The Purple Monster Strikes
| The Purple Monster Strikes | |
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| Directed by |
Spencer Gordon Bennet Fred C. Brannon |
| Produced by | Ronald Davidson |
| Written by |
Royal Cole Albert DeMond Basil Dickey Lynn Perkins Joseph Poland Barney Sarecky |
| Starring |
Dennis Moore Linda Stirling Roy Barcroft James Craven Bud Geary John Davidson |
| Cinematography | Bud Thackery |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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15 chapters (209 minutes (serial) 100 minutes (TV) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $160,057 (negative cost: $183,803) |
The Purple Monster Strikes is a 1945 Republic Movie serial. It was also released as a Century 66 television film under the title D-Day on Mars (1966).
The original production title for the serial was The Purple Shadow Strikes. The sequel to this serial was the 1950 Flying Disc Man from Mars, which used much of the footage from the original.
Astronomer Cyrus Layton is working late one night on his new airplane design in his observatory. He witnesses what he believes is a meteorite landing in the far distance. He contacts his niece Sheila and asks her to bring Craig Foster to the observatory to help analyze his discovery; he then sets out to search for the meteorite crater. Layton instead discovers a crashed spaceship; the ship's pilot emerges and explains that he is from the planet Mars.
Mistakenly thinking the alien is friendly, Layton takes him back to the observatory. Once there the Martian, calling himself "The Purple Monster," wishes to see Layton's designs for the new airplane/spaceship. He proudly shows the alien his designs until the alien explains that he is now stealing them, to build a spaceship for himself to fly back to Mars, where a fleet of the ships will then be used invade the Earth. When Dr. Layton objects, the Martian murders him with a weapon that emits a "carbo-oxide" gas, which kills instantly. The alien then transforms into a ghost and takes over Dr Layton's body. Doing so fools the astronomer's niece Sheila and criminologist Craig Foster, both of whom work with Dr. Layton's foundation, which is responsible for commissioning the spaceship project.
Inhabiting Dr. Layton allows the Martian to witness the unrelated theft of the plans by a gangster named Garrett. The Martian convinces Garrett and his gang to aid in the invasion plot. With the criminals' help the alien begins building the spaceship. Eventually, however, the Martian's efforts at pretending to be Dr Layton fall apart, and Foster and Sheila realize what is happening. A series of action scenes show the pair trying to figure out and stop whatever the alien is doing on Earth. Craig and Sheila constantly battle the Purple Monster's henchmen, who use mind-control poisons, carjackings, and even a booby-trapped vacant lot to dispose of Craig and Sheila.
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Wikipedia