2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Edgar Soberon Torchia "The Terrornauts" is on the edge of being an awful film, were it not for its slightly suggested comic approach. If you listen carefully to the music cue accompanying the main title sequence, it gives you a hint of what to expect. Classic composer Elisabeth Lutyens' score has airs of (sinister) children games and charades, and I am only guessing that is what the movie must have inspired her, with its cartoonish models of space ships, props which are riddles, pastel sets of a military base (with test cubicles and a control room) and the acting by vaudeville buffoons as Charles Hawtrey, Patricia Hayes and even Max Adrian as the "villain" who is against the space program led by Simon Oates. The program aims to find signs of life in outer space, following a hunch Oates has since childhood, when he had a visionary dream. Unfortunately, the script is loaded with dialogues, explanations and debates within closed sets, and little action. Even for children and adolescents "The Terrornauts" is too verbose, making its running time seem much longer than its 73 minutes.

ShadeGrenade I used to have a schoolfriend named Eddie Donnelly whose favourite programme was 'The Tomorrow People'. After viewing the latest episode, he, along with his sister Esther and younger brother Graham, would retreat to the spare room to continue the adventure. His 'jaunting' belts were bits of string. 'TIM' the super intelligent computer was a broken cassette player, flex twisted round the light fitting. His mother's hairdryer became a ray-gun. 'The Galactric Trig' was the ironing cupboard at the top of the stairs. Eddie would, naturally, be John, the group's leader. A typical session went as follows: "We have a new assignment!", Eddie would say: "We must go to the planet Carlgor-5!". Touching their bits of string, the trio then ran downstairs to the kitchen, and out the back door into the weed-infested garden. This was Eddie's idea of Carlgor-5. As smoke wafted over the fence from next door's bonfire, he said: "We must be careful. The natives here are savage! Come, let us search for the legendary Crystal of Kronos which has mind-bending properties! If the Thargs get to it first, the universe is theirs!". At which point, the chimes of a Mr.Whippy ice cream van could be heard, and Eddie was left to finish the quest alone while the others went to nag their mother for money for cornets.I was reminded of Eddie and his intergalactic exploits while watching 'The Terrornauts' recently. It is a cheap sci-fi movie made by Amicus, the only British studio to rival Hammer in the '60's. After enjoying success with movies based on 'Dr.Who', Milton Subotsky and Max J.Rosenberg purchased the rights to a novel called 'The Wailing Asteroid' by Murray Leinster, hiring sci-fi author John Brunner to adapt it. It opens at the headquarters of 'Project Star Talk', whose purpose is to search for extra-terrestrial beings with a radio telescope. Dr.Joe Burke ( Simon Oates ), the head of the project, is told by his frosty superior ( Max Adrian ) that the funding will soon be stopped unless results are obtained soon. Well, wouldn't you know it, suddenly signals are being picked up from the heavens. A space ship uses a tractor beam to tear the project building out of the ground and transport it through space to an an alien vessel parked on an asteroid. As well as Burke, there is also his girlfriend Sandy ( Zena Marshall, 'Miss Taro' in 'Dr.No' ), another scientist played by Stanley Meadows, and - if you can believe this - Charles Hawtrey as an accountant named Joshua Yellowlees and Patricia Hayes as tea lady Mrs.Jones! The group are subjected to intelligence tests by a robot looking like a cross between a Dalek and an upturned ice cream cone. Passing the tests, they discover the real reason for their abduction - the Earth is about to be attacked by an alien race and only they can stop them! I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. The cast helps, obviously. Oates went on to play 'Dr.John Ridge' in the B.B.C.'s sci-fi drama 'Doomwatch', and in a small role is Richard Carpenter, later to create the classic children's shows 'Catweazle' and 'The Ghosts Of Motley Hall'. The whole thing has an amateur look to it which I found endearing. The Terrornauts themselves are green-skinned creatures whose sense of gallantry is non-existent - as soon as Sandy arrives amongst them, they try and sacrifice her! The alien space fleet looks like a lot of Zoom ice lollies flying about in space. Having sat through umpteen mega-buck Hollywood bores, this unpretentious romp is the ideal antidote. It was directed by Monthgomery Tully, also responsible for another guilty sci-fi pleasure - 'Battle Beneath The Earth' ( 1967 ) in which the Red Chinese attempt to conquer America by means of underground tunnels full of atomic bombs.I don't know if Eddie ever saw this on television but I reckon he and his brother and sister could have pulled off a recreation with remarkable ease.

bkoganbing The Terrornauts which looks like it was shot on a budget for a real and not Walt Disney high school musical, is one of the quirkiest science fiction films ever made. That's in fact part of its charm, a Star Wars type budget would have killed this film.Three British scientists who are on a project trying to communicate with other intelligent life forms out in space are about to get the plug pulled from their funding. They've got three months to get some results from their radio telescope or the foundation that funds them will cut them off.One night working late, the scientists, Zena Marshall, Simon Oates and Stanley Meadows actually achieve a breakthrough. It's while suffering the presence of auditor Charles Hawtrey from their benefactor foundation. Even the lunch lady Patricia Jones is around. But the scientists get more than they bargain for when they're teleported to an asteroid where some civilization has left quite a space station outpost to contemplate.The space station was put there by some civilization long extinct like the Krells to guard against an invader whose got some space ships heading for earth right now. The premise is similar to the one for The Last Starfighter. What makes The Terrornauts fun and not some total Ed Wood type disaster is the presence of Charles Hawtrey and Patricia Jones. They're of absolutely no help whatsoever to the scientists except both as witnesses to what transpired and for comic relief to the audience. Hawtrey was on hiatus from the British Carry on series and in his droll fey way keeps the proceedings hysterical. He's aided and abetted by Jones who even though she's bewildered by what's going on, keeps a nice even keel about everything. They play beautifully against the oh so serious scientists.The Terrornauts is a real sleeper of a science fiction film, a camp delight something Ed Wood would have liked to have had credited to his name. But just imagine if the scientists had not been teleported and it was just Hawtrey and Jones. Where would the world be then?

ClassixFan OK, I am a big Amicus fan and for years, I searched for this film, it was almost like the 'Holy Grail' for me, as far as Amicus films went. Finally, I received a copy of this film and let me just say, it didn't disappoint. The wonderful thing about this film is, it doesn't take itself seriously, it offers the purest form of entertainment and delivers. I do believe when the film began, it was to be a fully serious sci-fi effort, but once the film location changes to space, it's more camp and definitely a lot of fun. I just adore Mrs. Jones and Mr. Yellowlees, they bring a sense of fun to the film that it might never have enjoyed, without their characters. At times, the film has an almost; Dr. Who feel to it, with some of the creatures we see and the colors glow with the 60s look. I can't recommend this film as a serious sci-fi film, but if you're in the mood for innocent and enjoyable fun with a film, this is the film for you!