ALL SCI-FI

Bud Brewster · Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:12 pm; edited 4 times in total

Another one of those 1960s sci-fi movies whose poor production standards set your teeth on edge -- but in this case the cast is a hoot!

A space expedition comprised of Wendell Corey ("Cyborg 2087"), the prolific John Agar, night club comedian Paul Gilbert (the comic relief), and Stuart Magolin (Angel from "The Rockford Files") lands on an alien world (a studio set), populated by dinosaurs (stock-footage lizards) and prehistoric humanoids.

The astronauts provide assistance to two local inhabitants, a man and a woman who serve as a kind of Adam and Eve for this strange world -- which turns out to be Earth!

This twist ending was done so often on the Twilight Zone it will never surprise anybody again. The male humanoid's name is Tang and the female's is Linda ( . . . Linda?).

Admittedly the story attempts to interject a few interesting elements; in addition to the roaring lizards, there's a carnivorous plant and a king-sized spider.

IMDB offers this bit of trivia: The original script by Arthur C. Pierce was called simply "The Prehistoric Planet", but producer Jack Broder later added "Women of..." to the title for marketing purposes.

To justify this title change, brief scenes were filmed of three actresses in native garb, prancing and swimming semi-nude in the pond and waterfall on the planet. These scenes were only used in foreign release prints, but are visible briefly in the US trailer for the film.

Co-starring Keith Larson, Irene Tsu, Merry Anders, and Adam Roarke. Written and directed by Arthur C. Pierce.

* Don't you love the Metaluna saucer in the poster, equipped with big "Seaview" windows in front?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Krel · Guest

Krel · Guest

I found out recently that the spaceship was an altered Mars Queen spaceship miniature from the 50s TV series "Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers". A TV series you will never see, as all the episodes were ordered destroyed. They were sued by the Tom Corbett producers and lost the suit.

David.

Eadie · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 1670

You mean this ship?:

Cliff Robertson on the TV series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyfrdoCquNk
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

scotpens

Bud Brewster

Krel · Guest

That's the ship Eadie. There is a facebook page on Jim Danforth, and it has a photo of the miniature as it appears in this movie.

David.

Eadie · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 1670

Could you post a picture of that miniature, I'm sure all the gang would like to see it.
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

Krel · Guest

Sorry for the late reply. I'd post the photo, but being a bit of a Luddite, I have no idea how to do so. Sorry.

David.

Eadie · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 1670

scotpens · Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2020 12:21 am Post subject:

I PM'ed Krel and he sent me the photo. Here it is.

Krel. · Guest

Thanks to Scottpens for his kind offer to post the photo*. I found it on a Facebook page, "When Jim Danforth Ruled the Earth". Around the same time, I found the photo of the Mars Queen.

The FB site with the photo said that it was a prop from "Captain Midnight", where it was a robot vacuum cleaner! The writer was either mistaken, or the prop made the rounds.

David.

*I guess I'm going to have to breakdown, and join a photo hosting service so I'm not imposing on others. Hard thing for a borderline Luddite to do. Laughing