Hot Picks
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The Phantom Planet
USA 1961
produced by Fred Gebhardt, Leo A. Handel (executive) for Four Crown Productions
directed by William Marshall (II)
starring Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray, Dolores Faith, Anthony Dexter, Francis X.Bushman, Richard Weber, Al Jarvis, Dick Haynes, Earl McDaniels, Mike Marshall, John Herrin, Mel Curtis, Jimmy Weldon, Akemi Tani, Lori Lyons, Richard Kiel, Susan Cembrowska, Marissa Mathes, Gloria Moreland, Judy Erickson, Sally Carter-Ihnat, Allyson Ames, Marian Thompson, Warrene Ott
story by Fred Gebhardt, screenplay by Fred Gebhardt, Fred De Gorter, William Telaak, additional dialogue by William Marshall (II), special effects by Charles Duncan
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Capt. Frank Chapman (Dean Fredericks), an astronaut on a rescue
mission, gets drawn to some asteroid by some gravity beam in his
spaceship, and once there, he realizes that a) the asteroid is inhabited
by humanoids only a few inches tall, and b) that once he breathes the air
of the asteroid, he shrinks himself - and soon he has become a prisoner of
the little people, but as they are at heart peaceloving, they soon allow
him to become one of their own, the leader of the little people, Sessom
(Francis X.Bushman) even suggests a romance between the earthman and his
own daughter Liara (Coleen Gray), and he puts his scientific knowledge to
good use, working at the asteeroid's defense headquarters, where enemies
are pulled in or kept out using the gravity field. But Herron (Anthony
Dexter), Sessom's right hand, disapproves of Chapman being promised Liara,
because he wants her for himself, and he challenges Chapman to a duel,
even though Chapman isn't in love with Liara but with mute Zetha (Dolores
Faith). It's a duel to the death, but when Chapman defeats Herron but
refuses to kill him, Herron becomes Chapman's friend, and to show his
gratitude, he makes up a plan to smuggle him off the planet ... but first,
the asteroid and its people have to endure an attack by the Solarites,
aliens from a nearby sun hell-bent on conquering the asteroid, and they
only just can fight off the invaders - when their Solarite prisoner
(Richard Kiel) breaks loose and wreaks havoc on the planet, and only a
concerted effort by Chapman and Herron can annihilate the monster that
shocked Zethar in a way she finds her voice again. And just before Herron
can put his plan into action to grow Chapman back to size and send him
back to earth, Chapman and Zethar can confess their love to each other ...
Under-budgeted
space opera based on a slightly silly script featuring ridiculous alien
costumes, sub-standard special effects and a cast not uniformly up to the
task ... in other words, drive-in sci-fi at its finest and a must-see for
all fans of vintage B-science fiction.
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