Queen of Outer Space

Poster tagline: MANKIND’S FIRST FANTASTIC FLIGHT TO VENUS – THE FEMALE PLANET! A slightly chauvinistic sci-fi flick in which you learn that only women live on Venus, walk around in miniskirts, are lightly armed and their boss, wearing a mask on her disfigured face, hates men with all her heart. That's why she wants to eliminate the all-male space expedition from planet Earth and destroy Earth itself with a special invention (which looks like a plasterboard chicken coop with a propeller). Within the sci-fi B-movie genre of the time, it’s rather sumptuously produced, shot in widescreen cinemascope, and to save money, they used stuff from other films like sets from World Without End, a spaceship model from Flight To Mars, and decent colourful costumes from the famous Forbidden Planet. The main star is the then-popular Zsa Zsa Gabor, a woman with the looks of an ageing Marilyn Monroe and definitely someone who couldn't act. Taken through the lens of today, this film is a fine unintentional comedy and I'm not surprised at the cult status it has overseas. (13/12/2012)

An obtrusive film that tries to play on the idea that a patriarchal society is the only viable option. The whole film is quite chauvinistic, and although it initially looks like an old Star Trek episode, it's ultimately simpler and not very entertaining. From the plot to the formal aspects, the film is focused throughout on the idea that women are beautiful, and even if they may be cunning, it's men who ultimately triumph. (16/07/2014)