCKET MEN, RADAR MEN, ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE, and this one), only this and RADAR have a hero named Commando Cody, and he's played by two different actors. Here, he’s Judd Holdren who played Rocket Man Larry Martin in ZOMBIES. I like to think of all of them as Cody, but technically they're not, or depending on your viewpoint, technically they are. Next, there's the definition problem: is this really a serial? It was shot to be a 12-episode television show, but contractual problems obligated Republic to release it in theaters as a serial first. Later, it was shown on television during the summer of 1955. Some serials fans maintain that this is not really a serial, mostly because there are no cliffhangers—each episode is more or less self-contained, though there is an overarching arc story. (And the last two episodes are more directly linked.) My opinion: of course it's a serial. It was one long narrative shown in weekly chapters in theaters; the chapters are numbered and titled, though the word 'chapter' is not used onscreen. 

How does it stand up to the other Rocket Man serials? Even though I sometimes complain about cliffhangers—their predictability, their cheating visuals—I admit I miss their presence here. There are cliffhanger moments at the ends of some chapters, continuing characters, and plenty of fistfights. The sets are pretty much the same as in the other films, as is, of course, Cody's flight suit. Judd Holdren is at a bit of a disadvantage in the domino mask but I guess he's heroic enough. Aline Towne (Joan) was in three of the other serials and, as always, has little to do. Willam Schallert as Ted is surprisingly tentative and low energy. After a break in filming between chapters 3 and 4 (to film ZOMBIES), he was replaced by Richard Crane (as Dick, pictured at top left with Towne and Holdren), handsome and energetic, and well versed at decent comic relief (he played space ranger Rocky Jones in a 1954 TV show). Many episodes end with a sort of punch line delivered by Crane, my favorite being one in which he fantasizes about using the Ruler as a houseboy and having him whipped. Crane is definitely a plus. Gregory Gaye (The Ruler) has little to do except give orders to his thugs. He's pictured at right with Gloria Pall, credited only as The Moon Girl.

Our heroes have to face some interesting situations. One involves a second sun appearing in the sky (then a third and a fourth), causing Earth temperatures to skyrocket. In the following chapter, the Ruler puts our planet into a tilt, aligned with Saturn, causing the threat of a new Ice Age in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition to the Venus HQ (the same sets used by the villains in the other serials), the moon, Saturn and Mercury are involved in plotlines. The good guys use "insignia radios" pinned to their outfits to communicate. The bad guys use a huge machine which decodes secret messages from the Ruler to the chief Earth baddie (Lyle Talbot in a thankless and repetitive role). Of the three Rocket Man actors, I think I still like George Wallace (RADAR MEN) the best. I did miss the rough-and-ready feel of the other Republic serials—to call this production glossy is misleading, but it is on the shiny and clean side—but it’s fun to watch. [Blu-ray]