Byron Haskin Movies

A team of research scientists believe they have discovered a superior intelligence. Jim Tanner (George Hamilton) and his pretty partner Margery Lansing (Susan Pleshette) have discovered the entity through their work on human endurance. The Power is able to control the minds of others, but Jim can't substantiate his suspicions that the force comes from one of the members of the scientific staff. A series of murders has Jim under suspicion by the police, as he tries to uncover the identity of the killer. Yvonne De Carlo, Earl Holliman, and Miss Beverly Hills also star in this sci-fi mystery. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Spock faces the death penalty for receiving signals from planet Talos IV. With the agreement of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Fleet Captain Pike, the trial continues in closed session and the evidence -- the forbidden transmissions -- continues to be viewed by the trial board, as Kirk searches for a reason behind Spock's actions and a way to save his friend's life. They see Captain Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and his strange adventure on Talos IV some 13 years earlier, and the manner in which the Talosians, with their power to cast illusions, tried alternately to torture and seduce him to secure his cooperation, and his successful resistance to the point where he was ultimately released. They also learn why any contact with planet Talos IV is forbidden, the danger that contact poses to the human race, and why that contact may mean the salvation of the stricken Captain Pike. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

The M-1, a two-man American mission, reaches Mars. The landing goes smoothly, but first one and then the other member of the crew is attacked and killed, suddenly and without warning. The mission controllers on Earth are baffled, and, three years later, the M-2, with a four-man crew, is sent with strict orders as to how to conduct extra-vehicular activity. Still, they start disappearing, slaughtered by an unseen attacker until there are only two left, straight-arrow mission commander Major Merritt (Adam West) and perpetual screw-up Captain Jack Buckley (Rudy Solari), who must figure out what killed these men. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Spun from Daniel DeFoe's tale of the titular character, this sci-fi story involves a spaceship commander, Chris Draper (Paul Mantee) in a similar situation to the original Robinson Crusoe -- but rather than being stranded on an island, our hero is on a hostile planet. Draper, Colonel Dan McReady (Adam West), and a test monkey look as if they are going to collide with a meteor. Draper and the chimp are able to eject themselves from the vessel, but McReady is not so lucky. The two survivors safely land on Mars and figure out how to breathe, drink, and eat on the inhospitable planet. After some time, Draper crosses paths with a human, Friday, who has recently escaped slavery on an alien planet. As the two find a means of communication, they become friends. They soon work together to survive the incredible odds, including an alien attack and meteorological phenomena. Filmed on location in California's Death Valley, this impressive feature owes much to cinematographer Winton C. Hoch and special effects master Lawrence W. Butler. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

In Volume 29 of a collection culled from the 1963-1965 science fiction anthology television series, a neighborhood is transported from Earth to an alien world that plans to use humankind as its slaves. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

The inhabitants of the planet Zanti establish contact with Earth, and prevail upon its inhabitants to accept custody of their criminals, whom they are incapable of executing. The Zantis demand total seclusion for the prison ship, which the humans grant out of fear that they will use their superior weaponry to destroy them. General Hart (Robert F. Simon) is put in charge of securing the Zanti ship a peaceful, unmolested landing in a desolate section of the California desert; he has also granted permission for one civilian observer, a historian (Michael Tolan), to witness this first contact with an alien race. The security of the Zanti ship is violated, however, when a wanted criminal (Bruce Dern) and his girlfriend (Olive Deering) break into the sealed area. This leads to the death of the man and an attack on the woman, and a breakout by the alien criminals. The insect-shaped occupants of the hive-like spaceship attack the military outpost monitoring their landing, leading to an all-out bloodbath between the aliens and the human defenders. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Engineer Alan Maxwell (Cliff Robertson) is using his commercial radio station's antenna to probe into deep space in experiments of his own, in the course of which he makes contact with a being (William O. Douglas, Jr.) from the great nebula in the constellation Andromeda. Through an accident, the alien is transported to Earth, where its radioactive emanations prove lethal to all who come in contact with it. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In December of 1944, while the Battle of the Bulge rages in the Ardennes, the American 7th Army settles in to what most of its officers and men figure to be a routine and peaceful occupation of the Vosges-Alsace area. The region is mountainous and treacherous, and there are still German forces nearby, but everyone from division intelligence on down figures those forces to have been stripped to support the Ardennes offensive -- everyone except Col. Mark Devlin (Howard Keel), who keeps reminding everyone that the Germans would never leave their forces stretched that thin so near their own border; but his warnings fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, at the front lines, an infantry platoon finds a woman wounded in the snow. Alexandra Bastegar (Tina Louise) is an Alsatian and speaks all the local languages and dialects, which is more than the American interpreters can do, and she's only too happy to help the people who rescued her -- except that she was shot as a cover and is working on behalf of the Germans. Can Devlin find the proof he needs of a German offensive-in-the-making before Alexandra completes her mission? ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

