Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack

Capitalizing on the popularity of its television series “Battlestar Galactica,” ABC, Glen A. Larson Productions and Universal produced a theatrical release entitled: Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack (MGCA, for short). There was no new footage. The film was an edited compilation of three episodes (more on those below). MGCA was a sort of a sequel to the pilot for the TV series, which had a very limited theatrical release.

Quick Plot Synopsis

After a quick recap of the backstory (via voiceover), the story opens with a mystery of why Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck have not returned from their scouting mission. It turned out that they were ‘captured’ by other Viper pilots from the Battlestar Pegasus. That ship was thought lost in the big Cylon attack that predates the story, but it, and it’s over-confident leader, Commander Cain, somehow survived. Cain is excited to have a second battlestar to attack a Cylon base. Commander Adama of the Galactica only wants fuel. His fleet of civilian ships is nearly out of fuel. Cain only wants to attack. There is much tension between the two commanders and their crews. Via deception and intrigue, Cain maneuvers Adama into helping him attack the base in order to get more fuel. The attack on the base succeeds. The fleet gets its fuel, but the sinister Count Baltar uses Galactia’s preoccupation with the base attack and fuel to press his own attack on Galactica. Suicide Cylon fighters ram Galactica, causing massive damage and out-of-control fires. Meanwhile, Cain uses Baltar’s preoccupation with Galactica to press his own surprise attack. Apparently, this succeeds. Surgery on the wounded Adama is successful and the fires are put out. The fleet has enough fuel to flee the scene. The End.

Why is this movie fun?

Obviously, fans of the original series would enjoy the mashup of several episodes. There is sufficient action and simple drama. Seeing the older, low-tech special effects has a nostalgia quality. Loren Green and Lloyd Bridges give the production some star power. The lovely Laurette Sprang offers fine late-70s eye candy.

Notes

Mashup — MGCA was cobbled together, primarily out of the two-part episodes 12 and 13: “The Living Legend”. These aired in late November and early December of 1978. Lloyd Bridges plays the Cain character well, riding the line between devious-treacherous and courageous-brilliant. The third episode in the mashup was #14, “Fire in Space.” This episode had nothing to do with Cain, but was well cut into the final battle sequences of “Living Legend” that it did not seem out of place. Much of episode #14 was omitted as tangental (or distracting) to the “Living Legend” story arc.

Star Boost — Larson was said to have the concept for his Battlestar Galactica story, developed in the late 1960s. It failed to arouse enough interest until after Star Wars blew open the sci-fi / western sub-genre. Borrowing heavily for sets, costumes and action from Star Wars, BG had a ready audience. Many of the visuals, such as the Big Ship Flyby are obviously parroting George Lucas’s work. The dogfights between Cylon fighters and Vipers are obvious copies too. Since Lucas was as successful as he was, Larson’s BG got a chance at life.

Short Life — Larson got his epic produced, but it did not last. Despite being popular and developing a cult following, ABC cancelled the show after it’s first season. Even though BG was lauded as “Best New TV Drama Series” in the People’s Choice Awards (Feb. 1979), ABC cited declining ratings and too-expensive production in their decision to kill the show. Ironically, MGCA was release a month after the last television episode aired. The handwriting was probably on the wall while MGCA was in post-production, but must have been too far along to be practical to scrap it.

Era of the Soft Hair — The late 1970s was an interesting period in personal fashion. Part of that fashion is captured in MGCA. Almost everyone has soft, fluffy hair. The hunky guys have long, fluffy hair. The hottie women have long, fluffy hair. The women’s hairstyles aren’t as flagrant as they would become in the 80s era of Big Hair, but you can see how it was getting started.

Corny Evil — It is interesting to see how obviously director Vince Edwards handled the sinister Count Baltar. In almost every scene with Baltar, he is set in strong up-light and told to wear a sinister grin. It’s the old flashlight-under-the-chin effect. Once or twice might have sufficed to assure the visual signal of Baltar’s evil-ness. But, Edwards does it every time. It’s hammy and amusing, though that’s probably not the effect Edwards was after.

Bottom line — MGCA does not age well, given modern CGI effects. There is much repetition of visuals, such as launching of fighters, and dogfight scenes. This is common enough in television, but in films, it looks more obvious and cheap. However, if the viewer can set aside modern standards for effects, and depth-of-plot, MGCA provides some simple entertainment, with plenty of action. It won’t impress anyone under the age of 30, but folks who lived TV in the 70s may have a more forgiving heart.

