In 1976, William Shatner was seven years away from the end of Star Trek and three years from the theatrical movie, so he was taking whatever work he could get, which meant The Tenth Level, A Whale of a Tale and the TV series Barbary Coast.

And oh yeah — Mysteries of the Gods.

Let me tell you, the seventies were a weird time to be alive. People had biofeedback machines in their plants so they could talk to them, everyone was recovering from Vietnam and Watergate, and aliens were everywhere.

Harald Reinl (who also directed The Return of Dr. Mabuse, The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism and Chariots of the Gods) directed the German version of this movie, with the American parts directed by Charles Romine (Behind Locked Doors). This is based on the work of Erich von Däniken, whose ancient astronaut theories now form the basis of so much of basic cable alien shows while he himself has been seen as a charlatan for some time.

Shatner wears some astounding clothes that have huge collars and often bare his chest, like some lusty Doc Savage flying all over the world to interview old women about crystal skulls and debate with scientists. Man, for that reason alone, this movie is worth a watch, plus there’s plenty of synth music and a short running time. This is a good start if you’ve just getting into 20th century carny paranormal documentaries.

You can watch this on YouTube.