Queen of Outer Space

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Queen of Outer Space
Directed by Edward Bernds
Starring Zsa Zsa Gabor
Laurie Mitchell
Eric Fleming
Patrick Waltz
Joi Lansing
Release date(s) 1958
Running time 80 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
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IMDb profile

Queen of Outer Space is a science fiction movie filmed in 1958 starring Zsa Zsa Gabor as Talleah, the Venusian leader of the resistance to overthrow cruel Queen Yllana of Venus. With its cast of leggy space girls, skimpy costumes, and Venusians lusting for love, the film was one of the genre of sci-fi pictures to use a planet totally inhabited by females and monsters as a theme.

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[edit] Synopsis

Capt. Patterson and his space crew crash land on Venus and are captured. They learn the planet is under the dictatorship of cruel Queen Yllana, a masked woman who has banished men from the planet. In the palace, the astronauts are aided by a beautiful courtier named Talleah. Talleah and her allies long for the love of men again and plot to overthrow the evil Queen. When Patterson removes the Queen's mask, he discovers the woman has been horribly disfigured by radiation burns caused by men and their wars. In a fury, the Queen decides to destroy Earth and its warlike peoples but she dies in the attempt. The Venusians are free again to enjoy the love of men.

[edit] Cast

  • Zsa Zsa Gabor as Talleah
  • Eric Fleming as Capt. Neal Patterson
  • Dave Willock as Lt. Mike Cruze
  • Laurie Mitchell as Queen Yllana
  • Lisa Davis as Motiya
  • Paul Birch as Prof. Konrad
  • Patrick Waltz as Lt. Larry Turner
  • Barbara Darrow as Kaeel
  • Marilyn Buferd as Odeena
  • Mary Ford as Venusian girl
  • Marya Stevens as Venusian girl
  • Laura Mason as Venusian girl
  • Lynn Cartwright as Venusian girl
  • Kathy Marlowe as Venusian girl
  • Coleen Drake as Venusian girl
  • Tania Velia as Venusian girl
  • Norma Young as Venusian girl
  • Marjorie Durant as Venusian girl
  • Gerry Gaylor as Base commander
  • John Bleifer as Torture victim (uncredited)
  • Brandy Bryan as Venusian guard (uncredited)
  • Ralph Gamble as Officer in anteroom (uncredited)
  • Joi Lansing as Larry's girl (uncredited)
  • Ruth Lewis as Disintegrator Amazon (uncredited)
  • June McCall as Tyrus 4 Amazon leader (uncredited)
  • Guy Prescott as Col. Ramsey (uncredited)

[edit] Production

Three Stooges and Bowery Boys director Edward Bernds recalled that after famed producer Walter Wanger was released from prison for shooting agent Jennings Lang in the groin for having an affair with his wife Joan Bennett, Wanger could only find work at Allied Artists. In 1952 Wanger brought a ten page idea for a screenplay by Ben Hecht called Queen of the Universe that was a satirical look at a planet run by women. Several years later with the idea of science fiction films being more common, Allied Artists revived the project with Wanger replaced on the film by Ben Schwalb who was then producing the Bowery Boys films, as producer. Screenwriter Charles Beaumont didn't think there was much in the Hecht screenplay, but Schwalb suggested spoofing the idea and had former Three Stooges screenwriter Ellwood Ullman touch up Beaumont's screenplay.[1] Allied Artists retitled the film Queen of Outer Space as they thought the original title sounded more like a beauty pageant.[2]

The film recycled many ideas such as a planet ruled by women from other science fiction film classics as Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, Cat-Women of the Moon (both 1953) and the British Fire Maidens from Outer Space (1955). Queen of Outer Space also recycled many props and costumes from other films such as the spacemen's uniforms from Forbidden Planet (1956), models, sets, and special effects from Bernds's World Without End (1956), the usual stock footage of a V-2 and a rocketship model used by the Bowery Boys in Paris Playboys (1954) that was co-written by Bernds and Ullman.[3] The facial makeup of the deformed Queen strongly resembles the effect of being hit by a pie thrown by the Three Stooges.

Queen of Outer Space was filmed in colour and Cinemascope. The Warner Brothers DVD release (2007) features an audio commentary track with Laurie Mitchell (who played the queen) and interviewer Tom Weaver.

[edit] References

  1. ^ p.55 Weaver, Tom Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes McFarland 2000
  2. ^ ibid
  3. ^ Queen of Outer Space (1958) - Trivia

[edit] External links

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