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...

Prince of space is a pretty crappy movie, but it isn't the so called "Starman" series. The Starman series, which has been released in two volumes from Something Weird video, features a tights-wearing japanese man running around laughing and beating people up as they fire guns, which they know can't kill him, for he's made of steel. Shintoho, a company that was an off shoot of the great Toho production company created these films which range from bad to so horrible that you want to spray mace in your eyes so you can't see the screen. Walter Manly, the man responsible for delivering these messes to America made it worse by cutting them down from serials and turning them into 75 minute films about salamanders and monsters, and emerald planets... I really couldn't follow the plot I was to busy throwing up... anyway, their are some really classic moments in the films, weird, American serial influenced fights against hordes of creatures or even space facists, and mutants dressed in costumes you'd think were made by the producer's mother for $15.00. There are four films made for American release (even though there were nine films from Japan, three of them were turned into "The Evil Brain From Outer Space" which, sadly, is one of the better ones. My favorite of them all is "Invaders from Space, which has some nifty acrobatics and isn't as boring as some of the others. Prince of Space does suck, but then again so does Starman... if you've got nerdy friends and you're either drunk and/or high and your looking for a giggle, check them out.

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.

Some time ago, "Prince of Space" was on IMDB's infamous Bottom 100 list. It left the list when IMDB recently changed the minimum number of votes needed to make the list. Its ever being on the list is a bit odd, as other Japanese films aren't on the list and there certainly are worse Japanese movies...though this is hardly a glowing endorsement. So how did it get on the list? Most likely it was there because it was featured on "MSTK3000"...and when the mininum number of notes needed for inclusion, several other "MSTK3000" entries (such as "The Girl in the Gold Boots") dropped off the list as well.

The film was originally part of a kid's series...sort of like an old-time movie serial. It was pieced together and dubbed into English as a feature film.

The story begins with an intergalactic jerk arriving on Earth and doing nasty things...and he'll continue until everyone surrenders. And, since Earth weapons seem powerless against these invaders, everyone seems screwed...until The Prince of Space shows up to fight the evil Phantom! Can this do-gooder manage to thwart this invasion?

As I mentioned above, this really wasn't intended as a full-length film for adults but kids. It also is badly dubbed and hacked into pieces...which only makes it more unwatchable. But it also features ridiculous baddies with dopey noses and the usual annoying 1950s-60s annoying Japanese cliche...the kids who manage to communicate with a monster or flying space man...thus saving the planet. It's NOT a good film...no doubt about that. But Bottom 100 bad, certainly not.

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.