Lost Planet Airmen


Lost Planet Airmen is a 1951 black-and-white American science fiction film produced and distributed by Republic Pictures, which is actually the feature film condensation of their 1949 12-chapter serial, King of the Rocket Men. Lost Planet Airmen was directed by Fred C. Brannon and written by Royal K. Cole and William Lively. The lead actors in Lost Planet Airmen were Tristram Coffin and Mae Clark.

Plot

Professor Millard, a scientist who is a member of the group Science Associates, works in a secluded desert location on a secret research project. Reporter and photographer Glenda Thomas is curious about the secret project. When she tours the facility, she meets Burt Winslow, the project's publicity director and Jeff King, a young project member.
The mysterious "Dr. Vulcan" is intent on stealing the atomic-powered weapons being developed by the scientists at the Science Associates group. Vulcan hopes to make a fortune by selling these valuable devices to foreign powers. Dr. Vulcan's gang kills one of the scientists but Jeff dons a newly developed atomic-powered rocket backpack, mounted on a leather jacket. He wears a streamlined flying helmet, and with Dr. Millard, foils the attacks from the gang.
Dr. Vulcan plans on destroying New York City with a sonic ray device, which causes massive earthquakes. Only the "Rocket Man" ultimately stands in his way.

Cast

Lost Planet Airmen used scenes from the King of the Rocket Men but was more cheaply made than previous Republic serials. Creating a compilation film allowed for Republic to have an opportunity to exploit the serial format. The studio's prospects of continuing the serials in a waning market, was not lost on management. Republic and Columbia Pictures were the last to offer serials in the mid-1950s. Columbia, alone, had two 15-episode serials in 1956, that ended the cycle.

Stunts

Jim Craddock, in VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever 2001 included a slight mention of the "feature-length condensation of the 12-part sci-fi serial King of the Rocket Man. He further noted that, "Rocket Man is pitted against the sinister Dr. Vulcan in this intergalactic battle of good and evil."

Citations