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Sci-fi before World War II

Before the Second World War ushered in the atomic age, and all the attendant nuclear angst, science fiction films found many other things to feel angsty about. There was less of rocket and aliens -- although there were some of those too -- but more of the mad scientist trope. There were dystopic visions of the future, but amusing ones too. Electricity, rather than atomic radiation, was the genie in the bottle that could do all manner of wonders (and horrors).

Below, is a collection of pre-WWII films already reviewed on this blog. There are more to add, but this is a good start.  The sci-fi films of the 40s will come under a separate post. Enjoy!

Edison's Frankenstein -- This 1910 silent film was the first film made of Shelley's story. It was a loose adaptation, geared for a fixed camera. The film was "lost" for a long time.

Homunculus -- Originally, a six part German film about an artificial human, tormented by his lack of understanding what true love is. While not a direct spin-off of the Frankenstein genre, it is definitely in the family.

Aelita: Queen of Mars -- an obscure 1924 Soviet film about a Russian engineer shortly after the revolution, who creates a ship to travel to Mars. There, he finds a monarchy which oppresses its workers. They spark a proletariat revolution on Mars. The sets and costumes for "Mars" are dramatically Constructivist.

Metropolis -- Fritz Lang's 1927 epic about the world of the future in which the elite's party in penthouse gardens while the workers toil in a grim underworld. The sets, lighting and directing are good examples of the German Expressionist style.

Just Imagine -- 1930 looks into the magical future year of 1980. People have numbers instead of names and everyone has a personal airplane. This is an upbeat, Hollywood, view of the future.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- Paramount's 1931 adaptation of Robert Lewis Stevenson's dark tale is a classic. It became the inspiration for many other sci-fi films with its exploration of the good and evil within mankind.

Frankenstein -- James Whale's 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel became a cultural icon. The film itself spawned several sequels and numerous (usually cheap) spin-offs and copies. The undercurrent theme of science-gone-wrong would thrive in the atomic age too.

F.P.1 Doesn't Answer -- Originally a German film of 1932, remade with an English-speaking cast. It is the tale of a mid-Atlantic floating landing strip to facilitate transatlantic flights. However, sinister forces do not want to see the project succeed. Sabotage and treachery await.

The Invisible Man -- 1933 screen adaptation of H.G.Wells' novel. Yet another pre-atomic variation on the dangers of science in the hands of fault-prone human beings.

The Vanishing Shadow -- A Universal serial, running in 1934 that feature's a scientist's invisibility machine as the primary sci-fi gimmick. The heroes use it to thwart crime. But, look for ray guns and a robot too!

The Transatlantic Tunnel -- A 1935 remake (in English) of a 1933 German film (Der Tunnel) which tells of the ambitious project to dig a tunnel to link England and America. The sci-fi element -- a "Radium Drill" gets little screen time compared to a convoluted love triangle and sinister "Syndicate" dealings.

Bride of Frankenstein -- Universal's 1935 sequel to James' Whale's classic. The monster insists that the doctor create a mate for him. The reluctant doctor agrees. This is a rare case of a sequel rivaling the original for classic-ness.

Things To Come -- 1936 British film tracing the history of "Everytown" (London) from the 1930s to 2061. Based on HG Wells book, "The Shape of Things to Come," but actually better than the book. Traces the destruction of old world civilization by a devastating World War and the rebirth of a new world order -- and the launch of a moon mission!

The Man Who Lived Again -- One of four Columbia films (this one, 1936) starring Boris Karloff and dealing with attempts at immortality. In this case, the ability to transfer consciousness from one brain to another. A sinister love triangle goes wrong, killing the mad scientist, but reuniting the young lovers.

Bombs Over London -- A British spy thriller of 1937 ('39 for American release) in which a consortium of arms producers conspire to start a world war (for their profit) by the invention of robot airplanes. These are sent to bomb London and spark a war.

Fighting Devil Dogs -- A 1939 Republic serial about a group of Marines (the Devil Dogs) who try to stop the nefarious villain "The Lightning" and his many techno-gadgets. Lightning is a precursor to Darth Vader.

The Man They Could Not Hang -- The second of Columbia's Karloff-immortality films, this one of 1939. Karloff invents an artificial heart machine that can revive the dead. He uses it to thwart his one execution.

The Phantom Creeps -- Universal's remake of it's prior serial: The Vanishing Shadow. This time, Bela Lugosi is the sinister scientist who uses the invisibility belt for dark deeds.

