This is possibly Antonio Margheriti's first film, as I've read somewhere, or perhaps his second feature, as I've read somewhere else. It may also be the first Italian sci-fi film ever made, but then in the crazy world of cinema from a foreign country from almost 60 years ago, who knows what is true and what isn't? This one stars Rick Von Nutter (great name) as a roving reporter sent into outer space to a space station to report on something or other. Once awoken from hypersleep (just like Alien!) he's told that basically he's a pain in the arse and no one likes him. He space walks from the shuttle to the space station and it's round about this time where you can guess that the special effects budget perhaps wasn't that large. Also, when Rick tires some fancy moves out in space and almost gets himself killed, you get the feeling that Rick's brain isn't that large either.
Once he eventually gets to the space station he's basically told he's a pain in the arse again! Rick sort of proves them right when he ventures back into space, saves someone from a meteorite, but destroys gallons of space fuel in the process! Turns out the Cosmonaut he saved is a girl, which seems to confuse him for a moment, until the film then becomes Assignment: Under Garments.
Rick's got to get into this lady's pants and also get involved in stopping a runaway space station that's heading for Earth! We also get a sequence here involving another space ship which crashes on Venus, and we're given a split second shot of an explosion taking place in a car park, complete with cars? I'm not making this up. I guess you couldn't really ask the projectionist to pause and rewind the film to the head scratching thing you've just witnessed while watching the film in the cinema.
First time I tried to watch this film I was in a coma almost straight away, but second time round it's not so bad. It's the weakest Margheriti film I've watched so far but is still full of his trademarks: namely loads and loads of miniature sets! Tiny models of astronauts floating about in space certainly help the film along, as do all the crappy shots of people floating through space, simulated anti-gravity acting from the cast, and the idea that it's impossible to conceive that women might work in scientific fields in the 22nd Century.
Once he eventually gets to the space station he's basically told he's a pain in the arse again! Rick sort of proves them right when he ventures back into space, saves someone from a meteorite, but destroys gallons of space fuel in the process! Turns out the Cosmonaut he saved is a girl, which seems to confuse him for a moment, until the film then becomes Assignment: Under Garments.
Rick's got to get into this lady's pants and also get involved in stopping a runaway space station that's heading for Earth! We also get a sequence here involving another space ship which crashes on Venus, and we're given a split second shot of an explosion taking place in a car park, complete with cars? I'm not making this up. I guess you couldn't really ask the projectionist to pause and rewind the film to the head scratching thing you've just witnessed while watching the film in the cinema.
First time I tried to watch this film I was in a coma almost straight away, but second time round it's not so bad. It's the weakest Margheriti film I've watched so far but is still full of his trademarks: namely loads and loads of miniature sets! Tiny models of astronauts floating about in space certainly help the film along, as do all the crappy shots of people floating through space, simulated anti-gravity acting from the cast, and the idea that it's impossible to conceive that women might work in scientific fields in the 22nd Century.