Space Probe Taurus

I did not know this little science fiction movie produced by American International Pictures, James Nicholson and Samuel Z Arkoff's movie company, who also produced Roger Corman's best horror B movies. I am not badly surprised by this cheap stuff, but that's not at the level of Edward L Cahn's IT THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, some kind of poverty row ALIEN first draft. It is definitely a space opera, but I repeat, very cheap. A "behind closed doors" of a spaceship intrigue, which is fun and agreeable to watch. I know Burt Topper as a director, nothing great, but nothing exceptional either. Here, he is only the producer and we can easily make the link between his own movies as a film maker in terms of - not screenplay, because he never made science fiction films - but an obviously lack of ambition without letting his own work become a garbage crap. Watch it, if you have time, it's worth seeing.

1964's "Space Monster" was very much the last gasp for black and white outer space epics, bypassing theatrical release as part of American International Pictures' television package, shown continuously throughout the late 60s-early 70s (the very last, prior to "2001," would have been 1967's "Mission Mars"). Undoubtedly shot around the same time as David L. Hewitt's "The Wizard of Mars" (even using the same alien mask, plus a gill-man costume pilfered from Jacques Tourneur's "War-Gods of the Deep"), so little intrigue actually happens in either film that one does tend to feel for the actors involved, with writer-producer-director Leonard Katzman confining all future efforts to the small screen (he died in 1996). Francine York, James Brown, Baynes Barron, and Russ Bender play the quartet of devoted scientists, no strangers to low budget filmmaking: the still lovely Francine York graced such popular cult films as "Mutiny in Outer Space," "Curse of the Swamp Creature" and "The Doll Squad," Russ Bender remained a favorite with AIP ("It Conquered the World," "Invasion of the Saucer Men," "The Amazing Colossal Man"), Baynes Barron had some minor genre credits ("From Hell It Came," "The Strangler"), and James B. Brown will always be remembered for playing the sniper's father in Boris Karloff's "Targets" (already a veteran going back nearly 25 years, he had no other genre credits). Apart from two alien encounters, one aboard another ship, the other underwater, we never leave the claustrophobic confines of the tiny sets. It's truly mind-numbing when the cast has to gaze at a bevy of ordinary crabs outside, and not recognize what they're looking at! Totally small scale in ambition and execution, the execrable "Space Monster" appeared only twice on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, Oct 12 1968 (following 1965's "Frankenstein Conquers the World") and July 24 1971 (following Jerry Warren's "Invasion of the Animal People").

I first viewed this movie on Double Chiller Theatre, a Saturday night TV show seen in the Philadelphia area which ran in the mid 1960's. As a kid and a young teenager I loved almost all science fiction, even Teenagers from Outer Space. I found this movie dull, poorly improvised, and uneventful. It had a few cheap special effects which included a rubber alien, a giant crab which did little, and a humanistic frogman out for a swim. There were 4 typical principles in the movie: a by the book commander more suited for a cowboy movie; an attractive young lady who goes out of here way to prove she is as good as any man; a screw off who is aboard only to write a book; and a scientist who does not come off as being all that bright. This TV movie could have been made for the old Saturday matinée at the local theater. It was made with little imagination and probably just to earn a quick easy buck. The movie looked as though it was made in the early 1950's and had the feel of the old Space Cadet serial. And to think Star Trek would be only a few years away from our TV screens.

By any standard, the greatest movie every made.

It's a WWII submarine movie, complete with sonar pinging.

Plus Sea Hunt, with underwater grappling with a monster.

The background music is in both major and minor keys.

The sets are comparable with those of Star Trek.

The dialog is minimal and nary a word is mispronounced.

The computers beep and boop obligingly.

There's a countdown scene, all the way from 10 to 1. The tension builds relentlessly.

The technology is comparable to that in any garage.

The Mystery Science Theater guys are not in any scene.

The captain is considerate enough to spell out the new planet, "Andros I," for the preliterate.

Best of all, the movie end reliably, each time it's shown.

All things considered, the synergy is stunning. Stunning, I say.

Even for 1965 B movie science fiction this is weak. Go to space, sort of crash land on a planet, fight alien, leave. The male crew all looked like senior citizens, while cozying up to 30 year female scientist. But it's easy to sit through if you're tired and if it's on a no commercials channel. Even for 1965 B movie science fiction this is weak. Go to space, sort of crash land on a planet, fight alien, leave. The male crew all looked like senior citizens, while cozying up to 30 year female scientist. But it's easy to sit through if you're tired and if it's on a no commercials channel. Even for 1965 B movie science fiction this is weak. Go to space, sort of crash land on a planet, fight alien, leave. The male crew all looked like senior citizens, while cozying up to 30 year female scientist. But it's easy to sit through if you're tired and if it's on a no commercials channel. How do you get 600 words in a review for a movie that probably had dialogue of less.