COMMANDO CODY!! TV SERIES! / SERIAL DVD (VERY RARE)

COMMANDO CODY!! TV SERIES! / SERIAL DVD (VERY RARE)

Commando Cody : Sky Marshall of the Universe
Date of Release : 17th February, 1953

Starring Judd Holdren, Aline Towne, William Schallert, Richard Crane & Gregory Gay

12 Chapters & 310 mins - each chapter is 26 mins

Commando Cody had first appeared in the 1952 serial RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON with George Wallace as Commando Cody, though his roots go back even further to 1949 when Republic released a serial called KING OF THE ROCKET MEN. This latter serial featured Jeff King (played by Tristram Coffin) as a flying hero named Rocket Man, wearing the familiar helmet and leather jacket that would be associated with Commando Cody. Indeed almost all of the flying footage shot for KING OF THE ROCKET MEN would be used over and over again in two subsequent serials and the COMMANDO CODY television show.

In 1952 Republic's television arm, Hollywood Television Service, Inc., decided to produce a Commando Cody program using almost the entire production staff from their serials, and filmed three episodes of the new tv series. However Republic stopped production of the tv series at that point and went right into filming the serial ZOMBIES FROM THE STRATOSPHERE. To avoid any confusion with the yet to be completed tv series, Producer Franklin Adreon decided to change the name of the Judd Holdren role to Larry Martin, and he is never called Commando Cody in the serial.

When the tv series went back into production Republic was not able to continue with the services of side-kick William Shallert, so Richard Crane was brought in to play the part of Dick Preston. There are several notable differences that begin with Chapter 4. Our hero's nemesis is still The Ruler (Gregory Gay with a "foreign" accent) supported by his Earth bound emissary Lyle Talbot but there are new sets, and the ray guns have been replaced by six guns. Finally, in most of the last nine episodes the show contains a light ending featuring a humorous moment with Dick Preston, not unlike the endings featuring Cadet Happy in Space Patrol.

This great series has plenty of the action typical of the serials of the day as Cody and his pals battle The Ruler on Earth, the Moon, Mars, Venus, Saturn and Mercury. In episode 6 they even journey to planet M-27 "located in a Solar System just West of our own". Bye the way, at the end of Chapter 12, Cody finally gets his man!