The Phantom Planet (1961)

User Rating:

2.6/10   

Director:

William Marshall

Writers:

Fred Gebhardt (story)
William Telaak (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 December 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Captives of a power far, far out!

Plot:

After an invisible asteroid draws an astronaut and his ship to its surface, he is miniaturized by the phantom planet's exotic atmosphere.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Miniature People | Asteroid | Moon | Space Station

Cast

Dean Fredericks	...	Capt. Frank Chapman
Coleen Gray	...	Liara
Anthony Dexter	...	Herron (as Tony Dexter)
Francis X. Bushman	...	Sessom
Richard Weber	...	Lt. Ray Makonnen
Al Jarvis	...	Eden, the judge
Dick Haynes	...	Col. Lansfield
Earl McDaniels	...	Capt. Leonard - pilot (as Earl McDaniel)
Mike Marshall	...	Lt. White (as Michael Marshall)
John Herrin	...	Capt. Beecher
Mel Curtis	...	Lt. Cutler
Jimmy Weldon	...	Lt. Webb - navigator
Akemi Tani	...	Communications Officer
Lori Lyons	...	Radar Officer
Richard Kiel	...	The Solarite

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Unrated (DVD) | USA:TV-G

Company:

Four Crown Productions Inc.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The space craft lands on its side, on the phantom planet despite the fact that the rocket thrust is coming from its tail, defying the laws of physics.

Quotes:

Sessom: We are able to translate all languages with voice tone waves.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Spacemen, Go-go Girls and the True Meaning of Christmas (2004) (V)

Entertaining in its own goofy way

I actually like this cheesy drive-in second feature B-movie classic.

The story goes from chapter to chapter with innocent exuberance. It's a typical "meeting aliens in outer space" story. An astronaut meets barefooted Lilliputian aliens (who all wear Star Trek type mini-skirts) hiding inside an asteroid, and promptly shrinks to their size. They're hiding not from Earthlings, but Solarites, creatures that use fire to attack the asteroid.

This is the luckiest dude in the cosmos; he meets raven haired beauty Delores Faith and if I were him, I'd stay on the asteroid with her. Meanwhile, there's some interesting sub-plot action going on--jealous rivals, invaders closing in, court trials and what not. A captured Solarite breaks loose, attacks Delores, but then can't decide if he'll kill her or not, and wanders around carrying her for a while.

The special effects are cheap, but amusing, even interesting to watch. Rays, fireballs, a large-nosed creature with a big head, an asteroid that looks like popcorn chicken chunks; it's just a lot of fun. The story is too abbreviated in several places (like the climactic battle with the enemy creatures), but I was actually involved with the characters, even the hastily developed astronaut/barefoot alien girl romance was somehow believable.

I don't know exactly what it is about this film, it's silly and absurd, definitely MST3K stuff (they lambasted it pretty well, lol), but it really is an OK thing to watch. It's turn-off-the-brain stuff all the way, but it's fun.