This was supposed to be a light-hearted, witty romp through the wreckage of Queen of Outer Space, a 1958 science-fiction movie starring, as you can see, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Eric Fleming. I would love to make jokes at the expense of those responsible, but the sad truth is that this movie is simply too bad to even be ridiculed.
At least two of those people should have known better. The idea was attributed to Ben Hecht, probably the greatest script-doctor in the history of Hollywood, and I wonder why he didn't cash the check and deep-six the credit. The script was by Charles Beaumont, generally an excellent writer for Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. However, director Edward Bernds was previously a director (and not a good one) for the Three Stooges and the Bowery Boys, and the crew (and cast) go down from there.
One thing I hadn't noticed the only time I saw this before was the obvious recycling of costumes and even the lettering of the opening credits from an excellent sf movie, Forbidden Planet.
Truly funny camp is only possible when all involved take themselves seriously, whether as participating in an original work or in an imitation. The moment the eye starts to wink or the tongue moves toward the cheek--camp becomes crap. Yet somehow I have the feeling La Gabor thought her talents could deodorize this ordure.
Excuse me--I have to join the editorial staff, who are still retching in the corner.
2 comments:
Yup, I think my reaction to the film had a similar amount of retching. "Cat Women on the Moon" was marginally better...and if you put the two of them together you get "Amazon Women From Outer Space," which had some truly funny moments.
I will never, ever understand Zsa Zsa's popularity.
Zsa Zsa--another example of H.L. Mencken's dictum that no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people.
(Now Eva could be marginally funny--or am I just transferring my amusement over Arnold Ziffel in "Green Acres" to her from the few times I watched it? The only memorable fact about that show that I remember is that the theme song to "Green Acres" can be sung to the tune of "Purple Haze.")
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