The Son of Frankenstein -- 1939, and Universal's third in the series. This time the son of Dr. Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) thinks he can revive and fix the monster (played by Boris Karloff) and repair the family name. Watch for Bela Lugosi as "Ygor."

Buck Rogers -- serials ran the late 1930s, remade into a feature film in 1953.

Science catches up with the 50s

On Monday, December 21st, modern science finally caught up with the vision of space technology from the 1950s. SpaceX finally succeeded in making their Falcon 9 rocket return to earth -- under power -- to land upright on legs.  You can see a short YouTube video here, that shows the landing as seen from a helicopter.

For fans of sci-fi films from the 50s, SpaceX's accomplishment almost seems like a non-event. We've been watching rockets descend under power, to land on their legs since Destination Moon (1950). From sci-fi dreamers to kids reading comic books, the powered landing was just intuitively the "right" way to do it.

Perhaps 50s (and even 60s) technology was not up to the dreamers' visions. NASA decided, even before the first Mercury capsules went into space, that such landings were impossible. They built their whole system around the assumption of the single-use launch system. Perhaps institutional inertia was to blame, but the vertical powered landing was never considered.

So, congratulations SpaceX. You've finally accomplished what us 50s sci-fi fans had expected all along. Keep it up. We are still waiting for our big-wheel space stations and planets full of beautiful women.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

The major studios were still cautious about producing big budget sci-fi. Jules Verne was a safe conservative choice. Journey to the Center of the Earth (JCE) was more adventure fiction or travel fiction than science fiction movie. Verne's novel drew from the science of geology. His literary style was prone to long expository stretches, so the "science" element was more obvious. The 20th Century Fox movie pares away most of that exposition, in favor of action. Nonetheless, geology is the science connection.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Geology professor Oliver Lindenbrook is given a hunk of lava rock by a student, Alex. It turns out to contain a message from Arne Saknussem, an explorer who disappeared years before, on an expedition to the center of the earth. Oliver writes to a swedish expert, only to find out that this expert is mounting an expedition first. Oliver travels to Iceland. Professor Göteborg is found dead, poisoned by Count Saknussem, descendant of the famous Arne, who believes the underworld belongs to him. Carla Göteborg insists on joining Oliver, Alex and Hans. The Oliver and party descend, shadowed by the Count. They find marks left by Arne. The Count fakes some marks to waylay them. Alex becomes separated from the rest. Through travels and travails, they become reunited and have reluctantly had to add the Count to the group. They find the underworld sea. They build a raft to cross it, thereby escaping the giant Dimenodons. A whirlpool at the center of the earth shipwrecks them onto a beach. In a nearby cave, the Count (who has eaten Gertrude) dies in a rock slide. This opens a passage to the ruins of Atlantis. The skeleton of Arne points to a windy shaft back to the surface. It is blocked, however, so Oliver blows it up. This causes earthquakes and lava flows. The four shelter in an asbestos altar bowl. The lava pushes the bowl up the shaft to safety. All are welcomed home as heros, though no one can prove what they saw. Alex marries Jenny. Oliver proposes to Carla.The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The A-level acting and well done musical score are a refreshing treat from a steady diet of B-level sci-fi. The sets and painting build a sense of wonder. The story, while not pure Verne, is well paced and entertaining.

Cold War Angle
The screenplay maintains Verne's 19th century point of view. It is worth noting that they avoided grafting in any Cold War modernism, unlike 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ('54) and From Earth to the Moon ('58) in which the writers inserted a nuclear parallel.

Notes
Sub-Terranian -- The notion that the earth was hollow, or at least had large habitable zones inside it, is ancient. The Greeks imagined Hades' underworld as an alternate world which surface folk could travel to and from. Q.v. Orpheus. The notion persisted until the 1800s. Edmund Halley (of comet fame) thought the earth might be hollow. Leonhard Euler thought there were holes at the poles that connected upper and lower worlds. A Captain Symmes wrote pamphlets and promoted (vigorously) the idea of going to search for these openings. Verne took the notion and ran with it. The idea that the earth had a deep magma layer and a solid core was not proposed until the 1910s.

