Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe

The Rocket Suit had been used in 3 serials. The Commando Cody Name was used in one of them. Add the Rocket Ship, a (Platonic) female aid, some quasi governmental type staff men, a neat looking headquarters building and a mask, just for good measure and you have this early 1950's Theatrical/Television Series.

To be sure, all possibilities were considered before "COMMANDO CODY" went into production. It was serial-like in its story line and characters, but did not use the standard Cliff Hanger Chapter endings. Instead, all episodes were related, but also complete (sort of) in themselves. Obviously REPUBLIC or its TV Subsidiary or both would screen it. It reportedly did not work out in trial screening in theaters, so Hollywood TELEVISION SERVICE (Republic TV) had it prepared for television syndication.It even did a turn of network showings. Conveniently, each episode was just the proper length for a half-hour of Saturday morning kids' programing! Imagine that!

The business of editing series television into theatrical releases was later successfully used by other companies. Walt Disney was very active in this endeavor with DAVEY CROCKETT KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER and THE SIGN OF ZORRO, both being made up of television episodes edited into features and released theatrically.

Cody and his spaceship protect the earth from outer space dangers.

This has now been remastered with a wonderfully clear print which makes it ten times better than it was before. Much the same sort of thing as Radar Men from the Moon but with longer episodes and no cliff-hangers at the end of them.

The key to watching this show: don't think about it.

Just look at the wonderful Howard Lydecker flying effects (of Cody and the spaceship), listen to the wonderfully corny closing lines heard at the end of some episodes...and that is it.

There is a pre-Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea TV series feel to this production. Lydecker also worked on the flying scenes of VTTBOTS's "flying sub" and the endless bang, bang explosions also happened in VTTBOTS season's three and four.

"Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe", was a half hour TV series that ran as a replacement series on NBC during the 1955 season. If the series looked familiar...it was! "Commando Cody..." shows its Republic Pictures/matinée serial origins as the title character appeared once under the Cody name and twice under different character names in three different Saturday matinée cliffhanger serials from the late '40's thru the early '50's. Although there were 12 TV episodes (as there were nearly always 12 chapters of a serial), none of them ended in the inevitable cliffhanger ending. All episodes were complete in themselves yet there was a definite continuing story arc week-to-week. The 12 episodes were first shown in theatres in 1953 but by this point in time movie serials were fast becoming extinct due to the growing popularity of network television. Republic Pictures, along with Columbia Pictures, were the last two studios to produce theatrical serials. The "Commando Cody..." series was, along with most of the last of Republic's serial output, very cheaply and quickly produced so as to include tons of stock footage at Republic's disposal from nearly 20 years of serial production. Judd Holdren, who had played the Cody character (under a different name) in the second of the "Rocketman/Commando Cody" theatrical serials, starred as Commando Cody. Aline Towne played his assistant Joan, William Shallert played his assistant Ted for the first half of the series and Richard Crane replaced Shallert as assistant Dick during the second half. The Cody group was battling Gregory Gay as the Ruler who was attempting to destroy the Earth from his base on the Moon. The Ruler was assisted on Earth by Baylor (portrayed by veteran actor Lyle Talbot) and assorted other Earth gangsters looking to "clean up" after Earth's overthrow.

Sci-Fi that seems "hokey" by today's standards but entertaining for its' time in the much simpler '50's.

This 12-Part Show had a Complicated Beginning.

First Filmed as a TV Show, but the Contracts Fine-Print Required a Theatrical Release Before it Could be Shown on Television.

So it was Released to Theatres to Lackluster BO and Fan Indifference.

That was 1953.

Then in 1955 it was Shown On TV to the Delight of Kids and Kid-Like-Adults.

The Character of "Commando Cody" was Used in Multiple Serials with Varying Names, etc.

Although the Flying Suit and Helmet were Identical and have Since Become Iconic.

This 12-Parter did Not Follow the "Cliffhanger" Format with Each Episode Ending with a Joke or Light-Hearted Good-Bye.

This Irritates "Sticklers" and Purists among the "Serial-Chapter Play-Cliffhanger" Cult and most Refuse to Include it in the Ography.

It is a Better than Average Entertainment of its Type. With Good SFX, Impressive Hardware, and Outlandish Costumes.

The Visuals are Striking at Times with a Low-Budget Charm and Imagination that Fits Right In this Sort of Thing.

The "Serial" Format Began in the Silent Era and was Popular for 4 Decades.

But in the 1950's there was a "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" in Pop-Culture, with Rumblings and Changes in Music, Movies, and TV.

In Movie Theatres the Weekly Chapter-Plays were Abandoned, because of the Free-Format and Widely Available Type on the Tube.

But this is a Fitting Finale to the Genre because it Includes Eye-Popping Absurdities and a Ton-of-Fun for Low-Budget Affectionados.

Note: The "Rocket Man" was reincarnated for the little seen, underrated, and under-appreciated Movie "The Rocketeer" (1991).

I'm a sucker for all of Republic's "Rocketman" adventures. There were three Rocketman serials before this: King of the Rocketmen (1949), Radar Men From the Moon (1952), and Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952). Next came these 12 episodes of Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (1953) which are like chapters of a serial only without cliffhanger endings. It's an entertaining hybrid of a serial and a TV show. This series uses plenty of stock footage, but that doesn't bother me one bit. It adds to the fun! I wasn't alive back in the 50's, but Commando Cody never fails to provide me with enjoyable escapism in 2005. All of Republic's Rocketman adventures are a blast!