SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

JLRVancouver King of the Rocket Men is an entertaining serial featuring the iconic flying suit with the minimalist controls (off/on, up/down, fast/slow) worn (usually) by the heroic Jeff King. For 12 chapters King, his less competent colleagues, and the inevitable plucky female reporter battle the intrigues of "Dr. Vulcan", a typical megalomaniac super-villain who seems to like the sound of his own voice. The cliff hangers are a bit predictable (jump out of the runaway car at the last minute, turn on the jet back while falling at the last minute, etc) but the flying scenes are great (for the time and budget). The climax is the destruction of New York City (courtesy of the 1933 proto-disaster film "Deluge") as Vulcan uses his decimator ray to generate an undersea earthquake. The final scenes seem a bit upbeat under the circumstances as the mayor of New York steals the credit for stopping Vulcan (he seems in a pretty good mood considering millions must be dead or homeless, and billions of dollars' worth of real-estate destroyed). Despite the premise of a flying suit and the vivid destruction of the nation's most populous city, the most amazing part of the movie is the ability of men to keep their hats on while fighting. A great time-passer if not taken too critically. The suit and the flying scenes were recycled in a series of subsequent serials that are generally seen as inferior to this, the original.

kmoh-1 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.

dbrewster-2 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.

bsmith5552 "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.