Yûsei ôji

Ok...here we have a japanese space epic set in the wonderful Japanese town of Beaver Falls.....BEAVER FALLS?

This is one of my favorite bad movies...it never fails to crack me up when we watch the MST3K version, although I could probably sit through it without the MST gang and still have fun doing the MST jokes myself.

I've seen worse...at least I can sit through this one...there are several movies I don't think I could stomach again, even on MST3K...most notably the horrible Red Zone Cuba and the equally absymal Future War...

Thoughts and comments on "Prince of Space":

~This movie tends to put me in mind of the "Sailor Moon" series. Both feature heros in silly costumes fighting villians in even sillier costumes, cheesy dialogue, half-baked schemes for world domination, and some very unconvincing secret identities. The difference is that "Sailor Moon" a) is in easier to take half-hour instalments, b) has better dubbing and c) has the additional attraction of pondering just how the heroine gets her hair to do that pom-pom thing. All we can ponder in "Prince of Space" is the aliens' lack of dance belt technology, the less said of which the better.

~Regarding those aliens, the beak-nosed men of the planet Krankor. A scientist-type fellow tells us they've come to Earth because they want a new rocket fuel he (the scientist) has developed. A reporter points out, rather logically, that the Krankorites (Krankorians? Krankish?) have already developed deep-space travel; why do they need our technology? The scientist helpfully explains that the Krankian fuel industry is well behind our own. How they manage space travel at all with second-rate fuel is anyone's guess.

~Then again, the Krankor mothership makes about four round trips to Earth in the course of the film. Maybe if they conserved gas, they wouldn't need our help.

~Both the Prince of Space (our, he-hem, "hero") and Phantom of Krankor (the leader of the aliens) seem to be wearing one of those vinyl capes you can get at Wal-Mart for five bucks. Both men also seem to be competing for the title of the World's Dumbest Laugh. Krankor's "Penguin from the old Batman series with asthma" imitation probably wins, but PoS's "I'm saying 'ha, ha, ha!' because that's exactly what's written in the script" is a noble effort.

~Speaking of voices, someone in the dubbing studio wasn't paying attention to pronunciation. The main scientist's name is pronounced at various times Makken, Macon, Marken, and Mackie.

~Much has been made of PoS' constant reminders to the Krankies that their weapons won't work against him. What gets me, though, is the point at which the Prince declares, "Your weapons are useless, let's try bare hands now!" Since the Kranks are perfectly happy firing their ineffective weapons, why challenge them to a fistfight? Not that it matters, as their melee skills are just as bad as their range weaponry.

~One of the kidnapped scientists bears a remarkable resemblance to Arthur Sullivan, except in one scene where the spirit gum has clearly worn off on one of his sideburns.

I realize that I have now, of course, put far more thought into "Prince of Space" than anybody in the cast or crew ever did. I know; it worries me too.

"Your weapons have no effect on me" but this movie does. Want to laugh until you fall over? This is the one that tops the charts for the worst Japanese film of all times. The story appears to be that 7, or maybe 8, chickens try to take over the earth, or Japan, or something and a shoe-shine boy, who is really the Prince of Space, points a butane grill lighter at them and jumps around with a sinus mask over his face. The Phantom of Krankor, the head chicken (or is that rooster?), forgot his underwear much to our dismay (or delight),has drooping football pads under his tights, and laughs demonically every five minutes. His flock keep shooting at the Prince with their stick weapons, ignoring his statement that the "weapons have no effect on me". Maybe they should have just hit him over the head. To add to the confusions, small Japanese boys run around giving orders, having access to restricted government property and speaking with a variety of American accents. Somewhere along the line, a giant Pillsbury Dough Boy appears, guarding the planet Krankor, and is easily dispatched by the Prince. So much for giant guardians. The wimpy scientists, meeting in a room the size of the Metropolitan Opera, run the gamut of emotions from cowardice to boredom, which is probably what you will do as you watch this film. It all works out, I guess and the world is safe from Krankor and his flock of invading Rhode Island Reds. I wonder if the Prince went back to his shoe shine job?

Forget the ratings! It's a bad movie, but it will have you laughing the whole way through. The story is lame, the acting non-existent (to their credit, the actors were working hard), and production values were low. Still, I watch it occasionally; it's a guilty pleasure.

Title:Prince of Space Category:Japanese Schlock sci-fi Schlock Rating: 9.5 Overall Production: 4.5 Actors: Japanese Date produced:1959

Its no secret little Japanese boys with 10X telescopes are the best astronomers and outer space watch dogs. When the haw, haw, haw, hawwwww evil plotter, The Phantom, with the chicken beak nose, bristly eyebrows and mustache, wiggling chin pouch and jock-less pants shows up in a weedy field outside Tokyo in his "rotating augur" space ship, our intrepid junior space watchers have no trouble beating the clueless "old fart" authorities to the spot.

Soon the Earth (Japan ) finds itself in danger of conquest by Krankor, that well-known evil planet from somewhere out there in space. After a few quick zings from the Phantom's rotating glass eye ray gun let's the crowd know he ain't fooling around, another mysterious fire and smoke emitting "reversed wheel barrow" space ship shows up.

Enter Krankor's nemesis, the self-proclaimed Prince of Space wearing mask and spiffy satin cape. The strangely charitable but invulnerable Prince laughs at the Phantom's relentless and totally ineffectual ray gun zingers and blithely flies through the release of caustic vapors on his way to thwarting the evil one's stupid plans to steal secret rocket fuel plans and conquer earth.

Breathe easy Earth. Gout-kneed inept henchmen, X-radars in 54 Chevy station wagons, flaky pie dough bumbling giants, thorium bombs; nothing stops the mild-mannered, secretly disguised Prince from saving the day.