The Phantom Planet

This movie is not that bad when you consider the type and time this movie was made. It was a 50's science fiction (even though it was made in 1961). It does have a plot-astronaut is on a mission to check out why rockets keep crashing on asteroids. Crashes into one, shrinks, meets good looking girls and helps fight evil space invaders. Typical sci-fi 50's movie. If you want good acting, see Casablanca or Citizen Kane. This movie was entertaining enough. I rate it 6/10 for a 50's type sci-fi.

An astronaut finds himself stranded on an asteroid inhabited by intelligent lilliputian beings. Once our hero breaths the atmosphere, he shrinks to size of the asteroids inhabitants and gets involved in various court intrigues and an interplanetary war.

Although I consider myself a completist of old science fiction movies, I only saw this film for the first time very recently. THE PHANTOM PLANET is one those of films thats pretty bad, but you wish you could like it more. To its credit, this film has the air of being made by people who were trying to make something a little different. The special effects -although obvious, are ambitious and elaborate. The writers appear to have tried to come up with a slightly unusual story line, but the film is over plotted and makes little use of the central gimmick. The dialog is lame and the acting is indifferent. A few scenes are of interest, such as when the tiny Rhetonites approach the giant astronaut and peer through his space helmet. Some shots of the rockets in space I thought looked attractive.

THE PHANTOM PLANET is one of those films that I wish I could say more good thinks about. Its badness is anything but the result of cynical motivation, but the result of makers who ambitions far exceeded the skills of its makers to deliver

'The Phantom Planet' is almost your archetypal silly low budget 50s/60s sci fi movie. Set in 1980(!) the story concerns a couple of astronauts on a mission to search for some colleagues who have inexplicably vanished. The team is led by the fearless Captain Chapman (a wooden Dean Fredericks), who soon finds himself a prisoner on "the phantom planet", shrunk to miniature size, and forced to choose between two alien beauties (one of whom is played by 'The Killing's Coleen Gray), while clashing with suspicious planet person Herron (Anthony Dexter, who also appeared in the supremely silly 'Fire Maidens From Venus'), all the while plotting his escape. The acting is poor, the dialogue lame brained, the special effects as inept as you can imagine, all in all great fun if you dig this kind of moronic camp fun (and I do!). The cast also includes veteran Francis X. Bushman who already had a film career spanning fifty years(!!) when he made this, and an uncredited Richard Kiel (best known to most movie goers as "Jaws" in a couple of 1970s Bond films, but also fondly remembered by trash fans for the idiotic horror flick 'Eegah' made shortly after this) as the utterly ludicrous Solonite monster. This may not be the best bad movie I've ever seen, but fans of the genre will have a great time watching it.

Has anyone ever watched this movie and FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE back to back? Yes they are both classic examples of B movies but these two movies in particular seem to be cut from the same cloth. In both movies astronauts from Earth land on far distant planet where the dominant race is in some dire trouble and the Earthmen just happen to possess the know-how to get them out of it. In PHANTOM PLANET the people have the technology to have turned their entire planet (or asteroid which is what it really is) into a spaceship but they live in caves and sleep on marble beds! (The whole race must have back problems) What gets me though is that just below the surface of the plots of both movies is the same male fantasy. In both movies the macho Earthment encounter ineffective males on both planets and races of totally submissive females who wander aimlessly around barefoot and miniskirted waiting for some man to notice them. In PHANTOM PLANET the women mostly just stand around while the men argue, fight and wonder what to do next. In both movies the strong assertive woman turns out to be the villain! Okay, I know to keep saying "It's only a movie" but couldn't the tough girl have also been the nice girl?

Judged by viewers post 2001, post Star Wars, post War of the Worlds, even post Star Trek, of course this movie will get bad reviews, for unscientific plot holes, for poor special effects, for bad acting, for dumb costumes, for simplistic sets, even for Black and White filming.

But this was made in 1961! Seen as a moment in the history and evolution of Sci Fi on film, it's a great way to spend some time. It's available as a free legal download too. Go to www.archive.org and check under Feature Films to find the movie available as part 1 and part 2.

The captain's tape recorders anticipate Kirk's "Captain's log". The cheap special effects had to be inspirational to the makers of Dr. Who. And it's a pleasure to have to use your imagination instead of having to be spoon fed with spectacular special effects.

To hate this movie is to hate a jazz 1940s jazz piece because they used acoustic instruments instead of synths and cut to vinyl instead of digital to CD. Look beyond the limitations of the error to the art, and you'll find a 5 out of 10, not a 1. As the co-pilot said....