The Terrornauts (1967) User Reviews

Brings back memories of Saturday afternoons

[barryhaworth-1 · 6/10 · 7 May 2011]

This movie is one of my childhood memories. Our local TV station used to broadcast it semi-regularly and I recall seeing it several times as I was growing up. As a sci-fi nut I found the story intriguing, though full of holes and very obviously done on a limited budget.

What made me want to track the movie down was, some years later, reading the book on which the movie was based. The book is "The Wailing Asteroid" by Murray Leinster, written in 1960. Like the movie the book is somewhat dated, though I think the book has probably aged better. Nevertheless, I'd still like to track down a copy of the movie and revisit my childhood Saturday afternoons.

Project Startalk

[richardchatten · 4/10 · 12 October 2019]

Like Danny Boyle's 'Sunshine' forty years later this film starts promisingly enough with the receiving of a mysterious distress signal from the depths of space, but completely unravels towards the end; 'The Terrornauts' because it just didn't have the funds for slam-bang special effects at the finale, 'Sunshine' precisely because it did, and like so many movies these days ends up so bludgeoning you with visual effects you end up begging for it to stop.

Several earlier reviewers have compared 'The Terrornauts' (a totally meaningless title by the way) to 'Dr Who', but one thing it has that British TV then lacked was bright shiny sixties Eastman Colour (sic) - a first for this director - and as long as the action remains indoors it passes painlessly enough. (Respected British sci-fi author John Brunner - whose only film script it was - said that producer Milton Subotsky "was a very reasonable guy" and a pleasure to work with, that Brunner scrapped most of the original splendidly titled pulp novel 'The Wailing Asteroid' (1960) by Murray Leinster, and later got "a fan letter from someone in Indiana who'd seen it on TV and who said what a pleasure it was to hear the technical terms used correctly for a change".)

It all goes pear-shaped unfortunately when bug-eyed monsters and galactic battle-cruisers are finally called for.

British Plan Nine

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 3 July 2014]

Amicus were a well-known film company during the 1960s and 1970s who made a number of anthology horrors that continue to be well-regarded amongst fans. It transpires that they tried their hand at a number of other genre efforts during that time-frame too, including this ultra-low-budget sci-fi effort.

Sadly, THE TERRORNAUTS turns out to be one of the cheapest and silliest British science fiction films ever made. It has good pedigree; after all, Amicus is behind it, and their DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS, made 3 years previously, is still one of my all-time favourites. This film is based on a novel by the one-time hugely popular Murray Leinster, and has a script by respected sci-fi writer John Brunner. What could go wrong? Er, everything, as it happens. This is a cheapo production with wobbly sets and production values which are far below par. It actually looks cheaper than the episodes of DR WHO that they were shooting at the same time. The basic storyline sees a group of astronomers getting involved with a planned alien invasion, but the outer-space special effects look like something you'd see in THE CLANGERS. It's hardly the stuff to give George Lucas nightmares.

The cast turns up a few faces of interest, most notably Charles Hawtrey and Patricia Hayes who make up a kind of comic double act to comment on the action. Despite the limitations of his acting style, Hawtrey is the best thing in this - well, him and the beautiful actress Zena Marshall, one-time Bond girl (in DR NO) and now reduced to making this nonsense. Unfortunately, the male leads are resolutely dull.

I still laugh even now when I think about the Robby the Robot rip-off that rolls and wobbles all over the place as well as the dodgy explosive effects and the green-skinned aliens who look like they're wearing bath rugs on their heads. As an unintentional comedy, THE TERRORNAUTS is a lot of fun, just as fun as all those dodgy sci-fi B-movies that got made during the 1950s. But as a proper film it's a real mess.

Don't be misled by the "Amicus" brand - this film is not what it seems

[prustage95 · 26 September 2016]

At first one is confronted by the "Poe's Law" dilemma: Is this a really bad film or is it a really good parody of a bad film?

