Movie Review: Crash of Moons (1954)
Synopsis: Rocky Jones and the rest of his Space Ranger team attempt to rescue the inhabitants of the planet Ophecius before it collides with a roaming "gypsy" moon. However, the planet's ruler, Cleolanta, doesn't trust outsiders and she may prevent the evacuation from happening as a result.
Who's in it? The movie stars Richard Crane, Scotty Beckett, John Banner, Patsy Parsons and Maurice Cass.
Review: I came across Crash of Moons about a week ago and, while the description left me wondering if it was worth my time, I decided to add it to my list anyway. After watching it this morning, I realized it was a film that I should have just passed by.
My understanding, after doing a bit of research afterwards, is this wasn't a movie in the traditional sense and, instead, was three episodes from a 1954 television series that were combined to make a feature-length film. After reading that, things started making a bit more sense, but it didn't help my opinion.
I think my biggest problem with this "movie" is, for a film that has space travel, rogue moons and the possible annihilation of an entire civilization, it was kind of dull. There was just a whole lot more talk than there was action and, wow, were there where a whole lot of characters that I needed to keep track of in the process.
It might have helped had there been more of a backstory to support some of the characters' motivations. Cleolanta (Parsons) especially seemed unnecessarily difficult (some might even say bitchy) with no real reason to be. Rocky (Crane) and his crew were clearly trying to help so her actions just didn't make a whole lot of sense. Though, to be fair, since this was part of a television series, perhaps there's more of a backstory involving her I just don't know about.
As far as special effects go, they were about what would be expected from a low budget science fiction film in the 1950s. Rocky's spaceship looked like a toy, as did the planets, moons, etc., though some of the backdrops were admittedly decent. However, this is a film that just hasn't aged well, in my opinion, and even better special effects wouldn't have helped with that.
Final Opinion: Some movies just shouldn't be made. This, I think, would be one of them.
My Grade: F
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1954:
Movie Review: Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954)
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