I picked up Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster at a Half Price Books a few weeks ago and finally got around to watching it. And I have to say, IT'S HILARIOUS! It has everything good about b-movies: Space aliens, space monsters, robots (Frankenstein is a robot in this movie), party dance scenes, a hip soundtrack, absurd science, and really really bad acting.
It seems that nuclear war on Mars has made the planet uninhabitable until the radiation wears off, and the victors have left the planet, but oops! They forgot to bring along any women. That's why you should never let a man pack. The only woman on board is Princess Marcuzan, and she has formulated a scheme to kidnap Earth women to use as breeding stock so that her species won't go extinct. Earth has been trying to launch space missions, but the Martians keep mistaking the rockets for missiles and shooting them down. In a last-ditch effort, the army (because the army is in charge of all space exploration) agrees to a cockamamie scheme to send Frank, an android, to Mars to see if there is any life. Frank's creators, Adam and Karen, are sure he will not malfunction despite a freeze up during a press conference due to the excessive humidity in Florida.
Frank's rocket launches and the Martians shoot it down, but Frank manages to eject and lands in Puerto Rico. The Martians follow him down in order to destroy him, and manage to wound him. They then begin to kidnap Earth maidens, because even Martians know that Puerto Rican women are submissives who will go along with anything a man tells them to :lookingup:. Among the women kidnapped is Karen, Frank's co-creator. The Martians manage to knock Frank out, and despite orders to destroy him, inexplicably drag him aboard the space station and leave him, unguarded, near the cell where Karen is hanging on the wall. Karen gets Frank to wake up with her feminine mystique (she calls him repeatedly until he gets up). He overpowers an alien, steals his gun, takes over the ship and frees the women. At this point, the Martians release the space monster. Yes, they remembered to pack the space monster but not the women. And, yes, I know you don't pack women. The space ship takes off while Frank and the monster battle it out, and Frank kicks alien backside and redeems himself in the end (he malfunctioned for a time after being shot in the face and killed a couple guys).
The acting, as you would expect, is atrocious. Dr. Nadir (the Martian commander) looks like Legolas and Uncle Fester did the nasty and gave birth to Jon Lovitz as Emperor Tod. Princess Marcuzan must weigh the same as a duck, because her acting shows that she is made of wood and therefore a witch. Karen likes Frank a little too much, and in a couple of scenes reveals a crazy eye that calls her character into question (okay, not really, but she does look a little unbalanced).
If you get the chance, check it out if you're a fan of black and white cheese. It's a lot of fun. Here's the trailer if you're interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9It2mr5hP8
I love movies like this. They are so much fun.
Yes it's a fun movie. Love the music they choose for this one, especially when the martians are maiden-napping.
It's a classic.
The music in and of itself is worth it.
Yee-hee-hee!
It's wonderfully insane. Definitely on my 'Must Riff' list.
I vaguely remember that one. Loved the geodesic dome spaceship, which was obviously a building :bouncegiggle:
I love this movie . . . but I'm not a fan of the cover art on the DVD I bought.
I picked mine up from Half Price Books too. You can get some decent deals there. I haven't gotten to this one yet because I'm working my way through the spaghetti western 44 pack I bought at HPB but it sounds like I need to throw this one on for a little change of pace.
I saw this on MAD THEATRE back in '78, along with two friends and a coupl'a twists of that Chokin' Red. Haed we been straight as arrows, this movie would've still been a hoot.