The answer is neither - this is not a bad science fiction movie, it is a really good adventure for young children. Suddenly the simplistic dialog, comic relief and low budget make sense. This film is contemporary with the second incarnation of Doctor Who (Patrick Troughton) and has many similarities with children's TV programmes of that era. The dialog and scientific explanations have that restricted vocabulary and easy to understand structure one associates with Blue Peter, Rainbow etc. Elizabeth Lutyens' cut down wind and percussion score is reminiscent of the Clangers, Noggin the Nog etc. The characters are one dimensional stereotypes: the mean boss, the handsome hero. his loyal workmate, cockney cleaning lady and fussy accountant. There is also the attractive female but there is no sex or even mild love interest here - that's strictly for grown ups - who are not the target audience for this film.

The special effects are awful and the story is silly. The dialogue sometimes sounds like it was written for radio (when Sandy disappears before their very eyes constantly asking "where is she?" seems a bit pointless). My favourite bit - which even 1960's kids would roll their eyes at - is where the hero has to drop his pencil to demonstrate that despite being in space they still have gravity - as though that wouldn't otherwise be apparent.

So, not a parody, not a bad "B" movie, not a contender for MST3K, just a good space adventure for 9 year olds.

Retread of "This Island Earth" sunk by lack of budget

[kevinolzak · 3/10 · 21 June 2020]

1967's "The Terrornauts" proved too ambitious for an Amicus budget, topping a dismal double bill with the only slightly better "They Came From Beyond Space," box office duds to ensure no further outer space adventures were forthcoming. The John Brunner script was adapted from Murray Leinster's 1960 novel "The Wailing Asteroid," the outline following Universal's "This Island Earth" of aliens securing aid from Earth to fight an interstellar battle that will save their galaxy. Hoping to learn something about other beings in the universe has been a lifelong ambition for Dr. Joe Burke (Simon Oates), ever since he received a curious cube as a child that inspired a dream of a world with two suns. The skeptical leader of Project Star Talk (Max Adrian) tires of their finances being drained away without results, allowing only three more months to discover concrete evidence from their intricate radio telescope. Immediately, a signal reaches them from a small asteroid repeating like an SOS call, prompting Burke to put together a transmitter to send an answer to the mysterious messenger, resulting in a ship arriving to transfer Burke and four others to the asteroid center manned by a lone robot (looking suspiciously like a rejected version of one of Dr. Who's Daleks). Various tests meant to confirm the visitors' intelligence and good intentions allow for them to decipher the secret behind the messages, an enemy force set not only to destroy the asteroid but also the planet Earth. Universal provided an adequate budget to bring "This Island Earth" to vivid life (even though the climactic view of the alien world is all too brief), but for this film Amicus started out with a decent script with a pitifully small budget that renders every action sequence downright laughable. The wires are clearly visible during space flight, the miniatures too obvious, the entire cast uninvolved, and one scene where Zena Marshall's exotic scientist is captured for a human sacrifice ends so swiftly and abruptly that it must have been done strictly to promise a colorful poster (reminding one of Cy Roth's inept "Fire Maidens of Outer Space"). A rather sad finale for 41 year old Zena Marshall, best remembered as the very first Bond Girl to bed Sean Connery's 007 in 1962's "Dr. No."

Ummmm, OK

[MartianOctocretr5 · 4/10 · 15 June 2015]

This is a film great for riffing MST3K style (although I don't believe they ever ran this). It doesn't really seem to be taking itself very seriously, and almost plays like the cast & crew made it as an inside joke.

The early part of the story shows some enthusiastic astronomers trying to contact extra terrestrial life with radio signals, and this scene is played straight. When they finally do establish contact with somebody out there, however, things get weird and silly in a hurry.

They are abducted to some alien fort long-since abandoned except by a robot that bounces and shakes around a lot when it moves. One of the oddest monsters appears, and it all reminded me of a Dr. Who episode that was on a very low budget. Soon the abductees, including not one but two comedy relief characters, learn that they must save the universe. There is a battle scene that looked almost as real as when two kids play with toy soldiers.

If you need a good laugh, see this nonsense.

Star Talk indeed!

[EdgarST · 5/10 · 25 March 2018]

"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.

A Science Fiction Sleeper

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 11 May 2009]

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?

