Zombies of the Stratosphere

Directed by 	Fred C. Brannon

Produced by 	Franklin Adreon

Written by 	Ronald Davidson

Starring 	Judd Holdren
                Aline Towne
                Wilson Wood
                Lane Bradford
                Stanley Waxman
                John Crawford
                Craig Kelly
                Ray Boyle
                Leonard Nimoy

Music by 	Stanley Wilson

Cinematography 	John MacBurnie

Distributed by 	Republic Pictures

Zombies of the Stratosphere (Republic Studios, 1952) was intended as the second serial featuring "new hero" Commando Cody and the third 12-chapter serial featuring the rocket-powered flying suit introduced in King of the Rocket Men (1949). Instead, the hero is "Larry Martin", preventing Martian invaders from using a hydrogen bomb to blow Earth away from the Sun so that Mars can take its orbital place. The director was Fred C. Brannon, with screenplay by Ronald Davidson and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. The serial is remembered today mainly because Leonard Nimoy plays one of the three Martian invaders, Narab.

Mars is too far from the Sun and its ecology is dying. The Martian invaders want to swap Earth's and Mars' orbits, so Mars will be closer to the Sun and Earth can have Mars's old orbit, with a hydrogen bomb being used to blow Earth out from the Sun.

As in Radar Men from the Moon (also 1952), most screen time is expended on fist fights between the heroes and a gang of crooks hired by Narab and his extraterrestrial colleague Marex to steal and stockpile supplies needed for construction of an H-bomb to throw the Earth out of orbit so Mars can take its place.