MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE (1965)
Article #954 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 10-25-2003
Posting Date: 3-23-2004
Directed by Hugo Grimaldi and Arthur C. Pierce
Featuring William Leslie, Dolores Faith, Richard Garland

A space station has to contend not only with a deadly fungus from the moon, but also the mental illness of its commander.

This science fiction thriller plays like an early version of THE GREEN SLIME with a smidgen of THE CAINE MUTINY added to the mix; in fact, its similarity to the former is quite striking indeed, being a coproduction between the United States and another country (Italy for this one, Japan for SLIME) with an English-speaking cast. The special effects are subpar in each case, but the movies are somewhat entertaining nonetheless. This one is little talkier and less action-oriented, but the fungus here never turns into the silly monsters of the later movie. Though I’m no scientist, I do admit to finding the ending highly questionable from a scientific perspective (the fungus shrinks at the sprays of cold air from a fire extinguisher but thrives in the airless void of space because the sun is keeping it so warm). However, it is fun to see Glenn Langan again; this would be his first screen appearance after having made THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN.