the audience applauded

Brilliant and touching

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This journey into outer space flick is fairly typical of the B movies, the low budget films that weren't supposed to be liked. As a result of being the low man on the totem pole, those involved made the most out of a little. That often resulted in the superior sci-fi flicks. Such is the case here. The overwhelming factor in these cases is the use of "credible characters in incredible circumstances", something I believe I was the first to use in critiques some thirty or forty years ago. Here, the astronauts are three men and a woman. They begin as seeming to be one dimensional, but that's where the writing, directing, acting team fool you. They gracefully become real characters, particularly the two supporting astronauts. I admit I usually pay more attention to the "supporting players", and usually it's the women who care about the romantic leads. The romantic lead pair go through this as a bit of a cliché, but show some dimensions in character near the end. All together, the quartet was superior to most of the "A movie" astronauts in credibility. The character of John Andros must have been the delight of the team making this film, and it's fascinating in the way they bring him along late, almost as an after thought, as though he would be just "hanging around". He is basically the story here, and I believe the story is told through his eyes, which I won't spoil by how it ends. There's a lot to like here. It is craftily directed. Despite the low budget and limited action, there's not a dull moment. It grips you throughout. That's some directing, writing, editing, acting, the who shebangs! There's even a terrific Gilligan's Island style dream sequence. A hidden gem. I probably won't put it on my top 20 sci-fi films of all time, but it's definitely in the top 40. Of course, as I noted before, this is more of a "man's movie" than a chick flick.

I've read so many bad reviews about this film that I just had to watch it when the chance arrived. It's got all the indications of being a bad film (Five aliases not withstanding: Space Probe Taurus, Space Monster, First Woman into Space, Flight Beyond the Sun and Voyage into the Sun).Keep an open mind. Remember that American International Productions and Leonard Katzman made most of these on a shooting schedule of three weeks or less with production costs of under $50,000. (In 1965 it cost Irwin Allen $150K to produce two episodes of 'The Time Tunnel' using BackYard sets in So. Calf).If you keep the above in mind and watch the actors carefully, it's not a bad film. Sure, by today's standard there's more melodrama than Si-Fi and yes, I didn't like the Model Rocket Ship in the Lobster Aquarium either.Now just sit back, relax, quite looking for things to call hokie and like I said, 'Listen to the actors, try to put your self into their shoes for 80 minutes'.The main cast were all good 'B' picture stars with the exception of the film's 'Hero' James B. Brown, (this is the same actor who brought us 'Persuit Pilot Tex' from the movie 'Airforce', also co-stared in 'Wake Island' in additions to many other fine performances) and Ms Francine York (YUM - take a look at the '02 photo of her from the DGA Tribute for George Sidney and you'll see what I mean..)There are a few scenes that actually have some pucker factor or at the very least, will have you shouting 'Come on! Hurry Up! Get out of there before something jumps out of the shadows and GRABS you!'All things considered, I liked it and if you do too, then count yourself fortunate. Movies are much more enjoyable if you can appreciate the efforts of all the participants. Not just the blockbusters who spent all the money and won all the awards.Scotty Jensen

Directed and written by Leonard Katzman, this space probe is slow and lacks excitement. The special effects seem as if this TV project was produced ten years earlier. A team of scientists, including the attractive Francine York, set out in the year 2000 to find a livable planet in space. The craft is forced to land on a strange planet , where they are attacked by crusty humanoid sea creatures and giant crabs. The voyage turns out successful after all and they name the planet after a comrade they lost in their discovery...Andros 1.Besides Miss York, this bad piece of Sci-fi features Russ Bender, Baynes Barron and James B. Brown. Take the journey, but don't expect much.

I fear the only other reviewer at this point, Mr "van Polasm" from Antarctica, is having us on.As the schizophrenia of the various titles of this movie suggests (The First Woman in Space, Space Probe Taurus and [in Japan at least] Space Monster), the makers of this movie had no clue and were making it up as they went along. This movie, even considering it's TV movie status, deserves to be especially damned given that only 3 years separates it from Kubrick's 2001.They crammed in so many 1950s sci-fi cliches that they didnt have time to follow any single one through to the end, and they filled the cracks with preposterously ludicrous scenarios and acting. As for special effects, think toilet paper rolls wrapped in foil and suspended from string.What you have is 3 paunchy overweight blokes and one beautiful young woman as the "astronauts" on your typical early sci-fi "outer space rocket". What they're meant to be doing is anyone's guess until about two thirds of the film has elapsed.Is the story about the feisty young woman vs. the crusty ol' sea dog cap'n? Well, no. That story is killed off after about 5 lines of dialogue when said crust forces said babe to admit her true feelings for him with a forcible kiss or three. Those were the days, when the man didn't even wait to hear yes or no, right? There's also a dream scene which looks like it was put in specifically to satisfy another paunchy old blokes desire to snog the young woman in a bathing suit.Is the story about mankind's first encounter with alien life? Well, no. They come across an alien "outer space rocket" - no-one seems terribly surprised - go in, meet predictably humanoid and hideous alien, scuffle, kill it, blow up the alien ship. End of that story.Next, flaming marshmallows, in the guise of meteors, knock the ship's computers into overdrive (we are told belatedly) and send the ship hurtling way off course right to a conveniently located earth-like planet. At this point in the story we find out that the mission was to explore another distant planet marked for colonisation.Finally, just before the average viewer slips into a coma, there's time to fit in the following cliches:* everyone losing their cool in a marooned ship, * narcissist sacrifices himself for good of all by being killed by predictably humanoid and hideous sea creature, * small scale model "outer space rocket" in fishtank attacked, well... harassed, by alien marine creatures everyone pretends not to recognise are ordinary crabs.Just before the average viewer expires, the remaining paunchy old blokes and beautiful woman escape, declare the planet they just left good enough for colonisation (ahem,.. predictably humanoid and hideous sea creatures? Giant crabs?) and proclaim the planet be named after the dead paunchy old bloke.This movie is awful, awful, awful with not a single redeeming feature - not even camp value. I spent more time, thought and effort in typing this comment than went into Space Probe Taurus. Avoid at all costs.