‘Astounding adventure from the center of the moon’
Mutiny in Outer Space is a 1965 sci-fi horror film about a creeping fungus that kills astronauts on a trip back from the moon.
Directed by Hugo Grimaldi (The Human Duplicators) and [uncredited] Arthur C. Pierce (The Cosmic Man; Women of the Prehistoric Planet). It was executive produced and distributed in the US by the Woolner Brothers.
The movie stars William Leslie, Dolores Faith (The Phantom Planet), Pamela Curran, Richard Garland and Harold Lloyd Jr.
Plot:
Two astronauts, Webber and Towers, return to their orbiting space station after an exploratory mission to the moon, but one of them dies of a fungus infection.
Meanwhile, the station doctor, Hoffman, also contracts the infection and joins Towers in recommending that Earth be notified. Afraid of being recalled, Colonel Cromwell, overrules the suggestion.
A collision with meteors tears a hole in the outer wall of the station, and fungus from the laboratory escapes and surrounds the station. Realizing that the fungus thrives on heat, Hoffman puts himself in a refrigerated tube while Towers leads a mutiny…
Reviews:
“Mutiny seems to recreate its set by shuffling around props. I am not a big fan of plant monsters in general but I have seen worse. At least this space plant was mobile … it has similarities to, and may have even influenced, 1968’s Japanese-American production The Green Slime.” The Uranium Cafe
” … the execution is dismal; the low-tech FX aren’t the problem so much as the complete absence of directorial flair or even interest, and there is none of the compelling tension of such films as It! The Terror from Beyond Space or Killer Shrews, which despite their flaws are fast-paced and adroitly put together.” Great Old Movies
“Lively ‘B’ feature strip cartoon, a decade out of its natural period but conceived and executed with straight-faced zest.” Alan Frank, The Science Fiction Film Handbook
“About the only good thing I can say about Mutiny is that it inspired The Green Slime … The plot and effects would seem trite and cheap even a decade earlier. It’s the same silly meteor showers, space walks and pseudo-tech talk from the 1950s, but worse.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers
Trailer:
Full film – free to watch online on YouTube:
Choice dialogue:
Connie: “Is there fungus, or not?”
Cast and characters:
William Leslie … Major Gordon Towers; Dolores Faith … Faith Montaine; Pamela Curran … Lt. Connie Engstrom; Richard Garland … Colonel Frank Cromwell; Harold Lloyd Jr. … Sgt. Andrews; James Dobson … Doctor Hoffman; Ron Stokes … Sgt. Sloan; Boyd Holister … Major Olsen [as Robert Palmer]; Gabriel Curtiz … Doctor Stoddard; Glenn Langan … General Knowland
Budget:
$90,000 (estimated)
Technical specs:
1 hour 22 minutes
Black and white
Mono
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
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