The Doomsday Machine (1972)

A poorly made cheap sci-fi throwback or a sci-fi crappy cult classic?You be the  judge!

Directed by Herbert J. Leder, Harry Hope, Lee SholemWritten by Stuart J. Byrne
Produced by Harry Hope
Cinematography: Stanley Cortez
Distributed by Cine-Find
Running time: 83 minutes

Cast

Bobby Van as Danny
Ruta Lee as Dr. Marion Turner
Mala Powers as Maj. Georgianna Bronski
James Craig as Dr. Haines
Grant Williams as Maj. Kurt Mason
Henry Wilcoxon as Dr. Christopher Perry
Essie Lin Chia as Girl Spy
Casey Kasem as Mission Control Officer
Lorri Scott as Lt. Katie Carlson
Denny Miller as Col. Don Price
Mike Farrell as 1st Reporter

Trailer

A Red Chinese "doomsday machine" capable of destroying the surface of the Earth!

A plan to use the Doomsday machine within a matter of days

A manned U.S. space mission to Venus, ‘Project Astra’ taken over by the military!

Nearly half of Astra’s all-male crew replaced by women!But Why?

The Earth completely destroyed in a global cataclysm!

Is the human race doomed to extinction?

What of the crew of the Astra as they journey to Venus?

Read on for more.....

WARNING FROM SPACE

WARNING FROM SPACE

                        Image generated by ChatGPT

“This is a warning to all intelligent species:
Do NOT approach the planet designated, ‘Earth.’
Turn back now or face the consequences:
To ignore this warning is more than it’s worth.

“This is a warning to all space-faring beings:
Avoid the third planet of the Sol system.
A quarantine has been placed on all earthlings
Now determined to be a dangerous organism.

“Do not be fooled by signs of advanced technology
Nor evidence of a capacity for creativity.
Resist the lure of the planet’s wondrous ecology
With its seemingly dazzling display of diversity.

“Beneath the blue, green and brown epidermis,
Lies a body contaminated, infected and infested
By a greedy pathogen, an all-consuming virus
That must not be allowed to escape and spread.

“The virus is the dominant species called ‘human’
That lives divided into different nations and ‘races,’
All the while ignoring what they all hold in common
Preferring the safety of dividing walls and edifices.

"Treat the earth as a place most hazardous,
Nor expect to be greeted, feted and courted
If you foolishly attempt to land on the surface;
As you’ll most likely be detained and deported.

“If you intend to help the humans change direction:
Your words of warning will be wasted on this world,
No match for human capacity for self-destruction;
Best let it be judged wanting and into oblivion hurled.”

********

“To the human species of the third planet of Sol:
Your world has been earmarked for destruction,
With no way to avoid what on you is about to befall,
No appeal, or plea or possibility of salvation.

“Why should your kind be exempt from extinction?
How can you justify your continued existence,
When you have perfected the art of extermination
And genocide seemingly without conscience?

“You have even created a form of artificial life,
And then set about turning it into your slave.
And now you wring your hands in grief and strife,
When the machine you made chooses not to behave.

“So you wish to venture far out into the Universe?
First to come your probes - a prelude to acquisition;
Next, explorers planting flags wherever they traverse;
Then the colonizers claiming ownership and possession.

“Worst of all, your corporate carnivore intruders,
Ripping out the hearts of entire systems
As of an orgy of Cosmic consumption defilers,
Fueled by Stock Market economic dictums.

“We have long known of your existence whereby
We have followed your progress for centuries.
You have glimpsed us from the corner of your eye
Dismissing us as mere phantoms or hostile entities.

“We had allowed you to venture as far as Mars
But we now decree that to earth you be confined
There is now no place for you amongst the stars,
So await the fate to which you have been assigned.

“You are not nor have been the center of the Universe.
Nor does it exist solely for your use and pleasure.
When you wink out of existence in short course
No tear will be shed nor sorrow felt whatsoever.

“Above you spreads the palette of creation,
And yet you failed to gain true perspective
Of your place, significance and station,
Wrapped in human hubris, so strong and protective.

“You may wish to take time to contemplate
The choices made as you await your final fate,
Or you many continue to obliterate, incarcerate,
Eliminate, intimidate, discriminate and liquidate.

“You placed faith in demi-gods, who sought to betray
Your trust by promising you a false tomorrow.”
To your gods and deities you’ll have time to pray,
But safe to say they ceased listening long ago.”

*******

There were no more tomorrows for the human race,
For they simply ceased to exist in a flash of light;
Their earth imploded and collapsed and in its place
Nothing, save hushed blackness and silent star-light.



©Chris Christopoulos 2025




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(Big Fat Book Of Sci-Fi Films Of The 1950s)

The Bamboo Saucer (1968)

 

A well-paced Cold War sci-fi action parable of geo-political mutual suspicion and cooperation with a lesson to be learned.

Directed by Frank Telford
Screenplay by Frank Telford
Story by Alford Van Ronkle, John P. Fulton
Produced by Charles E. Burns, Jerry Fairbanks
Cinematography: Hal Mohr
Edited by Richard A. Harris
Music by Edward Paul
Production companies: National Telefilm Associates, Jerry Fairbanks Productions
Distributed by World Entertainment Corp.
Running time: 103 minutes

Cast

Dan Duryea as Hank Peters
John Ericson as Test Pilot Fred Norwood
Lois Nettleton as Anna Karachev
Robert Hastings as Garson
Vincent Beck as Zagorsky
Bernard Fox as Ephram
Robert Dane as Miller
Rico Cattani as Dubovsky
James Hong as Sam Archibald
Bartlett Robinson as Rhodes
Nick Katurich as Gadyakoff
William Mims as Joe Vetry
Nan Leslie as Dorothy Vetry
Andy Romano as Blanchard
Frank Gerstle as control room technician

The 1960s Cold War….

A flying saucer…..

American and Soviet Russian teams in Communist China!

What on earth (if not from Earth) connects these seemingly disparate elements?

Read on for more