King Of The Rocket Men DVD

 cliff hangers
very good old cliffhangers ,reminds me of my youth , like a time machine
Submitted by frank.cook (florida) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No

 Special Effects, Gizmos and Action Star Here
OK, so King Of The Rocket Men's acting isn't as great as Republic's earlier serials, or simultaneous efforts by Universal and Columbia. A lot of serials are stronger on action and gimmicks, propelled by deadpan comic book- or cops and robbers-type dialog, G-men or uniformed brass sounding like Joe Friday on Dragnet. No exception here, I'd say, but then the cast members in King of the Rocket Men do look right at home on the set, not camera conscious or anything, the action scenes pack a lot of punch, and Howard and Theodore Lydecker's special effects, particularly where Jeff King, a.k.a. "Rocket Man", played by Tris Coffin, zooms around saving the day in his flying rocket suit, come off brilliantly, no wires showing. Nitpickers may wonder, judging by the proximity of the afterburners on the flying suit's backpack thrusters, how Rocket Man can fly very far without burning his butt. That aside, though, King of the Rocket Men is Republic's best production featuring the atomic powered flying suit used here, followed by the serials (not sequels) Radar Men From The Moon, Zombies Of The Stratosphere, and the Commando Cody TV series, all reusing the same rocket suit and accompanying flight footage first introduced in King Of The Rocket Men, but starring different characters than Rocket Man himself. King Of The Rocket Men's cliffhanger chapters are scarcely longer than 12 minutes apiece, and the plot, involving unidentified criminal scientist Dr. Vulcan, his hired thugs, illegal theft, trafficking and sale of high-tech items and secrets to foreign governments, and an extortion scheme with an ultrasonic gun fired at New York City's Amsterdam Fault with lives hanging in the balance, wastes no time getting on with itself. King Of The Rocket Men is a much better effort than Disney's 1991 movie The Rocketeer, based on the comic strip of the same name, but both of which were thought up well after the fact. Republic's King Of The Rocket Men came first, and can always be remembered as one of the best futuristic post-war serials ushering in the 1950s science fiction film era.
Submitted by Bill (Newton, MA, USA) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No

 King of the Rocket Men lots of fun to watch
Rocket Man's flying effects, film in 1949 are great to watch.If you remember these serials or have never seen them before you are in for a great treat of movie viewing.
Submitted by biglermedia (Chambersburg, PA) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No

Have you seen this movie?