Charming, laffy TV/serial hybrid. Olive Films has released COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE, the 1953 sci-fi TV series/big-screen serial originally produced by Republic Pictures, and starring Judd Holdren, Aline Towne, William Schallert, Richard Crane, Gregory Gaye, Craig Kelly, Peter Brocco, Lyle Talbot, Mauritz Hugo, Joanne Jordan, and Gloria Pall as the hubba hubba “Moon Girl” (“Now give us a ¾ profile—that’s it, sweetheart!”). Originally conceived as a 12-episode TV prequel reboot of Republic’s RADAR MEN OF THE MOON, COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE’s production was temporarily halted while the suits tried to figure out exactly what to do with it, before they finally completed and released it first to theaters (in faux-serial form)...before completing the circle and dumping it onto the tube a few years later. So-called “controversy” aside as to its proper genus classification (add my two cents here: “Who cares?”), COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE is still quite a bit of primitive Cold War sci-fi fun, with no-nonsense Dick and Jane storylines, cardboard sets and heroes, and, from our now-distant, nostalgic vantage point, an added atmosphere of seemingly innocent, unconcerned confidence, obscuring the moviemakers’ original hardscrabble calculations. No extras, unfortunately; however, the full 30 minute (each) MPEG-4 AVC Video encoded 1080p 1.33:1 (on an anamorphic platform) black and white transfers look squarejawed and masculinely solid.

At the top secret Cody Laboratories (which offers convenient curbside parking 5 yards away for the various spies that openly reconnoiter the place 24/7), prospective employees Dick Preston (William Schallert, THE COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES, COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT) and Joan Gilbert (Aline Towne, HIGHWAY 301, CONFIDENCE GIRL) meet with Commissioner Henderson (Craig Kelly, DIRTY HARRY, DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY), the head cheese for all U.S. Space Operations. After a cursory glance at their resumes, Henderson okays hiring them as assistants for “Commando Cody” (Judd Holdren, FRANCIS, THE TALKING MULE, CAPTAIN VIDEO: MASTER OF THE STRATOSPHERE), an alias for the former WWII commando-turned-scientist and adventurer who has been appointed Sky Marshal of the Universe (talk about a big beat for one cop...). The team’s job? To help adapt atomic power for rocket propulsion. Why? Because the big money for the military/industrial complex is in government contracts. Because Henderson needs Cody up in the stratosphere to find out who is attacking the Earth with deadly missiles. Cody, forever masked to protect his identity, needs to build a rocket fast to counter the unknown alien menace, a threat slowed somewhat by Cody’s invention of a cosmic dust “blanket” that envelops the earth, blocking anything that enters the atmosphere (in scientific terms: the fluorocarbon equivalence of 10 trillion spent White Rain hair spray aerosol cans). Soon, Commando Cody discovers The Ruler (Gregory Gaye, CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA, HITLER), a super-intelligent being from another world, intent on conquering the universe one heartbeat at a time, has the aid of human traitors Dr. Varney (Peter Brocco, THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT, OUR MAN FLINT) and later, Baylor and Mason (Lyle Talbot, THE STOOGES GO WEST, ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN, and Mauritz Hugo, PISTOL HARVEST, CAPTIVE OF BILLY THE KID). Can Commando Cody, with new age weaponry like a jet pack and ray guns and freeze rays and...um, other types of rays, alongside good ‘ol fashioned red-blooded American fisticuffs, stop this insidious treachery and save the planet?

I have a fairly general background on the subject of old-timey studio serials, so I had to look up the production history of COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE. It’s a tangled one. By 1953, serial production had all but ceased in Hollywood, as their main consumers—kids at Saturday matinees—increasingly began staying home to watch the same kind of programming for free on television. Always struggling Republic had, two years prior, begun selling off TV broadcast rights to their big library of B Westerns, mysteries, and actioners, a move—along with renting out their backlot and studios to TV producers—that kept the financially strapped studio afloat. When the executives realized that ratings were relatively high for these Bs (titles the studio largely thought were already “one and done” in terms of monetizing), they decided to cut out the middleman and craft a new “serial” made specifically for the TV series framework (a central story arc, no cliffhangers, and an expanded half-hour-to-25 minute runtime).

A decision was made to reboot their unrelated “Rocketman” titles (KING OF THE ROCKET MEN, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON) for television with a direct prequel to RADAR, featuring that serial’s hero, Commando Cody. Since a sequel to RADAR was already being readied to shoot (ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE), Republic executives thought a last-minute name change for ZOMBIES’s Cody character was necessary, so as not to compete at the same time with the TV pilot and cause possible confusion with audiences (CODY had Cody meeting Joan Gilbert and Dick Preston for the first time). ZOMBIES was put on hold, and the first three episodes of COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE were shot, before production was suddenly halted. Reports vary, but several factors seemed to have weighed in on the stoppage, including a decision by Republic to cut their loses with the dying serial form and edit together those first three episodes as a feature release, as well as a potential problem with the cast and crew union members being asked to shoot a TV series (at this time, TV was still considered the mortal enemy of Hollywood moviemaking, and a threat to union employment). ZOMBIES was thus put into production (it was released in the summer of 1952), before shooting on the last nine episodes of COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE was resumed (the extended delay saw an unavailable William Schallert replaced by Richard Crane). Threat of union action against the series (as well as some entangled contractual obligations) forced Republic to release COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE first to theaters, where it failed with exhibitors and the remaining serial fans, in part because it was structured less like a traditional cliffhanging serial, and more like 12 loosely-connected long-form short subjects. COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE did eventually wind up on television two years later on NBC’s 1955 summer schedule, were it made no more impact than it had in theaters (NBC certainly didn’t ask for any more episodes).