EDITOR’S NOTE: Battle of the Worlds was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, February 14, 1970 at 1:00 a.m. and Saturday, July 18, 1970 at 11:30 p.m.
Known in Italy as Il Pianeta degli uomini spenti (The Planet of Extinct Men), this film was directed by Anthony Dawson, better known outside America as Antonio Margheriti.
Dr. Fred Steele (Umberto Orsini, The Antichrist) and Eve Barnett (Maya Brent in her only acting role) look forward to leaving the island they work on and getting married. However, a rogue planet called The Outsider is on a collision course with our world, so no time for love, Dr. Steele. However, Professor Benson (Claude Rains in one of his last acting roles)—who lives away from mankind with his dog Gideon—believes our world is safe. No one else agrees, and some, like Commander Robert Cole (Bill Carter, who is also in Larry Buchanan’s fantasy The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald) and his wife Cathy (Jacqueline Derval), travel to the planet to see how they can stop it.
The Outsider doesn’t hit the Earth but does something even odder. It goes into orbit around the planet. As Earth ships approach, flying saucers attack, and The Outsider begins spiraling into the atmosphere, causing disasters. A team is sent to investigate the planet, and Benson believes some intelligence is controlling all the ships and the planet itself.
In the final attack, Cathy is mortally wounded, and Benson refuses to leave, as he believes that life without scientific knowledge is not a life at all. He tries to communicate with the computer at the core of all of the planet — the crew is long dead — but it’s too late as nuclear warheads blow up the planet real good. The movie closes with Benson’s dog Gideon waiting for him. Way to break my heart.
Writer Ennio De Concini also adapted The Four of the Apocalypse for the screen, wrote The Girl Who Knew Too Much and directed Hitler: The Last Ten Days, Daniele e Maria and Gli 11 Moschettieri. He’s credited as Vassilij Petrov. This film re-teams he and Margheriti after Assignment: Outer Space.
You can watch this on YouTube.
