Super low budget science fiction story about astronauts in the distant future of 1980 exploring the vast reaches of space and discovering a mysterious new plant. On that planet they find miniature people, sexy ladies, and a giant monster (played by Richard "Jaws" Kiel in his feature film debut). It's a pretty dumb story with terrible production values, so this film is only watchable as a so-bad-it's-good kind of movie, although 7' 2" Richard Kiel is always entertaining, even under heavy make-up, so that's added entertainment value if you're a fan.

Uneven sci-fi that fails to achieve much impact despite unconventional ending. What's needed is more snap. Too bad lead actor Fredericks walks through his role in unemotional fashion despite Capt. Chapman's surreal plight. Then too, director Marshall seems uninterested in playing up the dramatic points. Instead, he simply shoots the script without apparent engagement. Thus there's little suspense or tension despite the perilous predicaments There're lots of special effects-- some good (the control booths), some not (the space flights and a space ship that looks like a candied dart). On the other hand, the indie production gets good economical use from the planet's unusual stony sets. However, I could have done without all the scientific gobeldy-gook that appears to do little more than pad the script. Anyhow, I'm soon blasting off to the phantom planet, hoping to meet up with either Liara or Zetha, the Elizabeth Taylor look-alike. Plus there's all those scantily clad "jurors" who could revolutionize the whole idea of a "trial". Just goes to show that Hollywood is always Hollywood regardless of where we are in space. Anyway, enough of my glandular reactions. Overall, the indie flick fails to work its positive points into anything beyond drive-in mediocre.(In passing- Catch fine A-picture actress Coleen Gray as Liara; too bad she's largely wasted here. Also, there's Anthony Dexter as Herron; his career was launched in 1951 as silent star Valentino but quickly petered out. And, of course, Francis X. Bushman, a giant of the silent era as Sessom. Such 'name' players are worth noting, I think, for an indie production.)

'The Phantom Planet' is an extremely dull and talky sci-fi quickie set in 1980, by which time (as in Gerry Anderson's 'UFO') we Earthlings have established a base on the moon (where the communications officer interestingly enough is played by a Japanese actress (Akemi Tami), although we see and hear very little from her).Most of the music (plainly library material) is actually pretty good. And it's so far, so dull until we eventually arrive on the surface of the planet Rheton (actually an asteroid), which resembles an enormous Chicken McNugget. It's at this point that the film delivers it's one real surprise, which I won't divulge here as so many others have, as it has remarkably little bearing on anything else that follows.The Rhetons' costumes look as if they were left over from a movie set in ancient Rome; while the sets and the duel fought stripped to the waist between the film's two alpha males over the heroine anticipate one of the cheesier episodes of 'Star Trek'. Rheton's elderly ruler, Sesom (Francis X. Bushman) explains the primitive drabness of their present existence by claiming that the ill-effects from the unprecedented amount of leisure time resulting from labour-saving technology were solved by abandoning modern technology and returning to the simple life (late 20th Century capitalism certainly did a good job of licking this particular worry, if little else). Not that we see much evidence of good honest toil taking up much of the time of those Rhetons that we actually meet; all twenty of them. (Maybe all the real work is being done by slaves.) Nor do we see any bookcases, so it presumably didn't occur to the Rhetons to use all that unaccustomed leisure to read or write books. Their frugal existence, however, hasn't stopped them from harnessing "the magnetic forces of Rheton" to create a hi-tech defence system against attacking enemy ships piloted by aliens called Solorites (in scenes which recall the climaxes of 'This Island Earth' and 'Star Wars'), and creating force fields within which to imprison a captured Solorite (played by an uncredited Richard Kiel) and 'disintegrating gravity plates' in the floor to vapourise anyone who stands on them.

In what looks like big pieces of granola traveling through space, the sudden arrival of an American astronaut leads to what looks like video game wars. The aliens being attacked in their cereal shaped space ships look like earthlings and can even speak perfect English, while their attackers are certainly much more hideous looking. Sci-fi buffs will find this more interesting than everybody else, but there are some moments of genuine thrills. Still, it's all talky and rather complex, so if you loose focus during it, you are likely to become confused. The cast is above average, including veteran silent movie star Francis C. Bushman.I have seen many of the cheaply made sci-fi films, some better than others, and this one is above average for what it is. Even the obviously cheap sets don't take away from its thrills and while the obvious invaders are mildly silly looking, they are not ridiculous. The lack of unintentional laughs prevents this from being camp, but there are enough of those out there already. There is also a moral message attached which is timeless. I can't give this two thumbs up, but on my second hand, I'll still raise my pinkie.