The Lost Missile (1958)

***Spoilers*** With the report of an unknown missile strafing the earth at 4,200 MPH it becomes vital for the nations on earth to stop it before it destroys all life on the planet! But How!Top US nuclear scientist atomic physicists and aeronautical engineer Dr. David Loring, Robert Loggia, has to postpone his wedding plans with his fiancée and fellow scientist Joan Woods, Ellen Parker, at the prestigious Heavenbrook Atomic Labs outside New York City in order to stop the runaway missile from setting the world on fire! This has the disappointed future bride drop David like a hot potato not realizing, which as a nuclear scientist Joan should have, that the preventing of the earth from being destroyed is far greater then her wedding plans. In fact if these's no earth there sure as hell won't be a wedding!As the renegade missile sweeps across Canada jets planes, from both the US and Canada, are scrambled to either force or shoot it down. With it's fantastic speed of 4,200 MPH the missile generates heat of over one million degrees which knocks out and burns to a crisps any plane that comes within five miles of it! When Dr. Loring finally comes up with a fool-proof plan to knock the unknown missile out of the sky his fellow scientist at the Havenbrook Labs Dr. Joe Freed, Philip Pine, suddenly has seconds thought about downing the damn thing! Having found out, were never shown how, that the missile is being operated by aliens from space Dr. Freed wants to have it and its alien crew saved for future studies, in the knowledge that the aliens can provide the human race, in scientific advancements!As if things aren't going bad enough for Dr. Loring in his attempt to stop the lost missile, with a baby nuke that he devised, from obliterating the earth he together with Joan are carjacked by these 1950's greasers, or leather jacketed teenagers, on their way to the nearest USAF missile site. The unaware teens not knowing what their dealing with by being exposed to the plutonium, from he baby nuke, in Dr. Lorings' jeep soon end up being fatality radiated by it!***SPOILERS*** With time and the films' meager budget quickly running out Dr. Loring makes it to the missile launch site with the baby nuke and knowing, by being exposed to it, that his life is kaput willfully sacrifices himself by putting the radiation emitting baby nuke into the missile's, known as Jobe, nose-comb. It's then that Jobe does its job, by knocking out the runaway missile, in saving the earth until another day or another movie like "The Lost Missile" comes around.Skillfully spliced and integrated stock footage makes "The Lost Missile" hit its mark in keeping its audience glued to the screen without the special effects, of the 1950's, that the film so obviously lacks. There's also the film debut in the movie of African/American actor Hari Rhodes, who's extensive film credits include Samuels Fullers' "Shock Corridor" and the made for TV movie mega mini-series "Roots", as-according to the movie credits-the Black Man at the piano.

