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Cowboys, Creatures, and Classics: The Story of Republic Pictures
Moviegoers throughout the 1930s and 1940s enjoyed film adventures, from heroes on exotic animals to those in spacecrafts. Such was the case with The Purple Monster Strikes, the original Republic Martian invader serial.
The Purple Monster was actually not a monster at all, nor was he purple. The villainous character was in reality a Caucasian, Martian space soldier. He was part of the advance guard preparing a vast invasion of earth, dressed in a blue, tight-fitting outfit, trimmed with scaly gold metallic material, and wearing a matching gilded hood. Among the Purple Monster’s alien abilities was the power to become a transparent phantom and enter the body of another, controlling his actions, thereby donning the ultimate disguise.
The Purple Monster Strikes was the first post-war serial of 1945. Republic was prohibited from using the term “rocket ship” when referring to the spacecraft the Purple Monster used in the film. Universal Studio had a copyright on the word which was used quite extensively in their serial Flash Gordon.
To learn more about the Purple Monster and other fascinating serials produced by Republic Pictures read
Cowboys, Creatures, and Classics: The Story of Republic Pictures.
Tune in tomorrow for another exciting tale about the
ghouls, freaks of nature, and the walking dead made famous by Republic Pictures.
