MISSION STARDUST (1967)
aka …4 …3 …2 …1 …morte, Perry Rhodan – SOS aus dem Weltall
Article 1798 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-15-2006
Posting Date: 7-15-2006
Directed by Primo Zeglio
Featuring Lang Jeffries, Essy Persson, Luis Davila

Perry Rhodan leads a team of astronauts that goes to the moon. There they discover a spaceship from another planet and its inhabitants; an ancient civilization that is dying.

I remember seeing quite a few Perry Rhodan novels at a local book store when I was a kid, and I was toying with the idea of picking one up some day, but I never did. As such, this is my first encounter with Perry Rhodan, and if the user comments on IMDB are any indication, this is hardly true to the original stories. In this movie, he’s your basic hero with a sense of humor and a way with women, but that’s a pretty standard character. The movie is on the cheesy side, but it’s enjoyable in a light-hearted way, and I have to admit that I’m a sucker for that hairstyle sported by Essy Persson, which compensates somewhat for the fact that her snotty attitude gets old fairly quickly. Most of the action takes place in Africa, and this adds a little exotic feel to the proceedings. I’m betting that this was supposed to kick off a series that never followed.