EDITOR’S NOTE: The Green Slime was on the CBS Late Movie four times: March 23 and November 20, 1972; January 25, 1974 and March 10, 1976.

Known in Japan as Ganmā Daisan Gō: Uchū Daisakusen or Gamma 3: The Great Space War, this was directed by Kinji Fukasaku (Battles Without Honor or Humanity, Battle Royale, Message from Space) and written by American screenwriters Tom Rowe, Charles Sinclair and Bill Finger, the uncredited for decades co-creator of Batman. It was shot with a Japanese crew and had non-Japanese actors, Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel, and Luciana Paluzzi, in the lead roles. A  co-production between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Ram Films, and Toei had MGM paying and providing the script, along with Toei hiring the film crew and getting a location to shoot this.

Commander Jack Rankin (Horton) takes command of space station Gamma 3 to destroy Flora, an asteroid about to end all life on Earth. Along with Commander Vince Elliot (Jaeckel) and science officer Dr. Hans Halversen (Ted Gunther), they set bombs off on the surface of the asteroid, but they end up bringing back some of that green slime. That slime starts eating any energy and turns into a one-eyed creature that loves to kill humans.

As we’re getting into the United Nations nature of this movie, it all started in Italy, as years before, MGM had contracted Antonio Margheriti to direct four films about the adventures of space station Gamma One: Wild, Wild Planet, War of the Planets, War Between the Planets and Snow Devils. MGM was so happy with these movies that they released them theatrically. This was intended by producers Walter Manley and Ivan Reiner as the fifth film in the series.

Charles Fox, who wrote the theme song for this film, would go on to co-write “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” the Wonder Woman theme and music for Barbarella. The song features Randy Nauert on sitar, Richard Delvy on drums, who also produced and arranged it, Rick Lancelot singing, Rob Edwards on guitar, and Paul Tanner playing the theremin.