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The Lost Missile (1958)

 
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:08 pm    Post subject: The Lost Missile (1958) Reply with quote

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The big blue hand with the Fu Manchu fingernails seems like just a bit of symbolism the poster artist used to make this race-against-time story seem exciting. But since the story turns out to be much more than simply a tense tale about an intercontinental ballistic missile headed for America, the symbolism has a deeper meaning.

The story is indeed ambitious and interesting. The acting and direction are quit good, and there are some fairly nice special effects in several scenes. The pacing is as fast as a greyhound at the dog track, and the tension doesn't let up until the last moment in the film.

What starts out seeming like a cold war drama about the nuclear threat actually turns into a science fiction film with a very ambitious premise! A UFO "with the characteristic of a missile" is detected by the Russians over their airspace, and they launch their newest defensive weapon, a mega-missle that only manages to deflect the object from what seemed like its intended target.

And that's when things go from bad to worse.

The "missile" begins racing through the atmosphere at thousands of miles an hour, at an altitude of only five miles, and the temperature of the object is (get this, guys) millions of degrees!

The launch of the Russian missile is cleverly done. We see stock footage showing a night launch of a Mercury rocket — but enhanced by a superimposed 2nd stage at the top. It's not an overly impressive special effect, but it does demonstrate that the filmmakers wanted more than just a stock shot of a V2 rocket launch. Very Happy










The design of this UFO is sufficiently unusual to suggest that it isn't just a missile fired by a hostile nation. In fact, it looks more like a alien spacecraft.









One of the major characters realizes that it might actually be an alien spacecraft which was damaged by the Russian missile, and is now out of control. This theory is consistent with the fact that UFO seems to have an inexhaustible fuel supply and a fuselage impervious to the intense heat which its speed produces.

Actually, this concept is verified before the story even starts! The title work shows the spacecraft approaching Earth! Shocked






The film's chief weakness lies in the fact that we never learn where the aliens came from, or for what reason they journeyed to Earth. A single ship doesn't constitute an invasion, so the mission was probably peaceful. But this presents us with a tragic bit of irony, because the out-of-control ship causes so much death and destruction all around the world!

Stock footage is used both generously and creatively, with a plethora of scenes showing vintage military aircraft making numerous attempts to bring down the spacecraft as it repeatedly circumnavigates the Earth at super-duper-sonic speeds, leaving a five-mile path of devastation caused by the shock wave and the incredible heat it generates.

As for the human drama presented by the story, several scenes are surprisingly realistic, such as the disturbing portrayal of the panic-stricken people in a subway station who trample each other to board a train. It's a shocking example of the way mobs behave in a crisis.






Robert Loggia plays a missile expert who has designed a new weapon he hopes will defend America against any foreign threat.





His new missile becomes a key plot element after numerous assaults on the alien spacecraft by fleets of fighters end with them all being destroyed by the insane velocity and the hellish temperature of the speeding spacecraft.

Fans of vintage military aircraft will certainly not be bored by the many impressive shots showing awesome aerial firepower on display. I had no idea that the fighters in the late 1950s could spit out such a barrage of destruction!

The film does a fine job of showing us the frantic efforts to warn the public in various cities, and the desperate attempts to evacuate as many as possible. There are several effective scenes of the approaching inferno from the sky, which end with a blast of heat and a firestorm in the wake of the missile.






The scientists and government leaders determine that if the missile isn't stopped, it will continue to circumnavigate the globe until every square mile of the planet is lifeless! This suggests the possibility that the ship actually is a weapon specifically designed to whip out all life on Earth. But why would aliens want to scorch the entire surface of the planet? What use would it be to them in that condition?

Robert Loggia conceives a desperate plan to use a hastily completed version of his own super-missile, which has unique design properties he hopes will allow it to survive the alien spacecraft's envelope of intense heat and succeed in destroying it.








In a frantic effort to make the weapon ready for launch, he races to the launch site with a key component that must be installed.





The tension involved in this exciting climax makes the last half of this one hour and ten minute film compelling to watch. I highly recommend this underrated science fiction movie from the Golden Age of Sci-Fi! Very Happy



_________________
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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 Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:34 pm; edited 17 times in total
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Bogmeister
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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____________________

____________________ Lost Missile Trailer


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An unusual little low budget sci-fier which should have been more aptly named "The Deadly Missile" or "Missile of Doom."

An unknown missile is detected by a communist nation, which fires its own defense missile at it. This just diverts the unknown missile into low Earth orbit and it proceeds to wreak havoc along its path, burning everything which it flies over (its said to project million-degree heat).

This was also an early starring role for Robert Loggia, as the heroic scientist. His career went nowhere in the sixties but surged in the late seventies and he became one of the best known character actors of the eighties and nineties (Scarface, Big, Independence Day, etc.).

His character has early problems with his fiancee (Ellen Parker) who, despite also being a scientist, thinks he's too involved in his work.

The story takes itself pretty seriously, including supposed plausible explanations for how the mysterious missile can generate such heat.

But there might be too much of this mystery — there's never any explanation about where this thing came from and none of the characters seem too curious about this key question either. There's a lot of narration, a sure sign that this is very low budget in that Ed Wood-style of informative storytelling, even though it tries hard for a quasi-documentary approach.

There are some effective scenes of a NYC evacuation and mass panic for such a low-budgeter. Loggia and the other principle actors are fine, even with some melodramatic theatrics, but some of the bit part actors are pretty stiff & amateurish. Even though this metallic marauder is stopped before it burns up the whole planet, there's an uncommonly downbeat ending.

BoG's Score: 3.5 out of 10


Lost Trivia: Also very early role for Hari Rhodes (as man at piano), who went on to a key role in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (72).

~ This was to be directed by producer William A. Berke but he dropped dead on the first day of filming, so his son Lester took over.

Star Trek TOS actor alert: Philip Pine plays Loggia's associate; he appeared as a villain in the episode The Savage Curtain


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus


Last edited by Bogmeister on Sun May 19, 2019 2:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Pow
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3401
Location: New York

PostPosted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Always loved Robert Loggia's 1966 TV show on NBC "T.H.E. Cat".

He played a former circus aerialist/jewel thief turned bodyguard. Cool scenes of him using his grapnel to scale tall buildings, running along rooftops, and so forth.

Kept switchblades hidden up his sleeves: the Cat's Claws.

Moody, film noir style of atmosphere & filming. Great jazz music.
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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I found a really nice version of The Lost Missile on Youtube. Very good picture. Here's the trailer, and the movie is right below it.
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__________________ The Lost Missile - trailer


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_______________The Lost Missile - full movie


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_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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