ctomvelu1 Forgettable early 1960s Italian-made space opera -- except for one thing. That one thing is 70-year-old Claude Rains playing a mad scientist. An asteroid that looks remarkably like a real planet and not all like a hunk of rock begins orbiting the Earth and sends out flying saucers that attack our space fleet. Before the military destroys it, a team of astronauts, including Rains, is sent to the asteroid to have a look at what's inside. Mostly, they find miles of suspended plastic tubing. Very talky, but anytime Rains is on-screen, the movie comes to life. His character is as daffy as the mad scientist he played in "The Invisible Man." Special effects are pathetic and the dubbing is typical for an Italian cheapie of the period.

davedb I found this movie in one of those Mill Creek 50-packs. It's a low-budget sci-fi film that works better with ideas than special effects. As a MST3K fan I found myself riffing some scenes out of habit. But as flawed as it is, trashing it outright misses the better points.I don't know what movie Claude Rains thought he was in, because he truly brings his A-game as a curmudgeon. He's the professor (often in a hammock) who the futuristic government doesn't believe. Stuck in his belief of scientific fact, he is not taken seriously.Does Rains chew the scenery? Yep, but it's fun and funny. I felt he probably enjoyed this character. He gives Prof. Benson mannerisms and tics that a lesser actor would not have bothered with. So he is 2 of my 5 points, because is so fun to watch.

Rabh17 Okay-- The Earth is threatened by an Outsider-- a dark world that comes out of the Intergalactic Depths to wreck havoc on the Earth. Attempts to investigate gives rise to a fleet of flying saucer ships that destroy all who approach!! DOOM!!!Yes-- this is 1961! This was not a movie of the Space Age-- but more precisely a Movie from the Age of Outer Space.And despite it being an Italian film, it is quite good, giving a strong nod to the basic lay science of Outer Space as it was known in that bygone era. So forget any descriptions such as 'Spagetti Space Opera'. They don't do justice to this film.For me as a kid in 1968 when I first saw it on TV-- in grainy Black & White -- it was merely an exciting film about space rockets and flying saucers. The dialogue outside of the spaceship scenes was gibberish and mainly ignored. And when I WAS paying attention, my mother kept calling to me from the kitchen to turn off the 'Idiot Box' and demanding if I had finished my homework like I was supposed to. Aaaaaagh!But Now as an adult, I hear the dialogue between "Dr. Benson" and his subordinates and the Council as rich in almost Shakespearean content as you listen to Dr. Benson excoriate his underlings and the Powers-that-Be about the power of calculation over the reliance on machines. "What's the purpose of Life, if you won't Know?" he demands in what seems to be a fit of madness. . . except he really isn't mad- just Misunderstood Genius.So when you watch this movie-- Pay Attention to Dr. Benson. He IS the center of this movie.And try to identify the classical string piece that always starts playing when Dr. Benson hits intellectual revelation!

aaronmocksing1987 "CORNFIELD!!... YOU'RE WONDERFUL!" Claude Raines stars in a movie in which I was forced to watch with the volume set very high (at my mother's, who bought this terrible movie, wishes). I never really understood the plot as it doesn't seem explained much at all; the only things I got was that the world was in danger and a senile old man that everyone likes (despite his hatred and constant acts of crudeness to everyone else) is sent in to help. Then they enter a tunnel, with what looks like a bunch of children's toys holding it together, where the old man laughs again before going out with the planet. As said before, I never got the plot and I chose not to watch it again. If I put it up, I deal with Claude's bombastic insults towards his annoyingly "quaint" co-workers. If I put it down, I still won't get the plot as no one will be speaking.Thank goodness for Star Wars to come along and make a TON of more sense, as well as something likable.I also never truly understood what the song is playing in the opening titles. It sounds like she's saying, "We are but SPIDERZCH.." followed by a direct shout of the director's name: "ANTOOOOOOOOOINE!!!!!"