It was filmed between 17 April and 19 May 1945 under the working title The Purple Shadow Strikes.The serial's production number was 416. This was the first post-war science fiction serial. Roy Barcroft lived close (about a mile) to Republic Studios and jogged to work to keep fit for this job. When told that the costume included tights he decided to lose weight and lost about 30 lb in 30 days. He called the serial "The Jerk in Tights from Boyle Heights".
The Purple Monster costume was re-used in Flying Disc Man from Mars (for Mota), Radar Men from the Moon (for Retik) and Commando Cody (the agent played by Stanley Waxman). Stock footage from The Purple Monster Strikes was also re-used in these serials. The rocket crash footage was re-used for Flying Disc Man from Mars.
Plot: A Martian spacecraft crash-lands near the observatory of Cyrus Layton, designer of Earth's first spaceship. The survivor, forerunner of an invasion, can assume the form of any earthman. Calling himself the "purple monster," the humanoid invader sets about gaining control of Layton's rocket project. Opposing him is Craig Foster, former Secret Service man, who episode by episode tries to thwart the monster's attempts to acquire rocket components. Will Craig ever suspect that his closest associate is really the monster?
Sheila Layton (Linda Stirling) is led to a distant house in the country, but its a trap set by the baddies. she quickly captured at gunpoint and questioned by The purple monster, and afterward tied to a chair when she refuses to talk. Meanwhile, a confederate of the Monster is apprehended by our hero and a cop and forced to reveal the location of the house. With time running out and the hero's arrival imminent, the Monster has his henchman wire the stockpile of explosives to the electric eye attached to the door. Sheila is gagged with a white cloth. Our hero arrives and fight breaks out (of course) and sheila struggles bound and gagged in her chair. Then there's a terrifying explosion.......
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