The Lost Missile

So, Hydrogen Bomb war is about to break out and 1950s heroine/scientist's biggest worry is whether she and her hero/scientist fiancé will finally get married today? Oh well, it was the Fifties, I suppose. At least we get Robert Loggia in an early role. Of course, he isn't onscreen as much as all the stock footage of jets and war rooms and the only thing holding the movie together is an intrusive narration. Still, sci-fi movies of that era are fun as long as you don't think about them too much. And the dialogue is fun, too. A man runs up to our hero and tells him a hotline just opened to the Pentagon "It's a red alert, situation yellow!" Well, that doesn't sound too bad; if it was really bad it would be red-red, right? I liked watching it, but can't give it more than a 4.

Released (some would say "escaped") in 1958, "The Lost Missile" is, de- spite it's many flaws and shortcomings, a fairly interesting tale about a wild missile, apparently of extraterrestrial origin, loose in the Earth's atmosphere and frying everything underneath it with a million-degree exhaust. The biggest problem with this film really isn't the film's fault: it suffers from being rather too ambitious for its budget. While this is true of many fifties sci-fi films, this is not to say that there are other flaws which cannot be so easily dismissed' to wit: the acting. Robert Loggia plays Dr. David Loring, the tragic hero, and turns in a performance that is played with such lethargy and apparent disinterest that it makes you wonder if he was wondering "what was I thinking?" The rest of the cast play their parts like second- or even third-string summer stock. Oh, yeah: there's also the cliche'd frazzeled scientist ("My wife's having a baby, and I can't be with her!!"), lots and lots of stock Dept. of Defense shots of scrambling fighters, and some surprisingly good effects rendered by then-Master

of the Art Jack Glass. By far, the most hilarious performance is rendered by the Governor's aide. This guy looks like he just found out that his wife is cheating, his single daughter is pregnant, his son has the clap, he has prostate cancer, the car needs a new tranny, and the bank is foreclosing on his mortgage. . .all at the same time!!! Coming in a close second is the TV singer. This guy couldn't carry a tune in a semi! Seriously though, while "The Lost Missile" may not be a great film, it isn't quite a bad one, either. It's fast-paced and does hold your interest, which is more than I can say for "Phantom From Space". That one.. .OY!!

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...

When I saw it as a kid, I didn't understand the premise of the story, and as an adult, I still have problem with the premise that a runaway missile from space starts to circle around the earth by sheer chance. I guess that's what makes this movie one of a kind. If you go beyond the incredible coincidence that this missile just happened to find earth and randomly started killing its inhabitants, the movie is pretty good sci-fi from the '50s. They try to make things look factual by using stock military footage, and use pseudonym of actual existing institution like Havenbrook (which is an obvious reference to Brookhaven National Laboratory).

The scary part of the movie is the glow you see over the horizon as the missile approaches, and the sound it makes. The movie is somewhat leaning towards horror genre in this respect, and what happens to the main protagonist as he attempts to stop the runaway missile. If you've seen this movie once, you'll never forget it - which makes this movie one of the sci-fi classics from the '50s.

If you can find it (as it's getting easier with so many posting of old movies on the internet), this movie is worth a glance.