Assignment: Outer Space

This movie isn't half bad. At first glance, you think it's just another cheesy, sci-fi B-movie. Outside of some technical blunders (things done outside the parameters of reality) it's pretty good. Al is a very interesting character. I think a remake of this movie wouldn't be a bad idea. Steven Spielberg once said, "An audience will believe even the most far fetched fantasy if it's done seriously and with a lot of credibility". So given the right cast, and a good rewrite of the original screenplay this could make a good, modern day sci-fi. I'd even go as far as purchasing a remastered version if such care were given to preserve it.

I kinda like Assignment Outer Space. It's a real simple little sci-fi flick with your typically bad Italian effects. One scene made the movie for me though.

There's a scene where an astronaut tries to escape a crash by jumping down to one of Mars' moons (strangely similar to the big budget Mission to Mars). Suddenly, there's an explosion when his ship hits. Unfortunately, the person handling the mattes was apparently sleeping that day, because you see an explosion in front of a bunch of buildings and behind a Chevy. Here we are in deep space near the Red Planet and there's a Chevy on a street in Italy. One of the most jarringly funny scenes I ever saw in a grade z movie.

I saw it on a Saturday matinee double feature sometime in the '60s. And then completely forgot the name of it. The one thing I remembered was the spaceship with the dead crew and the deadly forcefield that destroyed any ship remotely near it. Which of course was not enough to base a search on.

And it didn't help that I thought Ed Platt played a role in it, as the spaceman who dies trying to stop the deathship.

I lucked out when I bought a $5 DVD of it on a lark and, lo and behold, it was the film I'd been looking for!

Anyway, if you want to see a great example of a scifi space flick prior to 2001, give this a try.

'Space Men', directed by Anthony Daisies (aka Anthony M. Dawson of 'Cannibal Apocalypse' infamy), is a low budget, and I mean LOW budget, 60s Italian sci fi adventure. Anyone expecting a stylish gem ala Mario Bava's 'Planet Of The Vampires' will be sorely disappointed, and anyone expecting an Ed Wood worst-movie-ever-made laughfest will also not get what they expect. This movie is neither of the two, but if you take it for what it is - basically a simple 40s style pulp plot with special effects a smart 12 year old could build in their own backyard - it is a fairly enjoyable slice of silliness.

The wonderfully named Rik Van Nutter ('Thunderball') plays an arrogant (but actually quite decent underneath) space reporter who is sent as an observer on a space mission. He clashes with the arrogant (but actually quite decent underneath) ship Commander (Alain Dijon - 'La Dolce Vita'). The two also vie for the affections of the lovely Lucy (Gabriella Farinon) in between trying to save Earth from possible destruction by an out of control space ship. Yes, it's that kind of movie. Entertaining enough but nothing special.

Set on board a space ship in the year 2116, this movie has a number of problems that have to be overcome if you're going to enjoy it at all. First and foremost is the completely wooden and often lifeless acting, which the actors try to compensate for by trying (and failing) to make every scene seem as if it's the most important scene in the movie. There are also some pretty significant plot problems. First, there really is no story until about halfway through the movie. Originally, our intrepid group of explorers are heading to "Galaxy M-12," then they're heading to Mars for some mysterious reason, then they're suddenly diverted to Venus by order of "the High Command." Finally, upon the diversion to Venus, we're told that unless this ship can do something about it, the earth is going to be destroyed by some sort of rogue spaceship. I wasn't entirely clear, though, on why the earth was going to be destroyed. I was a little confused as well about why, half-way into the movie, Ray says "it's Christmas, Lucy." The line just hung there. It came out of nowhere and nothing came from it. So, both the story and the acting are a bit ridiculous. However ...

There are some good points here. Gene Roddenberry is usually given credit for introducing minorities in command positions on "Star Trek," but I thought it was interesting that the engineer on this ship was black (played by Archie Savage, who had previously had minor roles in such movies as "South Pacific" and "The Ten Commandments") - and he was no token. He had important things to do, including a noble act of self-sacrifice. More thought was put into the conditions of outer space and weightlessness than a lot of low-budget sci-fi movies of that era worried about, and the on-board effects were not bad, as the crew clomped about the ship in their magnetic boots. The set was also fairly futuristic looking. Unfortunately, some of the animated space travel was rather poorly done. Once the crisis was introduced, there was a moderate amount of suspense about whether or not the earth could be saved. You know what? This isn't good, but it really isn't as bad as some people say it is. 5/10