Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968)

Director:

Peter Bogdanovich

Writer:

Henry Ney (writer)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

Astronauts landing on Venus encounter dangerous exotic creatures and almost meet some sexy Venusian women who like to sunbathe in hip-hugging skin-tight pants and seashell bras.

Plot Keywords:

Venus | Astronaut | Rocket | Robot | Space Station

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mamie Van Doren	...	Moana
Mary Marr	...	Verba
Paige Lee	...	Twyla
Gennadi Vernov	...	Astronaut Andre Freneau (archive footage) (as Aldo Romani)
Margot Hartman	...	Mayaway
Irene Orton	...	Meriama
Pam Helton	...	Wearie
Frankie Smith	...	Woman of Venus
Georgi Tejkh	...	Capt. Alfred Kern (archive footage) (as James David)
Judy Cowart	...	Woman of Venus
Vladimir Yemelyanov	...	Cmdr. William 'Billy' Lockhart (archive footage) (as Roberto Martelli)
Robin Smith	...	Woman of Venus
Cathie Reimer	...	Woman of Venus
Yuri Sarantsev	...	Astronaut Howard Sherman (archive footage) (as Ralph Phillips)
Georgi Zhzhyonov	...	Astronaut Hans Walters (archive footage) (as Murray Gerard)

Also Known As:

The Gill Women
The Gill Women of Venus

Runtime:

78 min | USA:85 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7 | USA:Unrated (DVD)

Company:

Filmgroup, The

Trivia:

The footage of the astronauts is actually from a Russian sci-fi film, Planeta Bur (1962).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The "U.S." rocket-ships journeying to Venus bear the red star of the USSR.

Quotes:

Narrator: Venus... Venus... the planet named after the Goddess of Love. This is... where I left her... 26 million miles away. Because I know she exists. I know she does! I know it! All the time we were there I heard her. Her and that sweet, haunting sound she makes, like the Sirens that tempted Ulysses...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sex Galaxy (2008)

Very Enjoyable-but cheesy!

I saw this movie as a kid, around 1972 or so, and spent years trying to see it again. Yes, I know, I need a life. I finally found it on DVD in one of those 50 sci-fi movies for $20. The movie itself is pretty bad, but if one enjoys 'bad' sci-fi, then this one is perfect. I still can't figure out how they got their 'space-car' to float around like it did. It looked pretty real, as did a Brontosaurus, but the Pterydactyl looked very cheesy, like it was made by a bunch of 7th graders. Anyway, I watched "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet", then I watched "Voyage to the Planet of the Prehistoric Women" back to back. There must have been a gun to my head, I know. The movies use the exact same dubbed Russian "Planet of Storms" footage, but each movie spliced in their own additional footage, and the results produce 2 similar, but different story lines. "Prehistoric Planet" has Basil Rathbone in separate footage, as well as Faith Domergue in her own footage-they are in different space stations.....making for a clumsy (but enjoyable) plot involving rescuing the men on Venus. The robot seems to have a bigger role in this movie, although it is used to some effect in the other. "Prehistoric Women" has Peter Bogdanovich's voice-over narration, and the spliced-in women in clam shell bathing suits (Mamie Van Doren is the leader), who communicate telepathically. I found this one to be much more interesting of the two. The Earth men and Venus women seemed destined to meet each other, they look for each other most of the movie, but alas because it is separate footage, they never do! A somewhat surprise ending makes the movie that more interesting. I do have to comment on the eerie female singing/crying throughout the movies, made it pretty haunting. Also, some of the noises coming from the console of the space-ships sounds exactly like those heard on the original Star Trek TV show. Well, I probably spent more time talking about this movie than the production crew who actually shot the movie!