In Queen of Blood, Earth receives its’ first message from an interstellar civilization – but the alien ship crash lands on Mars. They attempt an urgent rescue mission, with a stop at the moon base. And there’s only one survivor. A green-skinned female, with an … unusual appetite.
Queen of Blood (1966) starring John Saxon, Judy Meredith, Dennis Hopper, Terry Lee, Basil Rathbone
Review of Queen of Blood
There’s plenty of silly, cheesy things to make fun of in Queen of Blood – but at it’s heart is an interesting movie, with decent acting, and several interwoven themes.
- When should the hands-on crew stop listening to the experts?
- How much risk is too much?
- How far does attempting to understand a different culture go?
With a title like Queen of Blood, it’s no surprise that the Queen is, by our standards, a vampire. It’s an interesting twist, however. She hypnotizes her victims, and bites their wrists. She’s silent throughout the entire film. And, at the end, we find out why she’s been gathering as much blood as inhumanly possibly.
Along the way, there’s a rushed rescue mission, some conflict between the romantic couple as well. She’s chosen for the main rescue image, and he’s not. But they eventually get together, and the rescue crew’s trying to rescue the very first interstellar traveller. Her ship’s crashed on Mars, and they’re trying to get her back to Earth. And that’s when the main conflict actually begins, with the Queen’s deadly appetite …
Cast of characters
- John Saxon (Battle Beyond the Stars, Enter the Dragon) … Allan Brenner
- Basil Rathbone (The Woman In Green, The Comedy of Terrors) … Dr. Farraday
- Judi Meredith (Jack the Giant Killer) … Laura James
- Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider) … Paul Grant
- Florence Marly (Tokyo Joe) … Alien Queen
- Robert Boon (The Flying Saucer) … Commander Anders Brockman
- Don Eitner (Kronos) … Tony Barrata
- Forrest J. Ackerman (The Time Travelers) … Farraday’s Aide
Product Description
Cult icons John Saxon, Dennis Hopper and the legendary Basil Rathbone star in this sci-fi cult classic! In the distant future, scientists receive a distress call from an alien spaceship that has crash-landed on Mars. Dr. Farraday (Rathbone, Tales of Terror) decides to send a team of astronauts, including Allan Brenner (Saxon, Enter the Dragon) and Paul Grant (Hopper, Easy Rider), on a rescue mission. On the planet, they discover a sole survivor: a green-skinned female alien (Florence Marly, Dr. Death Seeker Of Souls). The seductive alien is brought aboard their ship, but soon the horror begins after one man is attacked and dies, drained of his blood. The Queen of Blood is thirsty for more human victims, and as the astronauts try to find their way back to Earth and safety, the Queen s bloodlust has just begun.
Special Features: Interview with Producer Roger Corman | Interview with Film Historian Robert Stotak | Original Theatrical Trailer
Editorial review of Queen of Blood courtesy of Amazon.com
(1966-USA) COLOR. With JOHN SAXON, BASIL RATHBONE, JUDI MEREDITH, DENNIS HOPPER. A talented cast sparkles in this unique and riveting combination science fiction-horror epic. Indeed, after watching it, you may never ever want to stare into the eyes of a beautiful woman again! The year is 1990. Mankind has long ago explored and conquered the moon. The primary question about outer space remains unanswered: Does life in any form exist on other planets? To find out, plans are under way to send spaceships to explore the planets Mars and Venus. The institute has received some special signals relaying a message that a spaceship from a faraway galaxy has been dispatched toward our planet.
Meanwhile, an “unknown object” crosses the moon and is headed toward our planet. It reportedly is not the spaceship in question. Various events quickly follow, highlighted by the blast-off into space of a rocket headed to Mars. What is found there is utterly shocking: a gorgeous “queen! bee” vampiress who, in order to survive, must feed off the blood of earthlings!
The special effects are imaginatively devised and frequently eye-popping, and it is fascinating to note the manner in which the filmmakers perceive everything from space flight to international relations in the “future” year of 1990! It also is great fun to see young Dennis Hopper in his role as Paul, a space pioneer who is one of the astronauts on board the flight to Mars. This film was produced for only $50,000, using footage from a Russian film made seven years earlier and writing the script around it. Even more astonishing, this is the second Basil Rathbone film to use this same footage!
Trivia
- Basil Rathbone was paid $1,500 to act for a day and a half on this film and $1,500 for half a day on Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965), another film that incorporated Russian film footage.
- This was an ultra low budget production. The elaborate special effects were taken (uncredited) from two big budget Soviet productions, Mechte navstrechu (1963), and Battle Beyond the Sun (1959).
- John Saxon later claimed that Gene Corman had more to do with this movie than Roger Corman. Saxon estimated that his scenes were shot in seven to eight days, and that Dennis Hopper “was trying very hard to keep a straight face throughout” during the making of the film.