The Phantom Planet (1961)

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

Director:

William Marshall

Writers:

William Telaak (screenplay), Fred De Gorter (screenplay)

Stars:

Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray, Anthony Dexter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Judge Eden
Dick Haynes	...	Col. Lansfield
Earl McDaniel	...	Capt. Leonard
Mike Marshall	...	Lt. White (as Michael Marshall)
John Herrin	...	Capt. Beecher
Mel Curtis	...	Lt. Cutler
Jimmy Weldon	...	Lt. Webb
Akemi Tani	...	Communications Officer
Lori Lyons	...	Radar Officer
Richard Kiel	...	The Solarite

Storyline

The mysterious appearance of an unknown planet brings miniature people, giant monsters, beautiful women and undaunted heroes to the screen. The self-contained planet "Rheton" has the ability to move in and out of galaxies to escape their enemies. Earth sends an astronaut team to investigate, which discovers miniature people. One astronaut survives to help them fight off monsters and Solorite attacks.

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Plot Keywords:

asteroid | force field | bare chested male | bare chested male fighting | trial by combat | 

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Taglines:

Captives of a power far, far out!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

El planeta fantasma

Filming Locations:

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Four Crown Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dolores Faith receives an "introducing" credit.

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Goofs

When Chapman is being pulled towards the asteroid he is sitting in the left-hand seat. After it lands he is sitting in the right hand seat.

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Quotes

Sessom: We have two options: try to outrun them, or turn and fight! What would you do?
Herron: Me? I would fight!
Sessom: And you?
Capt. Frank Chapman: ...Fight.
Sessom: Right! That's exactly my decision!

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Crazy Credits

Instead of "The End" the end title reads "The Beginning".

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Smiley Face (2007)

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Soundtracks

Caliban and Ariel
(uncredited)
Music by Desmond Leslie
[Plays repeatedly in the score.]

User Reviews

Interesting, better than rated

I actually found this to be a decent movie. Yeah it suffered from some silliness and goofy stuff like the scene where they space walk to repair their ship and their tool of choice? A wrench, ha!! However, from the point where the astronaut landed on the asteroid it was pretty good. The story was well written for the most part and the acting wasn't that bad. The girls were really cute and if i had landed there, id probably stay and enjoy myself!!! This truly played much like an episode from star trek, with another actor subbing for captain kirk. Some of the special effects on the asteroid were pretty decent, especially when the main character shrank in his space suit. The bad alien crashing rocks into his invisible prison out of frustration was pretty cool too, but the alien itself was kinda stupid looking. There were some genuinely touching scenes: the astronaut saying the Lord's Prayer while he floated helplessly doomed in space, and the final goodbyes there at the end. This was released in 1961 so maybe that explains why its a notch or two better than the typical fifties stuff. I actually enjoyed this one. I'm sure audiences in 1961 weren't let down. Heck they might have caught this one and The Three Stooges Meet Hercules at a drive in double feature. Cool!!!!