Alien from L.A. (1988)

A nerdish teenager goes looking for her missing archaeolist father, and stumbles into a strange underground civilization.

Director:

Albert Pyun

Writers:

Debra Ricci, Regina Davis,

Stars:

Kathy Ireland, William R. Moses, Richard Haines

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kathy Ireland	...	Wanda Saknussemm
William R. Moses	...	Guten 'Gus' Edway
Richard Haines	...	Professor Saknussemm
Don Michael Paul	...	Robbie
Thom Mathews	...	Charmin'
Janie du Plessis	...	General Rykov / Shank / Claims Officer
Simon Poland	...	Consul Triton Crassus / Mailman
Linda Kerridge	...	Roeyis Freki / Auntie Pearl
Kristen Trucksess	...	Stacy
Lochner De Kock	...	Professor Ovid Galba / Paddy Mahoney
Deep Roy	...	Mambino
Albert Maritz	...	Mago / Maintenance Worker / Evangelist / Pack Slag Jack
Russel Savadier	...	Loki
Denis Smith	...	Anchorman
James Lithgow	...	Donaldson / Wrestling Announcer / Emcee

Storyline

Wanda is a shy plain girl with a very boring life. When her father, an archaeologist, disappears on an expedition, she flies out to look for him. She ends up in an underground world, where no one believes in a surface world. Except for the secret police, who think she and her fathers are spies.

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Plot Keywords:

subterranean | father daughter relationship | hidden civilization | independent film

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Taglines:

Kathy Ireland is the Alien From L.A.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA South Africa

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wanda

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first feature film for supermodel Kathy Ireland.

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Goofs

Kathy Ireland briefly loses her squeaky voice when she's doped up on the table. She laughs and says in a deeper voice (probably her real one), "You think I'm an alien?"

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Quotes

Wanda Saknussemm: Bitchin' left hook, Crassus!

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Crazy Credits

Interspersed during the credits is the Anchorman, giving reports about Wanda's existence (or lack thereof) as he gets conflicting reports from Crassus and Rykov.

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Connections

Followed by Journey to the Center of the Earth (1989)

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Soundtracks

"State of the Heart"
Written by James Saad, Anthony Riparetti and Steve LeGassick
Performed by Donna DeLory
Produced by Drock

User Reviews

Kathy Ireland Journeys to the Center of the Earth!

Campy spoof combining elements of 'Journey to the Center of the Earth,' 'Indiana Jones,' exploitation B-movies of the 60's, and apocalyptic science fiction movies of the 80's. Kathy Ireland is so bizarre in the role of an explorer following in the footsteps of her famous father (as in 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' no less) it's like watching a car accident. You just have to watch though you know it's wrong...oh so wrong. (Apparently popular enough to warrant a sequel that actual takes the title of Jules Verne's classic, "Journey to the Center of the Earth." There are many versions with that title but only one features a cameo return by Kathy Ireland.) "Alien from L.A." is what they used to refer to as "Saturday afternoon matinee" or "popcorn movie" and is better than the sequel only because when "Alien" runs out of steam they strip Kathy down to a bikini top to finish out the movie. Nice trick. Worked for me.