The Purple Monster Strikes Movie Review

Serial authority Donald F. Glut declares The Purple Monster Strikes as the last great Republic serial and he's right; it was all down-hill after this, the first and best of Republic's three Martian-invasion chapter plays. The red planet's emissary, a humanoid in a purple-colored scaly suit and played by cowboy star Roy Barcroft, comes to Earth to kill the human inventor of a reusable rocketship. All the poor Martians are capable of launching is a one-way capsule, and after Barcroft completes his assignment, he continues construction of the craft (with the help of Earth criminals). If he can get back home with the technology we will soon have a Mars invasion fleet in our backyard. The Purple Monster is also able to reanimate and possess the corpse of the late inventor (shades of Invasion of the Body Snatchers a decade ahead of time) but pops out for fist-fights with a heroic lawyer attempting to foil him throughout the 15 cliffhanger episodes. These choreographed punchouts, so beloved by serial buffs, are the last good ones Republic would ever film. The studio's subsequent Flying Discmen from Mars and Zombies of the Stratosphere are pale imitations of what had gone before.

1945 188m/B Dennis Moore, Linda Stirling, Roy Barcroft; D: Spencer Gordon Bennet. VHS REP, VCN, MLB