In Doomsday Machine, seemingly because the Communist Chinese have built the ultimate weapon that can destroy the planet,. the crew of the first ship to Venus is changed at the last minute. Half the crew is replaced by women! Is it Noah’s Ark 2.0?
Doomsday Machine is one of those strange movies, where it started filming in 1967, and then laid unfinished for nine years. Which is why the same actors aren’t in the ending. And the ending’s really weird, and doesn’t seem to fit.
Ignoring that, up to the ending, it’s not a bad movie. There’s initially a lot of friction among the crew, since the fellow crew members that they’d been training with are replaced, by unknown women. One of them is a Russian cosmonaut as well. But there is a reason …
The movie begins with a spy, discovering that the Communist Chinese have developed a literally world-shattering weapon. And, on the trip to Venus — the world ends violently. And it’s clear why the women joined the crew. They’re a last-ditch effort to preserve the human race. But the unforeseen happens, and one of the male astronauts cracks up …
Doomsday Machine (1976) starring Grant Williams, Bobby Van, Ruta Lee, Mala Powers
Product Description
Spies learn that the Red Chinese have created a \”doomsday machine\” capable of destroying the planet. Meanwhile, a mission to Venus is taken over by the military, with half the male crew replaced by females. Is this for breeding purposes? What better way to see the end of the Earth than with a cast of television favorites, including Mike Farrell (M.A.S.H.), and Kasey Casem (Scooby Do). The movie also stars Grant Williams (The Incredible Shrinking Man).
Cast of characters
- Bobby Van (Bye Bye Birdie; The Navy vs. the Night Monsters) … Danny
- Ruta Lee (Witness for the Prosecution) … Dr. Marion Turner
- Mala Powers (Cyrano de Bergerac) … Maj. Georgianna Bronski
- James Craig (The Cyclops; Valley of the Sun) … Dr. Haines
- Grant Williams (The Monolith Monsters; The Leech Woman) … Maj. Kurt Mason
- Henry Wilcoxon (The Greatest Show on Earth) … Dr. Christopher Perry
- Chia Essie Lin … Girl Spy (as Essie Lin Chia)
- Casey Kasem (Here Comes Peter Cottontail) … Mission Control Officer
- Lorri Scott … Lt. Katie Carlson
- Denny Miller … Col. Don Price (as Scott Miller)
- Mike Farrell … 1st Reporter
Leave a Reply