There is rip-roaring action, spirit of adventure , derring-do , thrills , and results to be quite amusing , concerning an expedition to Venus forced to deal with dinosaurs and other perils . In the making of this picture producers and filmmaker Curtis Harrington edited in special effects and additional footage from recently Russian movie ¨Planeta Burg¨ and his own ¨Queen of blood¨. This nifty sci-fi/horror has a thrilling plot , if simple and ordinary , similar to subsequent Sci-Fi- movies . In the year 2020 , cosmonaut Marcia (Faith Domergue) orbits the planet Venus and communicating through radio transmission with five astronauts who have landed on Venus surface to discover extraterrestrial life , and they are accompanied by a robot (Robbie the Robot lookalike) . Professor Hartman (Basil Rathbone) is also on hand to control the space journey to explore Venus . When the aircraft lands on Venus the are attacked by prehistoric beasts , and then lose their robot and nearly their lives in a volcanic eruption , while preparing a rescue team . At the end the explorers discover signs of a lost civilization and a sculpture indicating that the Venusians had looked human.
It's a formula outer space film with tension , thrills , including some elaborate FX , and results to be entertaining enough . It's a brief fun with average special effects , passable set decoration , functional art direction and none use of computer generator. This fantasy picture packs thrills , action , weird monsters, a flying car , lively pace and fantastic scenarios . The monsters and a Robot are the real stars of this production and its chief attribute . The tale is silly and laughable but the effects and action are passable . Among the most spectacular of its visuals there are a Pterodactilus roaring menacingly towards the camera , a huge octopus-alike with several tentacles , a little tableau comprising attacks of various monsters and the colorful backgrounds of the lost land . Some monsters are clumsily made , but the movie is so-so . Highlights of the adventure includes a roller-coaster trip towards unknown land in Venus , and appearance of prehistoric reptile and othr beasts , such as Pterodactilis and a giant dinosaur . In addition the final scenes where appears breathtaking volcanic eruptions and thunderous explosions . Some illogical parts in the argument are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the astonishing monsters , though sometimes are a little bit cheesy . If you've ever seen the soviet film ¨Planeta Bur¨(1962) by Pavel Klushantsev don't be surprised if some scenes look familiar , the script was written around segments cut from that film and subsequently adding scenes shot by Curtis Harrington in Chicago , Illinois, USA . In fact In 1965 Roger Corman bought the Russian rights to the film, added some scenes with Faith Domergue and Basil Rathbone , and then released it in America with the title "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet" . This was an ultra low budget production with acceptable special effects taken from a big budget Soviet production , though Harrington estimated that most of the film was his . A bit later on , Roger Corman took out the former additions , added more footage , and released it again as "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women" and even a third more erotic and exciting version with plenty of gorgeous and exuberant girls . Producer Roger Corman and his brother Gene Corman made a similar operation to ¨Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet¨, as economic as rip-off from a Russian film , with ¨Queen of Blood¨also starred by Basil Rathbone . And being released on a double-bill by AIP along with other B-Science Fiction pictures . Acceptable main cast , such as : the great Sherlock's Basil Rathbone as a scientific who observes the exploration from a distance and Faith Domergue ; however , remaining cast being formed by unknown Russian actors.
The picture was regularly directed by Curtis Harrington , and it was shot in seven to eight dayd . Curtis Harrington was a good craftsman in B-territory . In 1961 he made a strong and impressive feature-film debut with the nicely moody and quirky Night tide (1961) with Dennis Hooper. His follow-up features were a pleasingly diverse , idiosyncratic and often entertaining bunch , and included the delightfully campy Shelley Winters vehicles as Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1972) , What's the Matter with Helen? (1971) ,the perverse The Killing Kind (1973) and the immensely fun Ruby (1977). Moreover , Harrington directed a handful of solid and satisfying made-for-TV offerings: The cat (1973), Killer bees (1974), The Dead Don't Die (1975) and the terror animal Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978) , as well as TV episodes from The Twilight Zone, The Colby , Dynasty , Wonder woman , Hotel , among others .
