Space Master X-7 (1958)

A fungus brought from space threatens to grow and spread, devouring everyone in its path.

Director:

Edward Bernds

Writers:

George Worthing Yates (original screenplay), Daniel Mainwaring (original screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Williams, Lyn Thomas, Robert Ellis

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bill Williams	...	John Hand
Lyn Thomas	...	Laura Greeling
Robert Ellis	...	Pvt. Joe Rattigan
Paul Frees	...	Dr. Charles T. Pommer / Train-Station Announcer
Rhoda Williams	...	Stewardess Archer
Joan Barry	...	Jean Meyers - brunet
Carol Varga	...	Elaine Frohman
Thomas Browne Henry	...	Prof. West
Thomas Wilde	...	Collins
Fred Sherman	...	Mr. Morse - Hotel Manager
Gregg Martell	...	Jim Dale - plane engineer
Jess Kirkpatrick	...	Pilot Vaccarino
Court Shepard	...	Hendry - Battalion Fire Chief
Moe Howard	...	Retlinger - Cab Driver
Al Baffert	...	Plane passenger

Storyline

A space probe returns to Earth covered with a strange fungus. The fungus is accidentally tinged with human blood and is transformed into an ever-growing pile of space rust, dubbed "Blood Rust". It is up to John Hand and Joe Rattigan to find the one woman who can stop the rust from spreading and taking over the world.

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Plot Keywords:

fungus | blood rust | stock footage | belly landing | stewardess | 

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Taglines:

Satellite Terror Strikes The Earth!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doomsday

Filming Locations:

Union Station - 800 N. Alameda Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regal Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

20th Century-Fox used this low-budget film as a co-feature for its blockbuster release The Fly (1958) in the US. Fox did not put this into a television syndication package. The film has remained almost unseen in the US since its theatrical run.

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Goofs

Prior to landing the blood rust is seen outside the plane windows, and passengers react in panic to this sight; however, there is no sign of the fungus as the plane lands, nor immediately after as the passengers are now calmly offloaded and taken to waiting buses.

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Quotes

Laura Greeling: [to Pommer, who seems precoccupied by his experiments] Why are you doing this? Why can't you be more human?

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Connections

Referenced in Men in Black II (2002)

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Soundtracks

Lost Atlantis
(uncredited)
Music by Richard DuPage
Blue Heaven Productions

User Reviews

I Guess We Won't Marinate this Mushroom

Space fungus menaces planet earth. Okay, everything else was menacing the besieged 1950's planet, so why not a creepy fungus. Well, it's actually a bloody slime from outer space that spreads like a dirty carpet, and unless trackers can catch up with the shapely blonde Typhoid Mary (Thomas) carrying it, we're all one big toadstool. I'm trying hard, but I just don't recall this epic from 1958, and I rarely missed one of these drive-in specials. According to IMDb, TCF didn't syndicate the film, which is why, I guess, it's gone unseen for 50 years.

Actually, the movie's pretty well produced for its kind. The location shots lend at least some credibility to the wacky plot. And catch those early versions of protective Hazmat suits in the train yard scene. Williams and Ellis do well as the bloodhounds, but why Ellis remains a lowly Pfc with his officer-level credentials seems odd. Also, I really like the unheralded Lyn Thomas as the nervous blonde.

Note that brilliant screenwriter Dan Mainwaring, e.g. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Out of the Past (1947), collaborated on the screenplay. I'm guessing that promising trapped-in-the-airliner concept came from him. Too bad the full potential of those scenes is not realized by director Bernds. At the same time, the movie ends all-too-abruptly, as though the production suddenly ran out of money. I get the feeling that with better backing and a more perceptive director, this drive-in programmer could have turned into an uptown smash on the order of Alien (1980).