Radar Men from the Moon (Republic Pictures, 1952) is the first Commando Cody serial, in 12 chapters, starring newcomer George Wallace (1917–2005) as Cody and Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, with serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. It was also released as a television film under the new title Retik the Moon Menace (1966).

This famous serial recycles the rocket-powered flying suit from King of the Rocket Men (1949). The main character, Commando Cody, is a civilian researcher with a number of employees and a large laboratory. (The laboratory building is actually the front office of Republic Pictures with a fake "Cody Laboratories" sign.)

Commando Cody has a rocket-powered flying suit and a rocket ship capable of reaching the Moon. When the U.S. finds itself under attack from a mysterious forces that can wipe out entire military bases and industrial complexes, Cody surmises that the Earth is under attack from its own Moon. He takes the rocket there to discover and confront the Moon's dictator Retik, who announces plans to conquer our planet and move the Moon's entire population there.

Cody spends most of the serial's chapters on Earth, battling an elusive lunar warrior named Krog and his gang of human crooks, hired to steal and stockpile supplies for the invasion. Clayton Moore plays Krog's chief gangster assistant.

Radar Men from the Moon's first chapter spawned the famous expression "Atomic activity on the Moon. Atomic blast on the Earth" (uttered by Henderson when telling scientists of the government's research findings).



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Release Date: January 9, 1952, entered the Public Domain on January 1, 1980