Best Movie Ever!

[kyle_sund · 1/10 · 27 June 2015]

The Killer Tomatoes have nothing on the Terrornauts. This could very well be the worst movie ever made. I think among my favorite moments is the flimsy space fortresses appendages flopping all around during the something-less-than-epic space battle. It's also a very well known fact that any good attacking spaceship should have a flip open front end and weak red light as a weapon. Luckily, our intrepid space travelers have their custom swim caps to see them through. Particularly impressive, the aluminum funnel budget. Valuable lessons of science and space to be gleaned from The Terrornauts: Not only does fire burn in space, but the laws of temperature and gravity still apply. Smoke goes up, spaceship parts fall down. Finally, carrying incredible feminist overtones, one learns that a woman is definitely required to properly fire a defensive space missile. Good clean fun for the whole family.

An interesting and somewhat different SF plot for its time.

[rodm-5 · 7/10 · 22 September 2001]

I was constantly surprised by where this film took me.

Initially expecting the the alien spaceship to have hostile intentions against the Earth, it simply kidnaps some miscellaneous and startled astronomers and makes off with them. After that it is nothing like the usual: aliens attack earth, humans fight back but are losing, humans find a clever trick/weapon/chemical/virus and defeat evil aliens (or get soundly defeated and taken over by evil aliens).

They are dumped into an alien base on an asteroid and the fun part is watching them work out where they are, and why. The ending is novel for its time, but a little tacky.

I enjoyed the film very much for its novelty and surprises (not its very basic special effects). It was a "nice" film. It is probably very dated now but I haven't seen it for 30 years.

Boring and dumb.

[13Funbags · 2/10 · 7 August 2018]

It's bad enough that everything they say and do is dumb but it's even worse that the movie is just slow moving and boring. We literally see them have tea 3 times in the first 30 minutes and that's the action. Watch the first 10 minutes and the last 10.

How Much Fun Can One Film Offer?

[ClassixFan · 8/10 · 30 June 2004]

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!

Deserves either a 1 or a 10?

[plan99 · 7/10 · 19 July 2020]

I'm not alone in being confused as to whether this was a very bad film and due a score of 1 or a very well made bad film and deserving of a 10, so I decided to give it a 7 as I enjoyed all of its silliness. An interesting plot with cheaply done special effects and it's amazing that this silly film was being made at the same time as Star Trek, this is a 50s style Sci-Fi film which was made in the late 60s. Worth a watch.

Out of curiosity

[andicav · 2/10 · 30 April 2023]

I only wanted to watch this JUST to see Zena Marshall who is just soo beautiful. Just weird to see her in this. A strange film. Weird seeing Charles Hawtrey in this, definitely out of his comfort zone. Not really sure what the film is about ... some weird monsters that make weird noises. With stick on Plastic grills. Not really though out well. Just so zany , that you watch it wondering how the Cast went along with it. Some very odd costumes too. It looks like a local school had their kids make up the costumes for the cast. Truly awful film but yiu watch it out of curiosity. As I say, I ONLY watched it for Zena....

Carry On Quatermass

[andyrobert · 26 December 2020]

I started to watch this film out of curiosity more than anything. I just wanted to see what Zena Marshall looked like when she was not playing the part of the Eurasian villainess, Miss Taro, in the very first James Bond film, Doctor No. I must admit, she looked just as alluring as a Laboratory Assistant in a Government Space Research Establishment as she did in Doctor No.

The first part of the film gave the impression that it was going to be a serious and thought-provoking study of the work carried out at a space laboratory. The storyline suggested that the first part of was going to be about the Head of a Government Space Research laboratory at odds with the Treasury about lack of funds to finance their research, with the added suspense of receiving strange signals, and believed to be from Outer Space.

However, as soon as Charles Hawtrey bumbled through the door, I knew that this film was never meant to be completely taken seriously. All it needed was for Sid James to burst into the laboratory, chasing after Barbara Windsor, with Hattie Jacques looking on reprovingly, it would have made a pretty good "Carry-On" film.

