Queen Of Blood (1966) (film review).
Where were you in 1990? Probably not in the 1966 film ‘Queen of Blood aka ‘Planet of Blood’s version of reality. The introduction shows we reached the Moon by then, had bases there, and had been to Mars. It’s always a strange feeling when an SF film manages to accomplish something we’ve never done in our real life.
On the Earth, the Space Institute tracking station spots an extraterrestrial spaceship. Head of staff Dr. Farraday (actor Basil Rathbone) announces that their spaceship is going to land on Mars and a spaceship is to be sent from Earth to bring home their ambassador. Another extra-terrestrial spacecraft is also on its way to Earth, but the mention of it appears to be a misdirection. The ambassador spacecraft crashes on Mars.
The crew for the Mars flight includes Commander Anders Brockman (actor Robert Boon), Paul Grant (actor Dennis Hopper), and Laura James (actress Judi Meredith). They arrive and discover the alien spacecraft’s one occupant dead, and an escape capsule landed on Phobos, but they can’t get there.
Back on Lunar-7, where Farraday has taken his command, astronaut Allan Brenner (actor John Saxon) and Tony Barrata (actor Don Eitner) convince Farraday that they can take a different spacecraft and rendezvous faster to Phobos, where they find an unconscious alien woman (actress Florence Marley). Oh, Brenner is also Laura’s boyfriend. The thing is, their rescue spacecraft can’t take passengers, and Brenner takes the unconscious alien to Brockman’s spaceship on Mars. They are able to tell Barrata that he will be rescued in a week’s time, who is pleased because he has rock samples to study. The alien woman revives but is not very keen on having her blood tested.
Late at ‘night,’ she fed off Grant, killing him. They find her sated, and Brockman says they have enough plasma on board to keep her alive under orders from Farraday. The thing is, it runs out, and she feeds off Brockman, killing him. Brenner ties her down to ensure her survival. Alas, she escapes again. As she feeds on Brenner, Laura attacks and succeeds in killing her, saving him. They also discover their spacecraft has eggs hidden throughout. There is a dilemma: what to do? Brenner is convinced that they should destroy the eggs, but Laura insists on following orders. They land on Earth, and the enthusiastic Farraday and his scientists take the eggs.
In many respects, director/writer Curtis Harrington’s film takes itself very seriously. The speed of spaceflight is a bit dubious. For instance, it takes about a week to reach Mars. Like the 1954 short story, ‘The Cold Equations,’ their math regarding mass and crew carried is questionable, but this is 1966, and I doubt if they had any help from proper scientists. They play down the blood-sucking alien as a threat and lessen its perceived horror. Then again, she is pretty. The final dilemma aims to provoke questions about the ethics of scientists.
For its age, the special effects are actually quite effective. Looking at IMDb, the effects team looks foreign, so possibly from a different film. Actually, two films, the Soviet films ‘Mechte Navstrechu’ (‘A Dream Come True’ (1963) and ‘Nebo Zovyot’ (‘Battle Beyond The Sun (1959). Did I say this was a Roger Corman production? For a tight-budget film, it is at least worth a look, especially as a close-up of the alien woman in her spacesuit photo comes up a lot in books.
GF Willmetts
December 2024
(pub: Stax Entertainment. 78Minute film. ASIN: BLVD00752)
cast: Judi Meredith, Dennis Hopper, John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Robert Boon and Florence Marley
