Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred C. Bannon, The Purple Monster Strikes was a 15 chapter Crocket manthat debuted in 1945. The series begins with astronomer Cyrus Layton who like all good astronomers is working late one night at his observatory. Layton witnesses something out of the world and races to see the remains of what he believes to be a meteorite crashing nearby. Before he leaves though he contacts his niece Sheila (Linda Stirling) and asks her to bring criminologist Craig Foster (Dennis Moore) to the observatory to help with anything he might find. Upon approaching the meteorite crater, Layton shockingly discovers a crashed spaceship whose pilot (Roy Barcroft) reveals he is from Mars!
Layton returns to his observatory with the pilot who now identifies himself as The Purple Monster. Layton for some reason assumes this is friendly and happily shares his designs for the new airplane/spaceship with the alien. The alien then steals them to build a ship back to mars and lead an invasion!
Shocked that someone called The Purple Monster could possibly be evil, Layton fights back and tries to stop him. The Purple Monster then kills Layton with a weapon that emits a “carbo-oxide” gas. With Layton dead the alien turns into a ghost like figure and possesses Layton’s body fooling both Sheila and Foster when they arrive. The Purple Monster then continues his mission to get back top Mars and lead an invasion of Earth!
The 15 chapters are listed as follows:
- The Man in the Meteor;
- The Time Trap;
- Flaming Avalanche;
- The Lethal Pit;
- Death on the Beam;
- The Demon Killer;
- The Evil Eye;
- Descending Doom;
- The Living Dead;
- House of Horror;
- Menace From Mars;
- Perilous Plunge;
- Fiery Shroud;
- The Fatal Trail;
- Take-Off To Destruction.
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