| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
|
 Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:29 pm Post subject: The Phantom Planet (1959) |
 |
|
____________________________________
______
High marks for a nice blend of originality and traditional elements go to this low-budget yarn about an astronaut (Dean Fredericks) who crashlands on an asteroid called Rheton where he finds a race of six-inch humanoids.
Environmental conditions cause him to shrink in size, too. He's captured by the locals, falls in love with an alien girl (Delores Faith), and joins their battle against the Solarites, whose spaceships frequently attack the Lilliputian world in space.
Unfortunately the alien (Richard Kiel) which the hero fights in a supposedly climactic scene is too laughable to be scary. Veteran actor Francis X. Bushman stars as the leader of Rheton.
The special effects are disappointing, but the props and sets aren't too bad. The astronauts' spacesuits are comprised of the skin-tight flight suits which pilots wore in the early 1950s, to which the filmmakers added air tanks and helmets.
This cost-cutting trick works pretty well; there have been worse suits used in better movies. Most of the music is borrowed from Leith Stevens' score for "Destination Moon". Directed by William Marshall.
Trivia note: Back in the early 1960s, the airforce flight suits used in this (and other) films could be ordered through an advertisement in "Famous Monsters of Filmland" and "Spacemen" magazine. The price for these now-lost treasures was $7.95!
___
| Gord Green wrote: | Not only was the flightsuit available, but the helmet as well.
In the early 60's I bought the set from a local surplus store for $15! Boy, I wish I still had them!
 |
| Krel wrote: | Look at the rocket set, interior and exterior, and the backpacks. They came from "Men Into Space". The props and sets appeared in quite a few productions after the show's demise.
Those surplus suits and helmets were used in "12 To The Moon". They didn't use the face-plates for the helmets, instead they gave the reason, that they have a 'force field' to keep the air in. |
For all it's flaws, 12 to the Moon has ambitious ideas, and the clever way they explained the lack of visors in the helmets turned a negative into positive. A war surplus jet fighter helmet became a hi-tech, force-field enhanced space helmet — and it was done with a line of dialog! 
That's exactly the kind of smart story telling that is often missing in much more expensive movies that ought to know better than to let lazy writing create illogical story elements which mar a good story.
We've all seen sci-fi movies which desperately needed science advisors to steer the script away from embarrassing mistakes.
The Cinefantastique article about Forbidden Planet said the script was taken around to several universities to check the science facts. As a result, we're still discussing the brilliance of that movie, rather than listing the flaws we would have found over the last 61 years.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:37 pm; edited 4 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
|
| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
Here's the very enjoyable trailer (with a wonderful narration by Dick Tufeld) and the full movie with a good picture!
________________________________
_____ The Phantom Planet - Classic Sci-Fi Trailer
__________ 
__________ The Phantom Planet (1961) SCI-FI
__________ 
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ralfy
Mission Specialist
Joined: 23 Sep 2014
Posts: 473
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Eadie
Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 1670
|
| Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 9:48 am Post subject: |
|
|
And don't forget the enemy of the Rhetons, the Solarite (who appears as if its related to Walt Disney's Pluto:
The Solarite was played by Richard Kiel.
_________________
____________
Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 3001
Location: Buffalo, NY
|
| Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 10:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
The helmet and back-packs look like the ones in TV's MEN IN SPACE.
_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
|
| Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 1:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Eadie wrote: | | And don't forget the enemy of the Rhetons, the Solarite (who appears as if its related to Walt Disney's Pluto: |
Then again . . . it seems to be related to Goofy
 
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Eadie
Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 1670
|
| Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 3:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Maybe Goofy and Pluto's love child? Or are the Disney Imagineers experimenting with cloning in order to revive Walt Disney himself?
_________________
____________
Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
|
| Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 3:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
Eadie, the concept you've suggested will become a future movie! I'd bet on it. 
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:41 pm; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Krel.
Guest
|
| Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 3:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Gord Green wrote: | | The helmet and back-packs look like the ones in TV's MEN IN SPACE. |
Not just the helmet and backpacks. They also used the rocketship interior and exterior sets from "MEN IN SPACE".
David |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Captain Starlight
Solar Explorer
Joined: 22 Apr 2022
Posts: 64
Location: Area 51
|
| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2022 6:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| The idea that an asteroid could be the home of a race of small people because some kind of gas shrank them down is absurd. But I admire the originality of this movie. I can't think of single other film that offered such a novel idea. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
________________________________
Whenever I see former AG and loyal Trump stooge Bill Barr, he reminds me of this guy. 
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Captain Starlight
Solar Explorer
Joined: 22 Apr 2022
Posts: 64
Location: Area 51
|
| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2022 7:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| The resemblance is uncanny! Is it possible that some of the folks in Washington are aliens in semi-human form, sent here to create confusion and spread false information? If so, they're wasting their time. Our own duly elected officials don't seem to need any help with that . . .. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17637
Location: North Carolina
|
| Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:10 pm Post subject: |
|
|
______________________________________________
Here's a real treat!
We've all watched the science fiction movies from the 1950s so often we can quote the dialog! That includes the good ones, the fair ones, and the bad ones. 
Well, here's one of the "fair" ones with a 1.43 GB download from YouTube, and a beautiful colorization job that provides the movies with a slick new appearance. 
Sweet, eh?
Space-Age Sci-Fi | The Phantom Planet (Adventure, 1961) by William Marshall | Colorized Movie
___________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
