Wilder's Fright

 

 (imdb)

FRIGHT-1956-After psychiatrist Dr. Hamilton (Eric Fleming) helps police stop a murderer (Frank Marth) from jumping off a bridge, he meets Ann Summers (Nancy Malone; INTIMACY (1966)) who seems to have some problems. He regresses her through hypnotism where she speaks German. Then she disappears. Later he learns she was once Baroness Maria in 1889 Vienna. They wind up falling in love. The doc thinks it's a case of split personality but an annoying reporter prints the reincarnation story which causes a rift between the two lovers. Eventually, Maria takes Ann over completely and vanishes, leading the police to think she might have been murdered by the doc. To get her to come out of hiding, he convinces the murderer that he's the crown prince Maria might be looking for! 

Extreme boredom from director W. Lee Wilder, whose son Myles wrote the screenplay obviously inspired by the Bridey Murphy reincarnation case. The elder Wilder also made MANFISH the same year. Lead actor Fleming starred in QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE in 1958 and in 1959 began a long run as the trial boss on TV's “Rawhide”. TV actress Malone later was also a TV director.

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It Would Have Been Better If They'd Met Abbott & Costello!

QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE-1958-It's said that this notorious campy space nonsense started out as a serious science fiction story (the story was by Ben Hecht and the script was written by Charles Beaumont who wrote many classic TWILIGHT ZONE episodes) but I guess when they hired Ben Schwab who produced many of the later BOWERY BOYS entries to produce it and Edward Bernds who directed 3 Stooges shorts to helm it, things got out of control.

Three nutty astronauts (straight laced Eric Fleming, womanizer Patrick Waltz and comic relief Dave Willock) go on a "milk run" to deliver a famous scientist Prof. Konrad (NOT OF THIS EARTH's Paul Birch) to his space satellite. Before they can get here however a mysterious beam destroys the base and sends the ship crash landing on Venus (with Earth gravity and oxygen). It turns out Venus is inhabited by nothing but women lead by the evil masked Queen Ilyana (Laurie Mitchell) who's scarred face makes her hate all men. She also wants to destroy the Earth.

Top billed Zsa Zsa Gabor (some Venusians it seems have Hungarian accents) is Talleah, a scientist and head of a movement to over throw Ilyana ("I hate zat queen!"). The dumb men need women love story seems to be intentional but I think it got out of hand. For an Allied Artists movie it does have Technicolor and Cinemascope which kind of hide the cheesy effects.

Marilyn Buferd (from THE UNEARTHLY) has a small role as a traitor who is vaporized. Joi Lansing and Ralph Gamble have un-credited roles too. Fleming was starring on TV in RAWHIDE at the time. Gabor (still alive at the time of this writing) had a small role in Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL the same year.

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