The Lost Missile (1958)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

William Berke

Writers:

John McPartland (screenplay) &
Jerome Bixby (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

December 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Thing That Came from Outer Hell...To Burn the World Alive!

Plot:

A strange missile from outer space circles the Earth at low altitudes, destroying everything in its path. |

Plot Keywords:

Missile | New York City New York | National Security | Warning | Warhead

Cast

Robert Loggia	...	Dr. David Loring
Ellen Parker	...	Joan Wood
Phillip Pine	...	Dr. Joe Freed
Larry Kerr	...	General Barr
Marilee Earle	...	Ella Freed
Fred Engelberg	...	TV Singer
Kitty Kelly	...	Mama - Ella's mother
Selmer Jackson	...	Secretary of State
Hari Rhodes	...	Black Man at Piano
Shirley J. Shawn
J. Anthony Hughes	...	Governor of New York
Robert Busch
John Holland		(as Jack Holland)
John McNamara
Mike Steele

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

William Berke Productions Inc.

Trivia:

According to widow Lin Bixby, Jerome Bixby "had written The Lost Missile in collaboration with 'Johnny McPartland' qv, of No Down Payment (1957) fame and had entertained hopes that it would be a decent credit. However, director dropped dead on the second day of filming, and his idiot son had taken over. Some over-emoting actors also made a contribution, so that lines that were supposed to be grim came out as boff lines, i.e., 'Thank God, there is a Dew Line.' Still brings giggles, and/or winces, depending."

Haven't Seen It Since It's Release.

I found it a very interesting film and at the time a bit frightening. Not a dull movie at all, but I would love to see it again to see if I feel the same. I have great appreciation for science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. They show great imagination even without the hype of technological advancement. They are creative because they had to be innovative with what existed at the time. This was a cold-war era film about a missile that got locked into a deadly low earth orbit by the Germans trying to shoot it down at it initial close approach. With the speed the missile was circling the earth at, the shockwave and the frictional activity created air temperatures in excess of one million degrees.