The Lost Missile (1958)

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

Director:

Lester Wm. Berke

Writers:

John McPartland (screenplay), Jerome Bixby (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Loggia, Ellen Parker, Phillip Pine

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Loggia	...	Dr. David Loring
Ellen Parker	...	Joan Wood
Phillip Pine	...	Dr. Joe Freed (as Philip Pine)
Larry Kerr	...	General Barr
Marilee Earle	...	Ella Freed
Fred Engelberg	...	TV Singer (as Fred Engleberg)
Kitty Kelly	...	Mama - Ella's Mother
Selmer Jackson	...	Secretary of State
Hari Rhodes	...	Black Man at Piano
Shirley J. Shawn	...	Black Woman by Piano (as Shirley Shawn)
J. Anthony Hughes	...	Governor of New York
Robert Busch
Jack Holland	...	Harold
John McNamara	...	Civil Aeronautics Board Officer
Mike Steele

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

missile | dysfunctional relationship | extraterrestrial object | part narrated | national emergency | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das rote Telefon... Alarm!

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

William Berke Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Original director William Berke died of a sudden heart attack on the first day of shooting. His son, Lester Wm. Berke, took over.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits shown over a missile flying through a group of stars.

User Reviews

Underrated

Lost Missile, The (1958)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Rarely talked about "scare" film has Robert Loggia playing a scientist who has an hour to try and create something that will stop a runaway missile that is reaching temperatures of one-million. The missile is destroying everything in its path and it's heading towards New York City. I was pleasantly surprised to see how great the actual story of this film was but sadly the budget is just so low that they can't do as much with it as I'm sure they had hoped. The movie contains a great story and one can't help but think this film would have certainly scared people back in the day who feared something like this would happen. The movie, due to its low budget, features a lot of stock footage, which gets old after a while but the movies central story is still top-notch. Loggia does a very good job in his role and it's always great to see this underrated character actor. Ellen Parker is also pretty good in her role of Loggia's fiancé. What really separates this film from plenty of others is that it's not scared to kill people. I won't ruin anything but there are several downbeat moments that you really don't expect to see but this here helps keep the suspense going because you know the film isn't scared to bump someone off. Again, it's a real shame that a major studio didn't pick up this story because with a few more on the budget it could have been something really great. As it is, this remains an underrated "B" movie.