"A Republic Serial in 12 Chapters."Time was winding down for the great twenty year run of the classic Republic Serial when, in the 1950's world of Cold Wars and Red Scares, Republic touched the heights of its glory days one final time for Radar Men from the Moon, in its way a sequel to the memorable 1945 gem The Purple Monster Strikes but combined with the major plotlines of King of the Rocketman which provided the main supporting elements.
"Rocketman Jeff King had morphed into the new character Republic hoped might gain traction in the emerging world of television, Commando Cody (in fact, a dozen half-hour episodes were eventually shot for the small screen starring Judd Holdren), but, for true serial aficionados, the highlight was the return of the best of all serial villains, the masterful Roy Barcroft, who was shoehorned into this old Purple Monster suit - which had fit perfectly just six years before, but now burst at the seems with the actor's added girth. Even draped in an Emperor's gown to disguise his weight, the old menace was still there, this time in Barcroft's portrayal of Retik, Emperor of the Moon, intent on conquering and colonizing the planet Earth so that his people might escape the failing atmosphere of their homeland, which can no longer sustain life. Outfitted in the familiar old Rocketsuit, the truly-wooden George Wallace essays the Commando Cody role, but-thankfully-genius stuntman Davey Sharpe was still around to almost make it fly.
"A series of unexplained disasters have stricken planet Earth, with dams breaking, electrical power stations exploding, and a few cities disintegrating along the way just for a little variety. That forever unnamed secret government agency which always seemed to show up these chapterplays just to provide a little direction asks Commando Cody and his crew to look into it. Their resulting twelve chapter investigation not only includes a rocket to the Moon, but flushes out future Lone Ranger Clayton Moore as the main bad guy. He and all of his associates - Retik included - are ultimately disposed of by the end of chapter twelve of Radar Men from the Moon."
