Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2016 March 30

= March 30 =

Color SF movie from the 1970s or possibly 1960s...
I am trying to identify a movie I saw at the cinema in the 1970s as a child.

It was science fiction, in color. I can remember only two scenes. In one scene, a rocketship (with delta wings) is trapped on the surface of a volcanic planet. It is bogged down in molten lava. Inside the rocketship are the pilot and (I think) the movie's love interest. When the pilot tries to fire the rocket in order to take off, he can't because the lava is clogging up the engine.

In the second scene, we are on a wheel-type space station (similar to the one in Conquest of Space, 1955). For some reason the commander of the space station, who is female and has grey hair, has to stop the station spinning, which of course means zero gravity inside the station.

And that's all I remember. I saw the movie in the early 1970s in a cinema in Killarney, Ireland. That does not necessarily mean the movie was made in the early 1970s; it could have been a rerelease of a 1960s movie.

I have read every article on Wikipedia relating to SF movies from the 1900s to the 1970s. I have done the same on IMDB. I have posted my question on message boards that specialize in "What's that movie?" type questions. [Edit] All to no avail, sadly.

Any and all help gratefully accepted! 93.92.153.10 (talk) 12:31, 30 March 2016 (UTC)


 * It sounds vaguely like Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (Venus, btw), described here. The rocket is threatened by a lava flow apparently, and there is a woman (good old Faith Domergue, with no grey hair) in orbit, though not in a space station per se. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:40, 30 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Thank you, kind sir. I read the webpage and it certainly sounds like a candidate. I'll try and source a copy. 93.92.153.10 (talk) 07:34, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Well, whaddya know, it's on the Internet Archive! Popcorn is in the microwave as I write this. 93.92.153.10 (talk) 07:36, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Let us know if that was indeed the one you were looking for. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:58, 31 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Um, sadly it wasn't, but it was fun to watch at least... The two scenes I mentioned above are very clear in my mind (but I do acknowledge that my memories may be incorrect). The silver rocketship was on its side, in the lava, and when the pilot tried to start the rocket engine it produced bubbles and belches in the lava. I found it deeply frightening. Also, I clearly remember the grey-haired woman ordering the spinning space station to be stopped, and the crew floating around in zero gravity. In my memories, the special effects appear to be very well done. I believe I recall (and I believe I'm wrong, for reasons I'll explain) that the movie's title included the word "Planet" or "World". For years I thought it was When Worlds Collide, but when I finally got hold of a copy of that movie, I found it wasn't the movie I was looking for, to paraphrase Obi-wan Kenobi. Ditto for War Between The Planets and about a hundred other movies with Planet or World or War or Battle in their names. It's driving me insane. But thanks for your help, guys. I really appreciate it. 93.92.153.10 (talk) 07:16, 1 April 2016 (UTC)
 * List of science fiction films of the 1970s (and ditto for other decades) may assist. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:04, 3 April 2016 (UTC)


 * I've read and reread them thar lists a zillion times. However, it now seems I may be on to something. The various Wikipedia descriptions of War Between The Planets (1966) (original title: Il Pianeta Errante, in Italian) do not have detailed plot descriptions, but I found an in-depth review here: http://classicscifi.blogspot.com/2010/11/war-between-planets.html. The website contains this telling sentence: "One of Jackson's ships is caught in a gravity burst ... It crashes on the surface and begins sinking in red goo." This has got my spidey-sense tingling. Now to procure a DVD of this movie somehow, in Italian or English (fortunately I speak Italian, although this is a complete coincidence). Thanks for all your help, guys. Your pointers were what spurred me to look outside IMDB and Wikipedia, to obscure enthusiast blogs. Wouldn't have found it without you. 93.92.153.10 (talk) 07:53, 4 April 2016 (UTC)