 Book vs. Hollywood -- The script of JCE was fairly faithful to the spirit of Verne's tale, but not slavishly so. JCE is closer to the novel than Unknown World ('51) which was loosely based on Verne's story. Fox's movie version of JCE added a Disneyesque cute animal (Gertrude the duck) and two women for romantic interest. Verne did not usually clutter his tales with romance. The writers also changed the lead character from a German (Otto Leidenbrock) of Hamburg to a Scot (Oliver Lindenbrook) of Edinburgh. Perhaps it was still a bit too soon after the Second World War to have a German protagonist.

Bottom line? JCE is not an especially science-y sci-fi, but it is very well done. The sets, the music, the acting, all make a fine performance. The story is well written and nicely avoids Verne's penchant for long stretches of exposition. JCE is a great family movie.

Sting of Death

Reader “Robin” suggested that Sting of Death (SoD) might be a good addition to this sci-fi collections. Admittedly, SoD was passed over when this study was viewing through films of the 60s as most sources classified it as horror. Upon deeper examination, SoD does have a hint of sci-fi and turns out to be a fitting follow-up to the two recently reviewed films from the 40s, The Bat (’40) and The Flying Serpent (’46). All three films feature a ‘mad’ scientist using his creation to kill off people he does not like. This similarity does not make SoD a good film. It’s relative obscurity is not undeserved. It does, however, deserve inclusion.

Quick Plot Synopsis

A slimy, rubbery hand of the “monster” sabotages a two-way radio. The monster then pulls under the water, and drowns a blonde sunbather. Under the title and credits, the mostly-hidden monster ferries the dead blonde to an underwater lair. When Dr. Richardson, his adult daughter Karen and Dr. John Hoyt return to their island compound in the everglades, Ruth’s absence is noted, but of much concern. Egon is the slightly disfigured, but otherwise normal assistant to Doc. Egon is smitten with Karen and professionally jealous that the hunky Dr. John replaced him as Doc’s assistant. A boat load of rowdy young adults (classmates/friends of Karen) come to the island to spend spring break helping Doc do his research on sea life and evolution (?). The visitors are rude and insensitive to Egon: teasing, chasing, laughing. The youth proceed to dance around the pool to a peculiar pop tune by Neil Sedaka: “The Jellyfish”. The monster lurks in the pool and attacks Louise (one of the taunters of Egon). She is pulled out, but the monster then attacks the young man who taunted Egon. Both suffer from ‘horrible’ stings, but are not dead. Most of the youth take the injured man to the hospital in Doc’s big boat. The monster damaged the boat, so it stalls and founders. A ‘swarm’(?) of regular jellyfish (plastic bags floating on the water) “attack” the sinking boat. Much panic, flailing and screaming ensues and drags on too long. Eventually, all the youth are dead in the water. Back on the island, the other youth are stalked and killed one by one. Eventually, Egon captures Karen after professing his love for her. She faints. He absconds with her via his airboat. Doc and John pursue in their airboat. A long chase through vast tracts of everglades grasses ensues. Engine trouble for Doc’s boat gives Egon time to get to his underwater entrance to his secret ‘cave’ lab. He takes Karen there and professes his great love for her. She rebuffs his creepy mauling form of love. Perhaps in an effort to persuade Karen of his merits, Egon monologues about his ‘genius’. He was able to grow giant (20”) jellyfish when everyone said he could not. His secret was: seawater, electricity and human blood. Breathing deeply from the fumes thus created, is what turns Egon into the jellyfish-man-creature. He transforms. John appears with an underwater flare. They spar and wrestle and dance around in the cave while Karen looks passive and sick in the background. John drops his flare in the big aquarium tank with the ‘giant’ jellyfish. This somehow throws off the magic of Egon’s “science”, causing the jellyfish monster to swoon and all his sparky electrical equipment to smoke. Sensing an immanent explosion, John tries to get Karen to flee. She’s worried about Egon, who has partially un-transformed. In a last ditch show of humanity, Egon-monster tells John to save Karen from the impending explosion. John and Karen swim away. Once on Doc’s airboat, the undersea cave ‘explodes’ (makes a lot of bubbles). The three ride off into the everglade distance. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
For those who love ‘so-bad-it’s-good’ films, SoD has a lot to offer. The monster costume is bad enough to bring a smile. On the plus side, Grefe and Fink did fill the cast with some pretty young women, if 60s styles don’t bother you.

