"We managed to control your landing by releasing the pressure in our space warp."
In 1980 at a United States Air Force base on the moon, a space craft disappears. A Mars mission scheduled the next day is in jeopardy if the craft can’t be found. There are rumors of monsters and phantom planets. The base sends Captain Frank Chapman (Dean Fredericks) and Navigator Lt Ray Makonnen (Richard Weber) to check it out. During the search they encounter a meteor shower and suffer some damage to their ship. While trying to fix the damage Chapman’s air hose is damaged and Makonnen pushes him into the ship’s airlock. Then Makonnen’s air hose is also damaged and he is sent reeling into space.
When Chapman regains consciousness Makonnen is gone, communication is gone, and the space ship is headed for an asteroid. Once the space ship lands on the asteroid, and still suffering from the affects of the accident, Chapman exits the spaceship and falls unconscious again. His last view is of people six inches tall looking at him. Once his helmet is opened he can breathe but he shrinks to the same size as the little people.
The asteroid is the planet Rheton. The people who live on it are a combination of primitives and intellectuals. They live a simple life but they have the ability to adjust their gravity and manufacture food synthetically. The ruler of the planet is Sesom (Francis X. Bushman). He tells Chapman that he must remain on the planet and that he must choose a wife. He is presented with two women Liara (Coleen Gray) and Zetha (Dolores Faith). Another man, Herron (Anthony Dexter) is in love with Liara. He challenges Chapman to what they call a duel. It is sort of a reverse tug of war with deadly consequences. Chapman wins the duel but will not kill his opponent. Herron decides he will help Chapman escape back to Earth. Before he can do that the planet is attacked by a race called Solarites. Chapman’s plans to go home may be ruined.
"The Phantom Planet" was released in 1961 and was directed by William Marshall. It’s a silly little low budget independent thing. If you or your kids have nothing to do and you want a little low brow movie to pass the time. This will do. It reminds me of the old serials from the 40’s and 50’s. The special effects are bad but it’s still a fun movie to watch. I enjoyed it.
The Solarite is played by Richard Kiel. Dean Fredericks, who played Chapman, also played the comic strip character Steve Canyon in the television series. Francis X Bushman, who played Sesom, was a matinee idol during the silent movie era.