The Lost Missile

Lost Missile, The (1958)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Rarely talked about "scare" film has Robert Loggia playing a scientist who has an hour to try and create something that will stop a runaway missile that is reaching temperatures of one-million. The missile is destroying everything in its path and it's heading towards New York City. I was pleasantly surprised to see how great the actual story of this film was but sadly the budget is just so low that they can't do as much with it as I'm sure they had hoped. The movie contains a great story and one can't help but think this film would have certainly scared people back in the day who feared something like this would happen. The movie, due to its low budget, features a lot of stock footage, which gets old after a while but the movies central story is still top-notch. Loggia does a very good job in his role and it's always great to see this underrated character actor. Ellen Parker is also pretty good in her role of Loggia's fiancé. What really separates this film from plenty of others is that it's not scared to kill people. I won't ruin anything but there are several downbeat moments that you really don't expect to see but this here helps keep the suspense going because you know the film isn't scared to bump someone off. Again, it's a real shame that a major studio didn't pick up this story because with a few more on the budget it could have been something really great. As it is, this remains an underrated "B" movie.

I almost gave this a 7. Call it 6.5 for me anyway. A lot of action shots mixed with a whole lot of stock footage, including some things you almost never saw and now they're obsolete. Aircraft I could I.D.: P-80, F-86, F-100, maybe an FJ2/3, B-36, B-47, B-52. Missile: A Nike Ajax launcher with 4 or 5 missiles. A Nike Hercules (just briefly...I could be wrong about this one. And the old standby, a captured German V-2 or derivative. Aside from that a lot of far more detailed and believable technical stuff than the usual panels with lights and gauges.

Yes, the premise of the movie is its weak point. But aside from that? Not bad, and available on Amazon Prime. Kudos to Amazon for bringing back a lot of these old scifi "classics." And Robert Loggia went on to a pretty decent career.

Almost shockingly dark, apocalyptic 1950s Cold War terror fest. Many films of this era disguised their Cold War paranoia and terror within fantasy science fiction allegories. Alternatively, The Lost Missile is almost literal in its depiction of the nuclear threat.

This dread-laden tone is supported by earnest acting, and, as other reviewers have noted, far better than average integration of stock footage with original material. The movie is also effectively paced to create greater suspense than one would expect from this kind of film, given how poorly executed so many of its counterparts were. Yes there are moments of high melodrama - it is a far from perfect movie - but narratively, and as a cultural artifact of that era, it is an entertaining and fascinating watch. I've actually decided to buy it, and think it would be a worthy addition to any aficionado's 1950s scifi film collection.

The Lost Missile is an interesting little film. It is fast-paced, as all the action occurs in a simaculum of real time (at least as real as an hour and a half could feel back in the fifties). It tries for a documentary-feel...but since there is a story going on with characters, it doesn't quite make it.

For all this rapid development, the movie is somewhat dull when viewed nowadays, falling prey to "stock footage syndrome". There is innumerable shots of bombers and fighters taking off...I think more time is devoted to that than dialogue.

The plot is simple...an unknown missle enters the Earth's atmosphere and glides into an orbit 5 miles above the planet, which would normally be fine, but the missile has a field of million degree heat emanating from it, carving a five-mile wide swath of destruction on the ground below whereever it goes. It destroys part of Canada (including Ottawa) and nearly gets New York City except for the heroic sacrifice of Robert Loggia.

With the rapid developments, no effort is made to determine the source of the missile (and probably this would not be able to be done anyway), and this movie seems to be a showcase for the effectiveness of the US early warning system for missle attacks if nothing else (though any defense effort is pretty much pointless against this menace).

Loggia is stoic in his role, displaying feats of emotion that defy his character depth. Still, it's interesting to see him act as a young man, having seen him so often in more mature roles.

The special effects are actually pretty good. The missile, though interestingly designed, does appear like something off an episode of Space Patrol. The blending of the missile's fiery effects with the stock footage and city footage is accomplished fairly believably.

THE LOST MISSILE concerns the title projectile, its emergence from the unknown reaches of space, and its doomsday trajectory over the Earth. Traveling at 4000 miles per hour, it eviscerates everything in its flight path! All attempts to intercept and destroy it prove futile.

Dr. David Loring (Robert Loggia) and his fiancee / fellow scientist, Joan Wood (Ellen Parker), have their wedding plans cut short. They must find a way to stop this intergalactic ballistic menace, before megadeath results!

This is one of those wonderful 1950's sci-fi movies that, if it weren't for the magic of stock footage, would be about 15 minutes long! Obviously, it utilizes cold war paranoia and fear of nuclear annihilation as a backdrop for its alleged alien attack. Seeing an impossibly young Loggia as a man racing against time, adds to the melodramatic fun. The story is original, and true to its era...