A routine swashbuckler set during the 18th century when pirates still roamed the Spanish main, this adventure film stars popular Mexican idol Pedro Armendariz as the appropriately named Captain Tiburon (Capt. Shark). Tiburon and his first mate Taursus (Rodolfo Hoyos) bury two treasure chests on a remote island, and then Taursus betrays the Captain by shooting him and leaving him for dead, with plans to come back later and pick up the loot. The Captain is saved by the only other inhabitant of the island, a young boy named Frank (Terry Rangno, with Robert Palmer as the adult Frank). As time goes by, the two have several adventures, including a battle with an invading war party about to sacrifice a comely maiden. She of course, is saved. But the adventure is not over because Taursus will one day return for the treasure chests. This film was paired with The Sad Horse in double-billing on its release. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The resurgence of interest in Jules Verne following the release of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) led to a brief cycle of Verne-based films. Produced in Mexico by Benedict Bogeaus, From the Earth to the Moon stars Joseph Cotten as eccentric Civil War-era scientist Victor Barbicane. Claiming to have invented a source of "infinite energy" called Power X, Barbicane is able to secure financing for a rocket trip to the moon. Along for the ride is Barbicane's bitter enemy, Stuyvesant Nicholl (George Sanders), who feels that Barbicane is violating the laws of God and nature with his extraterrestrial dreams. Thus, Nicholl sabotages the space vessel, setting the stage for a suspenseful finale. The requisite romantic interest is handled by Barbicane's daughter Virginia (a newly blonde Debra Paget) and his assistant Ben Sharpe (Don Dubbins). Wandering in and out of the proceedings is a mysterious bearded character known only as J.V. (Carl Esmond). Hampered by a small budget, From the Earth to the Moon doesn't deliver the special effects highlights that its ad campaign implicitly promised, but the actors are convincing and the story is logically presented. Originally slated for RKO release, the film was ultimately distributed by Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cashing in on the popularity of TV's Davy Crockett and the jukebox favorite "Yellow Rose of Texas", Allied Artists came up with the CinemaScope biopic The First Texan. The title character is Sam Houston, played with rugged assuredness by Joel McCrea. The film begins when Houston leaves Tennessee for Texas, where at first he keeps to himself and avoids politics. As events overwhelm him, however, Houston evolves into the territory's most conspicuous patriot. His efforts to thwart Mexican general Santa Ana's efforts to recapture Texas for Mexico culminate in the battle of the Alamo, which is recreated in brisk, economical fashion. Somewhat perversely, Davy Crockett is reduced to a bit part in The First Texan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It doesn't take long for old-time-radio fans to figure out that The Naked Jungle is a film version of the classic Carl Stephenson nailbiter Leiningen Versus the Ants. Charlton Heston plays South American plantation owner Christopher Leiningen, who spends most of the film preparing for the hellish onslaught of deadly soldier ants. The original story concentrated solely on Leiningen; the film version hokes things up a bit by bestowing upon the hero a gorgeous mail-order bride, played by Eleanor Parker. No matter: the climactic insect invasion is well worth the wait, utilizing the Paramount Pictures optical-effects department to the nth degree. The Naked Jungle also offers excellent supporting work from Abraham Sofaer, Douglas Fowley, and William Conrad, who also acted in several of the radio adaptations of the Carl Stephenson yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds had been on the Paramount Pictures docket since the silent era, when it was optioned as a potential Cecil B. DeMille production. When Paramount finally got around to a filming the Wells novel, the property was firmly in the hands of special-effects maestro George Pal. Like Orson Welles's infamous 1938 radio adaptation, the film eschews Wells's original Victorian England setting for a contemporary American locale, in this case Southern California. A meteorlike object crash-lands near the small town of Linda Rosa. Among the crowd of curious onlookers is Pacific Tech scientist Gene Barry, who strikes up a friendship with Ann Robinson, the niece of local minister Lewis Martin. Because the meteor is too hot to approach at present, Barry decides to wait a few days to investigate, leaving three townsmen to guard the strange, glowing object. Left alone, the three men decide to approach the meterorite, and are evaporated for their trouble. It turns out that this is no meteorite, but an invading spaceship from the planet Mars. The hideous-looking Martians utilize huge, mushroomlike flying ships, equipped with heat rays, to pursue the helpless earthlings. When the military is called in, the Martians demonstrate their ruthlessness by "zapping" Ann's minister uncle, who'd hoped to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff. As Barry and Ann seek shelter, the Martians go on a destructive rampage. Nothing-not even an atom-bomb blast-can halt the Martian death machines. The film's climax occurs in a besieged Los Angeles, where Barry fights through a crowd of refugees and looters so that he may be reunited with Ann in Earth's last moments of existence. In the end, the Martians are defeated not by science or the military, but by bacteria germs-or, to quote H.G. Wells, "the humblest things that God in his wisdom has put upon the earth." Forty years' worth of progressively improving special effects have not dimmed the brilliance of George Pal's War of the Worlds. Even on television, Pal's Oscar-winning camera trickery is awesome to behold. So indelible an impression has this film made on modern-day sci-fi mavens that, when a 1988 TV version of War of the Worlds was put together, it was conceived as a direct sequel to the 1953 film, rather than a derivation of the Wells novel or the Welles radio production. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi