Four American astronauts blast off into space and discover Zsa Zsa Gabor in this truly strange 1958 film--a movie which actually received fairly positive reviews at the time but which is today regarded as a cult classic of the "so bad it's good" variety.

The story is trivial. A space ship carrying four American astronauts is struck by a mysterious ray and forced down on Venus--which is ruled by evil Queen Yllana (Laurie Mitchell), who has banished men from the planet and who now determines to kill our heroes and blow up the earth for good measure. Fortunately, the astronauts are befriended by Talleah (Zsa Zsa Gabor), scientist and rebellion leader. Along the way we encounter lots of leggy, busty women in short chiffon skirts, silly special effects that include a large rubber spider, and a doomsday machine that looks like it has been slapped together from cardboard and spray paint.

The script was written by Charles Beaumont, a writer of no particular talent, and alternates great stretches of flat dialogue with accidentally funny one-liners, most memorably Zsa Zsa Gabor's "I HATE zat Queen!" The film was directed by Edward Bernds, prolific creator of grade C movies during the 1940s and 1950s, and in general consists of people standing around looking like they wished they had something to do. As for the cast...

The big noise here is, of course, Zsa Zsa Gabor, one of three Hungarian sisters who became celebrities during post-war era. Sister Eva was an amusing actress; sister Magda had a talent for finance; Zsa Zsa, however, was simply famous for being famous and was a frequent guest star on television programs of the day, working her accent, her jewels, and her numerous marriages for all they were worth to create a cult of celebrity that effectively kept her in the public eye for more than fifty years. She is indeed beautiful. She cannot, however, act, and her entire performance consists of looking dreamy in a series of floaty gowns.

The rest of the cast is very much "B" movie. Laurie Mitchell had a long career playing small parts in low-budget movies and supporting roles in such television series as BONANZA; much the same can be said for actors Eric Flemming, Paul Birch, and Patrick Waltz. Zsa Zsa Gabor aside, the most recognizable performer is Dave Willock, who appeared in close to two hundred films and television programs between 1939 and 1972, most often in small but charming character roles.

"So bad it's good" movies really are a matter of personal taste; one person's hilarity is another's boredom. I myself felt that the film got off to a memorable start--but about mid-way through I found the amusement factor began to pale. It is very easy on the eyes, but it just goes on about twenty minutes too long. The DVD, somewhat surprisingly, offers the film in very good shape--and it comes with a commentary that features actress Laurie Mitchell, who recalls the experience with fondness. Recommended for cult-movie-fans, but primarily for those who want to know what all the fuss over Zsa Zsa Gabor was about.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A space crew is assigned to ferry a scientist to a space station. The stereotypical crew consists of the stud commander (Eric Fleming), the skirt-chasing navigator (Patrick Waltz), and the comic relief/wisecracker/occasional moron (Dave Willock). The scientist is played by Paul Birch. Before they can lift off, Waltz has to play tonsil hockey with his girlfriend, played by the ultra-sexy Joi Lansing, who has an all-too-brief appearance.

Now it's out into space, where they witness the destruction of the space station by some mysterious ray. The ray latches onto them, and we see ripped-off footage from World Without End, as the rocket crash lands in snow. Birch immediately concludes they are on Venus, but doesn't bother telling the crew why he knows that. Somehow, they manage to move from a polar ice cap to a lush looking forest, where they are captured by chicks in high heels and miniskirts. "They speak English!" exclaims Waltz, assuming his crewmates are too dumb to figure that out. Actually, besides English, the babes occasionally say something that sounds like "Bocce No," so I suspect they are really Italian and don't like lawn games. Then there is Zsa Zsa Gabor, playing Talleah, who is a researcher or something along those lines. Apparently the scientist-women on Venus are immigrants from Eastern Europe, just like on our planet. Zsa Zsa talks about the history of of "var" and "veapons" on Wenus - er, Venus. The Queen, played by Laurie Mitchell, spends most of the film behind a mask, presumably because she was too embarrassed to be in this movie.

The Queen thinks the men are here to help launch an attack from Earth. This gives Fleming the chance to say "that's not true" an uncountable number of times. The Queen is not convinced, and ponders using the beta disintegrator to destroy the earth. Zsa Zsa utters the classic "I hate dat Queen," and helps Fleming and the others escape. At one point, Zsa Zsa tries to impersonate the Queen. Gee, I wonder what will give her away? The finale is a riot, as the men and the Venusian dolls stage a Pier Six brawl, while the disintegrator goes up in smoke.

If you can put up with endless talk, this movie isn't half-bad. It was filmed in Cinemascope, and the special effects and sets are decent, but the crew's uniforms are stolen from Forbidden Planet. Birch is competent as always, no matter what production he is in. Zsa Zsa spends most of the movie in heat, drooling over Fleming. She accomplishes the impossible by reaching her acting zenith and nadir in the same film. Waltz wastes no time finding a Venusian girlfriend, but I don't see his appeal. His nostrils are always flaring, like he just walked into the sigmoidoscopy recovery room at Northern Westchester Hospital and caught a whiff. Willock looks like a shriveled version of Ronald Reagan. And the less said about the giant spider, the better.

The dialogue is intentionally hilarious at times, and unintentionally risqué at other times. For instance, when the men are hiding in a cave with their women, making out, and the fire is dying, each guy keeps telling the others to "get more wood."

Before the Kardashians (yes Virginia, there was such a time), there were the Gabor sisters, a trio of minimally talented*, much married Hungarian sisters with a flair for self-promotion. The most chutzpahtic of the three was undeniably Zsa Zsa, who brings her iconic Hungarian accent to the Planet of Love in "Queen of Outer Space". Briefly, a crew of Earth's astronauts are knocked off course by a mysterious beam and land on Venus, which is populated by lovely, leggy lassies ruled by the titular despot. The film is fun in a goofy, nostalgic way (remember 'lady driver' jokes?) with sufficient sexist comments to infuriate the most stoic SJW. Zsa Zsa (who allegedly was unimpressed with being surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women half her age), plays Talleah, part of a revolution against the masked queen who is planning to destroy the Earth. Special effects are a mixed bag: there are some great props borrowed from earlier, bigger-budget films and a cool 'flat screen TV', yet much time is spent running from a beeping spotlight and, as a spiritual antecedent to the 'Death Star', the 'beta disintegrator', is underwhelming. If your expectations are low, "Queen of Outer Space" is an enjoyable space-romp, with lots of pretty girls, a "Star Trek TOS" aesthetic, campy dialogue, and one of the least convincing giant spiders ever put on film. As an added bonus, you can snigger with your friends when the gorgeous Venusian says to the amorous astronaut "We don't really need any more wood". (*to be honest, I actually think Eva Gabor was great in "Green Acres").