This had all the makings of a very good film -- good actors (Robert Loggia, Ellen Parker), a good plot (mysterious missile from space threatens to burn up the planet) and lots of stock footage (if the Air Force had film of jets firing rockets, it was used). Unfortunately, it is ruined by too much melodrama and an impossible time-line.The movie concerns a missile from space that is attacked by the Soviets and inadvertently diverted into a low atmospheric orbit. At under five miles and at a speed in excess of 4,000 miles, it emits an exhaust of a million degrees, burning up everything on the ground, including glaciers, Distant Early Warning (DEW) line bases and Eskimos.Every attempt at destroying the missile fails.The first flaws in this film appear early on. While we don't expect much from low-budget films, some things can't be forgotten -- like a little research. For instance, both the Soviets and the US fire anti-ballistic missiles that home in on the missile with unerring accuracy. However, the first successful ABM tests weren't done until March of 1961 by the Russians.There is too much melodrama. Dr. Loring (Loggia) and his assistant Joan Woods (Ellen Parker) play their romance with about as much wood as a log cabin. Parker's character cries and boo-hoos at Loggia's sacrifice like she was at a screen test. Loggia is about as heroic as a bored businessman. A scientist (Phillip Pine) hams it up so much he makes William Shatner look like a thespian. A bus driver continually spits out end-of-the-world crap in scene after scene. The only good actor is the film narrator, played by veteran character actor Lawrence Dobkins ("Naked City").All of this could be overlooked if it wasn't for the time-line. After the missile's info is sent to DC, the Pentagon brings in a group of scientists. A general (Larry Kerr) announces that the missile will hit New York City in 63 minutes. After this, there are discussions by scientists and there is a deadly lull as word is sought from ambassadors to see if the missile is an attack from the Russians and if a response is necessary.The film shows the military being fully scrambled. Civil Defense people leave work and go to their stations. Eight million people scramble to fallout shelters while school buses pick up millions of kids (and we get to see the whitest New York City I've ever seen, though watching 50's sci-fi films made it seems like this was the standard). The press is kept in the dark for tens of minutes. Then, incredibly, a man at the Pentagon announces that the missile will hit Ottawa, Canada in 51 minutes! All of the aforementioned action happened in 12 minutes! Then, to add fuel to the fire, Loggia somehow thinks of a way to stop the alien missile. He slowly produces a caseload of plutonium, loads it in a jeep and takes it from DC to a distant missile base to put it atop a missile. Along the way, he is knocked off the road by a wild driver, breaks down and then is carjacked. He finally gets the plutonium back and drives to the base to arm the missile. Again, all this in the same 63-minute time frame.The movie also irks the viewer by making it seem as if Ottawa might be saved, only to show men, women and children get roasted. The missile is then said to have five minutes to reach New York. Loggia is still driving to the base (4 more miles to go). He gets to the base and arms the missile, a two-minute countdown is then announced. All within five minutes. The boroughs of New York should have been at least scorched.By the way, the missile is destroyed if you haven't guessed. The ABM warhead destroys it with a massive plutonium-based nuclear blast. Five seconds later, the blast dissipates and all is clear. Yeah, they caused a nuclear blast equivalent to 100 Hiroshimas on the outskirts of New York City and nothing happens.The film had all the elements necessary to be a good B film, but wasted them. Loggia played his character so lamely you didn't care that he sacrificed himself in the end. You didn't care about the other characters, not even the smarmy scientist played by Pine. The tension that should have moved the film along just wasn't physically possible in the time-line allowed (it still wouldn't be today, not even with Jack Bauer).This film is very difficult to find. As far as I know, it hasn't been re-issued on any medium and for good reason. I don't know if the film meant to be or if it was standard practice, but there's a scene where the government sends all of the best scientists, military men and businessmen into deep shelters, saying they're too valuable to lose. There isn't a single woman or minority in the bunch. Hari Rhodes is the only black man in the film and he gets a brief bit playing a piano. It was worse than "27 Days" where an alien gives five Earthlings the chance to either save or destroy the planet and he doesn't include any blacks or Hispanics.I saw this on a special Sci-fi night on Turner Classic Movies and I don't expect it to show up again. If you do find a copy of this somewhere, you might want to put it up on Amazon.com.

I remember watching "Lost Missile" (actually throwing a fit until my brother and several cousins at whose home I was an overnight guest agreed to watch it with me - I was, from time to time, the Eric Cartman of the 1960s - sorry, guys) and being somewhat embarrassed when the sustained wave of million-degree heat emerged as a plot device - even as a second-grader I knew that a mere missile just couldn't carry the energy around for that much heat or devastation over more than the duration and limited radius of a nuclear detonation. My inflicting that turkey on loving relatives was a self-punishing crime.The film's production values were very good. The acting isn't bad (apart from the Shatnerism of the actor who played a governor's aide that someone else here mentioned).But the idea of a missile Easy-Baking the surface of the Earth by means of the heat of its exhaust... no.How'd the people at "Mystery Science Theater 3000" miss "The Lost Missile," anyway? It's a great classic of unintentional comedy - watch it if you want something to drink beer to some weekend.

This may be THE sleeper sci-fi film of the 50s. Very imaginative story--plausible & with adult storytelling/writing. Loggia was great. I did find a VHS copy on ebay a few years ago and the story held up very well! And that alien missile looks like it was designed by Giger! ("Alien")