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Simply Perfect

How sad is this?

Excellent but underrated film

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

A rocket apparently of extra-terrestrial origin threatens to destroy mankind by circling the earth at low altitudes and generating a million degree heat five miles wide incinerating everything in its path It's up to scientist Dr. David Loring (Robert Loggia) to formulate a last-ditch plan to save the world.Clocking in at about 70 minutes with a lot of stock footage and less than spectacular special effects, "Lost Missile" is still an underrated B-movie classic which manages to use that stock footage and shoestring budget to great effect. I also found the storyline to be original, and considering the era this film came out, during the Cold War amidst fears of nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and the U.S., I'm sure it hit home to those who got to see it back then. I, for one would love to see it remade, with modern special effects.Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

The Lost Missile relies on stock footage (you see the same B-66 take off at least 3 times in the "maximum defense" montage) and EXTREMELY limited animation/rotoscoping, but if you can get past that, the story is surprisingly good right up until the "this is the MacGuffin that will save us, so we'll ship it without a proper military escort" plot device near the end (the same stupidity as seen in the War of the Worlds).Oddly, the science behind the story isn't all that flaky. By its nature, a starship is a de facto weapon of mass destruction. If it were knocked into an exceptionally low orbit (as happens in the first five minutes), whatever protects the ship from interstellar gas, dust, and radiation (assume it's a whopping STRONG magnetic field) would raise holy ned with the atmosphere as it plows through — the killer heat from the missile isn't simply the heat of reentry, it's a byproduct of the stardrive. We learn very little about The Lost Missile (mostly just the incredible destruction its unplanned ball-of-twine orbit would do). Lee Gordon (Producer) didn't even pay for a model of the missile; instead, Lester Wm. Berke (Director) used and reused and re-reused (etc., etc.) the same pitifully few drawings of the interloper (in order of frequency: one shot from the side passing left-to-right, one shot 30° off face-on, one shot from above — used in conjunction with the most destructive wake you will probably ever see done for $100 or less).Some striking features: the LACK of a monster — The Lost Missile is deadly beyond belief (unless it's stopped, it will kill everybody on Earth, but it wasn't intentional); the heavy-handed, but necessary actions of the Civil Defense wardens; the way the secretaries bypass military restrictions via the old girl's network; the relentless music that conveys the unstoppable nature of the threat; and the "happy" ending (SPOILER: we survive) that isn't happy — it shows the cold equations of human sacrifice.I would have LOVED to have seen Mystery Science Theater 3000's take on The Lost Missile.

While it is easy to dismiss The Lost Missile for its repetitious use of stock footage and slightly Ed Wood'ish sets, I can easily overlook such typical low budget 50's set-backs and relish in this truly all out action packed end of the world flick! I recorded this on my DVR along with two other movies showing the same day on TCM as a 50's sci fi triple feature (the other two were The H Man, and The 27th Day), I thought all were interesting since I had never seen or heard of them before, but The Lost Missile was truly my favorite of them and it ranks in kick butt factor a solid 10. Most sci fi of the late 50's to now has a touchy feely story (ie The 27th Day for instance and to some extent in the closing of the H Man), not The Lost Missile, it is 100% adrenaline! All I can dare say without spoiling it is, if your a sci fi fan period, you will enjoy this film. It (the Missile) takes out a lot of humans and gives you an almost real time till the end of the world feel (you've got 70 minutes!). The irony of it all is my DVR was interrupted for the final scene but its obvious what is going to happen, still I'm happy because now I have a reason to someday (however long that will take?) to re-watch this movie, I really really was blown away by it and enjoyed it! 8 of 10, Loggia is great to me as is his fellow scientist played by Phillip Pine (who would appear in that Star Trek TOS episode The Savage Curtain with Abe Lincoln!), but the urgency of the threat is the main seller for me, and we don't get the A Team treatment here with no one dying, we get at least a quarter million dead, who knows? Maybe it was the end of the world since I lost the last minute!?! Oh all that stock footage, if your not into EVERY aircraft weapon the US had at its disposal in the late 1950's you may not like it, but since I am, it was awesome stock footage to use! Lots of civil defense stock footage as well, this is pretty much a nuke war toe to toe with the Rooskies (as Slim Pickens might refer to them) movie except the enemy is an indestructible rocket that burns large swaths of the earth as it flies around the atmosphere in global circles. it has all the same trappings as a major WW3 D day and should appeal not just to sci fi buffs but those into nuclear war films like Panic At Year Zero fans. 8 of 10, for sure worth seeking out.

The Lost Missile was one of those movies I used to see on Saturday afternoon TV as a kid - it used to scare the heck out of me! SPOILER - For some reason, a missile that flies at 4000 miles an hour appears from outer space over the (then) Soviet Union - they fire an interceptor missile at it, which knocks it into the atmosphere. The missile leaves a million degree heat trail which vaporizes everything in its path. The movie is primarily concerned with knocking it down.The acting is somewhat melodramatic at points The story, typical for its time, has (for us nowadays) cheesy special effects - the missile looks like a drawing which to someone has added a flashing light bulb for a tail. The movie uses a lot of stock Defense footage - we see F-89 Scorpions, which carried a large number of unguided missiles in two wing tip pods, firing at the rocket, as well as F-86's, F-100's, F-94, B-52, B-36 - you name it! For anyone who is interested in vintage jet fighters and bombers, this is priceless! One interesting note - if you're so inclined, look up Project Pluto sometime. This was a USAF project to develop a nuclear powered cruise missile that would fly at Mach 3 at treetop level - slightly over 2100 mph. There were those who thought that the radiation from the engine would poison vast areas of real estate. VERY similar to the movie, which came out a year later.