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The Terrornauts (1967)

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2015 10:09 am    Post subject: The Terrornauts (1967) Reply with quote



First off, the poster above is absolutely gorgeous! I'd put a framed copy of it on the wall in my living room if I had a copy and a frame and more space on my living room wall! Very Happy

As for the movie, considering who did the writing on this one, here's a movie that should have been a lot better — but that doesn't mean it's bad. Science fiction novelist John Brunner wrote the screenplay from a novel by Murray Leinster entitled "The Wailing Asteroids".

The plot sounds great, and the playful way the whole thing is handled makes it fun to watch.

A group of research scientist are kidnapped by aliens when their laboratory is lifted right off the Earth and whisked to another world. They meet a robot who is doing some research of it's own (tests to gauge human intelligence).

The robot accompanies the scientists to a second planet, the home of a race of green-skinned humanoids. There the kidnapped Earthlings discover a message left by mankind's alien ancestors, warning them of an ancient extraterrestrial enemy who may threaten mankind when we venture out into space.

The story sounds like a "Doctor Who" episode, and perhaps that's what inspired it. Directed by Montgomery Tully ("Battle Beneath the Earth"), with a cast that includes Charles Hawtrey (who appeared in many of the British "Carry On . . . " comedies), Max Adrian ("Dr. Terror's House of Horrors"), and Zena Marshall (who played a Bond girl in "Dr. No").

YouTube has the trailer.



_____ The Terrornauts (1967) Theatrical Trailer


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And how 'bout this poster! Great Ceasar's Ghost, it's magnificent!

The artwork is superb, the tagline is outrageous, the alien is magnificent, the girl is gorgeous, and the situation is plum sadistic. The poor young lady is bound and lying atop a metal plate with spikes sticking up!

And yet the movie is playful and funny, with puppet-show spaceships dangling in a star-filled void.

Don't miss this one!

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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 Oct 07, 2022 6:02 pm; edited 11 times in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2015 12:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is based, loosely on the 1960 Murray Leinster novel, "The Wailing Asteroid". Good book, enjoyable movie if you don't aim too high. The REMCO Hamilton's Invaders Grenade Pistol makes another movie appearance as a ray gun.

David.
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And here is The REMCO Hamilton's Invaders Grenade Pistol:


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Krel
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the novel, the heroes travel to the asteroid in a ship the main character made. As a child he was exposed to the plates of a knowledge box that gave him the inspiration to build the engine. The engine was a precision machined steel post, that was carefully wound with copper wire. When energized the post produced a propulsive force.

On the asteroid, the whole asteroid was the base, they found water powered pistols that used an adaption of the space drive to fire a 'bolt' of force, like a bullet.

David.
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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The first act of this film bears a strong resemblance to the plot and theme of Contact (1997), the Jodie Foster film based on Carl Sagan's book, which delved into the possibilities of making contact with extraterrestrials by listening to signals from outer space.

As in that film, the main problem for the scientist in this one is the lack of funding for such a project. The problem for the audience is that too much of this film involves this problem about money, and it becomes repetitive by the 20-minute mark. On top of that, an accountant enters the picture at this point to audit the books of this project, to further belabor this story point.

Of course, this picture veers off into different directions from the Carl Sagan story. The entire building with the scientist and his fellows is abruptly whisked away by alien forces. The small group of humans seem to be subjected to various tests of stimuli in an alien ship. One problem with all this is that the various alien gadgetry looks like it's made of paper mache. The other is the character of the cleaning woman — one of the most annoying characters ever, just jabbering on about nothing.

Things take on a crazy frenetic tone in the final act when two of the characters are abruptly teleported to an alien planet where they are chased around by green-skinned aliens and the female is almost sacrificed in a ritual. It all happens very quickly, a matter of a few minutes, and ends just as abruptly.

The point of all this remains a mystery until the last 10 minutes, when it's finally unveiled that the humans are needed to ward off some sort of invasion.

BoG's Score: 3 out of 10


BoG
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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I'm stiil amazed that the poster artist made such a terrific work of art for this movie, even though absolutely nothing shown in the poster is in this dreadful film. Rolling Eyes

I mean, zoom in on the various things depicted below — a space station blowing up as more missiles approach it, a wild-eyed alien about to plunge a dagger into a gorgeous gal in a short dress, and a beautifully painted background packed with details!

Amazing!




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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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