Radar Men from the Moon

O.K., let's forget about all the little inaccuracies of the series, from clouds on the moon or the fact that Commando Cody always escapes from the deadly peril in a scene we didn't see in the last episode's cliffhanger.

Let's remember that fabulous flying rocket suit, which spurred the imaginations of both scientists at Bell Labs who tried to recreate it, to the imitators, such as the graphic novel turned movie, "The Rocketeer" or several episodes of "Star Trek:Voyager" spoofing the classic Republic serials.

Add to it the incredible work of brothers Howard and Theodore Lydecker, whose expert flying rigs made all the amazing flights so realistic (I dare you to find the wires attached to the models!). Their work became the industry standard long before computerized digital effects. They were responsible for the smooth flights of fancy by famous fantasy crafts such as the Flying Sub in "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea", the Proteus in "Fantastic Voyage" and the Jupiter II in "Lost In Space" (Look to the third episode of the series, where the Jupiter II crash lands on the first alien world, as the saucer emerges from the fog over a ridge. Irwin Allen knew he had a winning effect, so to save money (He was Mister Cheap), he shot it in color, to be used again two seasons later when the series upgraded from B&W).

..say Star Wars. Comparing a 1950s serial with what many think is THE movie ? Think about it-how scientifically correct is Star Wars ? How many familiar images does it use ? The bad guys wearing black or gray uniforms, they have "Storm Troopers" do their dirty work? Where have we seen THAT before ? it In both cases the producers were trying to tell a story and sell tickets. And remember, 1952. The space programs were just getting started, the USSR orbited Sputnik in 1957, the US sent up Vanguard in 1958, 1961 when Gagarin orbited the Earth is still nine years away. I remember watching the Commando Cody series on TV in the 1950s, those special effects looked pretty believable, the scenes where the rocket takes off and you see the car and the building that you saw when the actors arrived-the Lydecker Brothers did that all long before CGI. Roy Barcroft, Republic's Villain in residence as Retik. I read that Barcroft took his work in the serials very seriously because he knew how much they meant to the kids, he insisted the other actors do so as well-it shows.

This first Commando Cody adventure ain't bad, but the rocket suit, and most of the flying footage, was straight from Republic's first rocket suit serial, King of the Rocket Men (1949), usually considered the last of the great classic serials. Everything good in Radar Men (and there's plenty that's good) is better in Rocket Men! Please see it! The hero and villain have more personality, the action is more hard-hitting and extreme, the plot is more focused, and - perhaps most importantly - there is much mystery and subterfuge. In Rocket Men, our hero must keep his identity secret - no one knows it's him in that suit. And the villain too has a secret identity - we see him only in silhouette. Here, in Radar Men, everybody knows who everybody else is. Enjoy Radar Men (I know I did), but first, enjoy Rocket Men!

In 1936 Republic made a very boring serial called Undersea Kingdom. But it had some fancy aircraft effects. In 1941 Republic made an okay serial called The Adventures of Captain Marvel. But it had amazing flying footage of Marvel. In 1949 Republic made a reasonably good serial called King Of The Rocketmen. More amazing flying effects. This was all a lead up to something. In 1952 Republic would make a true comic book classic.

Republic Studio effects man Mr Howard Lydecker is the most under-rated effects man in Hollywood. His work in Radar Men (and the above mentioned serials) steals the show. We have full scale spaceships, miniature spaceships, rocketman flying in the sky, fancy sci-fi hardware all over the place (including an early model of that female robot from the Lost In Space episode "Ghost Planet"), it is all here!

I also like looking at 1950s cars race around country roads and there is no shortage of that here. All great stuff! The cast? I don't know any of them but who cares? This is just screen comic book entertainment and nothing else. In the 1960s Howard Lydecker would do effects for TV's Lost In Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

I just wanted to point out that currently this is one of two stereo goggles 3D movie serials

Can be viewed on either European or American format DVD player over most any television set using an inexpensive adapter and 3D shutter glasses.

The wired glasses are cheaper and more bullet proof than the wireless, and no expensive batteries. Battery door can eventually become loose and then lost, so wireless not way cool like wired's.

A real geek fun festival to be watching rocketman fly by wire in 3D!