My word, what a ludicrous film! The question should very much be whether this is a parody or not, as the dialogue seems too overblown and truly sexist to be serious on the part of Charles Beaumont, perhaps one of the finest writers of TV science fiction ("The Twilight Zone") and the script-writer for some Corman Poe adaptations.
There's no doubt the attitudes of the "earthmen" and the passivity of the women may have been to some extent true to real life in the fifties, but surely Beaumont is having a laugh; as others have attested here, Hecht likely was with the story line. And how laughable the story is; this unconvincing bunch of astronauts (made up of a staid "leader", a lecherous "lover", a hapless "lovelorn" chap and a grinning, supposed center of gravitas, the "professor"; these titles are given at the end credits bizarrely!) is hijacked and forced to crash land on Venus where they are accosted by mini-skirt clad dames, and they basically manage to take over the place via their "sex appeal". Oh, and I forgot, they inadvertently dispose of this Queen figurehead along the way.
So many cliches are evident; the jerky spaceship, grating, annoying sound effects, the Queen being "wicked" as she is disfigured, a sub-Harryhausen insect monster (that is there for about five seconds!), the ray guns, the pseudo-totalitarian (with monarchist trappings) oppressive state with an already active "resistance", the "rebels" being whiter than white and a few explosions and bangs near the end. Where it differs from other sci-fi B movies like "The She Creature" (a less glossy, if still beleaguered film, but with a few oddball aspects) is in this pervasive sexism. The "world of Venus", as well as being perfectly habitable (this is never explained after the Professor acknowledges this is the case), is bestraddled by lascivious ladies, legs more than in evidence, brains frankly less so. I just love these lines; "Vimmen vill never be 'appy vizout men..." as spouted by Zsa Zsa Gabor. The "Lover", the if you will, Larry character, is outrageously smug! "Hey!!! the little dolls are just the same as they are on earth!" A truly LOL moment - I must remark now that I remember it; why isn't the professor accorded a girl in that middle part when the rest of them are lounging around? ;-) Though I suppose they do end with a token gesture of his maniacal, absurdly grinning, smug face, being seen to by "The Girls" as they are referred to in the end credit.
To conclude, may I say it is tough to rate such a film; on film making quality it has to be a 2 out of 10, but on entertainment value an 8, so I'll give it a five. It is worth watching, as it is fairly short - around seventy-five minutes - and just to see either those largely delectable mini-skirted dames or/and laugh at an unbelievably ridiculous film in all its garish glory.
Rating:- ** 1/2/*****
There's no doubt the attitudes of the "earthmen" and the passivity of the women may have been to some extent true to real life in the fifties, but surely Beaumont is having a laugh; as others have attested here, Hecht likely was with the story line. And how laughable the story is; this unconvincing bunch of astronauts (made up of a staid "leader", a lecherous "lover", a hapless "lovelorn" chap and a grinning, supposed center of gravitas, the "professor"; these titles are given at the end credits bizarrely!) is hijacked and forced to crash land on Venus where they are accosted by mini-skirt clad dames, and they basically manage to take over the place via their "sex appeal". Oh, and I forgot, they inadvertently dispose of this Queen figurehead along the way.
So many cliches are evident; the jerky spaceship, grating, annoying sound effects, the Queen being "wicked" as she is disfigured, a sub-Harryhausen insect monster (that is there for about five seconds!), the ray guns, the pseudo-totalitarian (with monarchist trappings) oppressive state with an already active "resistance", the "rebels" being whiter than white and a few explosions and bangs near the end. Where it differs from other sci-fi B movies like "The She Creature" (a less glossy, if still beleaguered film, but with a few oddball aspects) is in this pervasive sexism. The "world of Venus", as well as being perfectly habitable (this is never explained after the Professor acknowledges this is the case), is bestraddled by lascivious ladies, legs more than in evidence, brains frankly less so. I just love these lines; "Vimmen vill never be 'appy vizout men..." as spouted by Zsa Zsa Gabor. The "Lover", the if you will, Larry character, is outrageously smug! "Hey!!! the little dolls are just the same as they are on earth!" A truly LOL moment - I must remark now that I remember it; why isn't the professor accorded a girl in that middle part when the rest of them are lounging around? ;-) Though I suppose they do end with a token gesture of his maniacal, absurdly grinning, smug face, being seen to by "The Girls" as they are referred to in the end credit.
To conclude, may I say it is tough to rate such a film; on film making quality it has to be a 2 out of 10, but on entertainment value an 8, so I'll give it a five. It is worth watching, as it is fairly short - around seventy-five minutes - and just to see either those largely delectable mini-skirted dames or/and laugh at an unbelievably ridiculous film in all its garish glory.
Rating:- ** 1/2/*****