Cultural Context
Indie Club — Southern California had a virtual lock on film production, even in the low-B grade films. Cheap and quick as they were, the Poverty Row studios were still in California. That did not stop some people from trying to spark alternate movie industry hubs. William Grefe was a south Florida director/writer who thought Florida could be the new Hollywood. Grefe, along with producer Joseph Fink and a handful of others, created several B films in the mid-60s. They had a crowd of regulars for workers and actors. None of their films even approached the work of Poverty Row, but that did not stop them from trying. They were a group making movies!

Notes
Low B — SoD was born with low expectations. Grefe had written and directed Death Curse of Tartu in 1966. (Fink was the producer). Tartu was a low-B film itself. Grefe and Fink needed to create an even cheaper film so Tartu could be released as a double feature. William Kerwin was a busy third-tier actor and jack-of-all-trades (production manager, sound man, camera man, writer, etc.) Kerwin provided a screenplay (with Al Dempsey another bit actor) for a monster movie that was a mishmash of traditional tropes. Kerwin’s story might have made for a less risible film with a bigger budget (better monster costume) and more time, but SoD was born to be the B film for an already low-B first feature.

Trope Sampler — Some see in SoD, a low-budget knock off of Creature From The Black Lagoon (’54), though the parallels are few. Both were set in “wet” tropical settings. Both featured some underwater footage. There was also an ‘attraction’ between the monster and the “good” girl. But, there are as many differences between SoD and CFBL as there are similarities. SoD has a hint of Dr. Jekyll to it, as Egon’s experiments appear to have inadvertently turned HIM into the monster. There are hints of The Bat in that the mad scientist uses his creation to kill off his enemies. There is also a touch of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the disfigured Egon being in love with the fair Karen, including the abduction. No doubt, other plot parallels can be found too.

Senseless Killings? — Being a low-B horror film, audiences expected random people to be killed for no particularly good reason. SoD delivers the expected, but actually tried to provide a motive for the murders. During his cave monologue, Egon explained that his experiments to grow really big jellyfish required: 1, sea water. (easy, they’re in Florida), 2, electricity (that magic ingredient since Frankenstein) and 3, human blood. That’s why the “missing” fishermen were missing and why the monster drown the sunbather, then swam her body down to his secret cave. He wanted their blood for his jellyfish experiments. This was very poorly developed in the screenplay, but then, the purpose of the film was more simple — gratuitous violence to sell tickets.

Man or Beast? — The costume for the monster was so cheaply done that viewers could be excused for no knowing if the killer was really supposed to be a freakish beast, or just Egon dressing up as a jellyfish. After all, the beast appeared to be just a guy in a black wetsuit with a plastic bubble on his head and some limp ‘tentacles.’ At times, the actor’s ankles showed between wetsuit legs and flippers. At times, the actor’s face/head were fairly visible within the painted plastic bag ‘head’. Was it really a beast, or just Egon? The answer is easily missed, but lies in the poorly done transformation scene. After his monologue in the cave, Egon fires up his sparky machines. The aquarium bubbles and makes dry ice fog. Egon breathes in the fog. Some slimy lumps develop on his face. Then, suddenly, he is fully beast. As a sentient were-jelly, the beast retains Egon’s mind, but now with deadly stinging power.

Sudden Demise — Another spot where the production did not bother, was making it clear just what killed the beast. Grefe spent a lot of time and footage on agonizingly slow stalk attacks and airboat chases, but only a few feet of film on the turning point. Viewers could be excused for missing it. During the standoff “fight” between John and the beast, John drops his underwater flare into the aquarium tank. The flare, apparently kills the big jelly fish Egon had grown. Apparently, the Egon/Beast was an extension of this ‘murderous creature’. So, when the tank jelly died, the Egon/Beast would too. Why all this would make Egon’s equipment short out, was not explained. Nor why said equipment should explode. Details. Grefe had enough film for a second-feature movie, so just needed to wrap it all up quickly. So he did.

Lite Voyeur — A regular feature in Grefe’s mid-60s B films was a segment in which several youth dance (60s dance moves) to some lite pop music. Grefe would then zoom in close to catch the jiggle of the young ladies backsides and upstairs. These dance scenes did not advance the plot so much as it provided the young male movie-goer with some extra-soft voyeurism.

Bottom line? SoD is a marginal film that suffers from the usual problems of weak acting, poor effects and numerous plot problems. Even as a “horror” film, it is scant horror. There is barely any sci-fi to it, but diligent viewers will find a little bit of the classic tropes in the final reel. For fans of so-bad-it’s-good films, SoD can be entertaining. For viewers who expect believable effects, good acting and a logical plot, SoD will probably be annoying.