I haven't given this film a rating as I do not think that it would be fair on those who put so much effort into its production, where the only creditable performance being that of Patricia Hayes as a comic char lady.

Mrs Cravatte riders again!

[kris-gray · 5/10 · 18 January 2020]

What a load of tosh! faintly amusing tosh though, kept waiting for Charles Hawtrey to make a joke, don't see him a a semi, straight role very often. Not sure if it was meant to be a comedy but it sure is one.

Best thing was Patricia Hayes who I always think of as Mrs Cravatte in Hancock's Half Hour and the egg ads with the lad himself.

As a previous reviewer stated 'Carry on up the Spaceship' would have been a more appropriate title.

Did I see aliens, or was it one big practical joke?

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 12 May 2022]

A very low budget but entertaining science fiction film, this deals with a bunch of scientists discovering attempted communication by aliens which results in them getting a box of goodies (that look like exotic French pastries) and somehow thinking they've ended up on a spaceship which has taken them to another planet. The encounter leads to some danger with battles drawn when the female scientist ends up on a gurney nearly stabbed before the hero, Simon Oates, comes to her rescue.

The only issue I had with this film was the nosy Cockney coffee lady whose personality really grated on my nerves and the perplexing ending that has them somehow ending up on a strip of land that has been forbidden to tourist, obviously on Earth. Still, with all of its flaws, it's amusing, and the presence of what I think were aliens was very clever with how they were made up to look. But when the film was over, I had more questions than answers, and I wasn't about to watch the film again to get the results of those questions. I've seen much worse cheap science fiction, especially those made in the 60's when anybody with a camera and access to an editing bay could make a cheap film like this.

60s Dr Who

[studuckett · 4/10 · 12 June 2021]

I can't add much to this that hasn't already been said in the other reviews.

The storyline, sets, aliens and acting are rather reminiscent of the 1960s Dr Who TV series (especially the Patrick Troughton years), but in colour.

The target audience appears to be directed at older children. The budget is devastatingly low and the dialogue is simple and amateurish.

That's the worst of it. The good points are that the film does not take itself too serious and provides a enjoyable romp through space with visible strings attached. The comic elements are played by Patricia Hayes ( as Mrs Jones the tea lady) and Charles Hawtrey as the visiting accountant caught up in the melee.

The whole mass should provide laughable moments at the simple scripts and cheapness of the sets, with a nostalgic nod to 60s children's British TV programs.

One can't help thinking that Gerry Anderson would have made a better job of it. But the cheapness of it is part of the fun.

No Terror in Terrornauts

[Great-Cthulhu · 7/10 · 8 November 2005]

Yesterday, I made myself ready to stare in the face of The Terror(nauts). But, no terror there. Anyway, this movie is a lot of fun - if your can accept the fact that it's kinda outdated, as far as the "Special Effects" are concerned. I won't give away the plot - shallow as it is - but the movie does not live from the plot anyway, it's charm comes from the characters, especially from those in the background like Mr. Yellowlees, Mrs. Jones and even Doc Shore. Not taking the movie too seriously is the key to enjoy it - the makers of this space flick didn't either, I think. And for fans of the high class B-Movie SciFi-thingy: Yes, they have star-ships, funny robots, bathing cap wearing aliens, ridiculous stuff to plug into your head and strange sound effects. The only thing I thought was rather stupid is the climax of the movie. To destroy the Enemy (no other name given), they blast them with missiles. And that's it, there is no Plan B, just go on shooting, hoping it will be fine - if we miss them, alas, so long, we only have those missile-pods.

Otherwise, The Terrornauts features no terror indeed, but you can laugh, have fun (if you can have fun with this kind of movies) and behold one of the greatest special effects in history: An explosion which throws up a black cloud of smoke rises not in front of one of the twin moons of the alien planet - no Sir, it rises behind it. Now, that's way cool. I wondered myself, what they where doing (I will not state they were thinking anything)? Paste the moons on the camera lens? Maybe nobody will notice? Who cares.

Alien Invaders vs the Swimming Caps of Power

[By-TorX-1 · 5/10 · 14 November 2020]

The Terrornauts is enjoyable sci-fi 1960s hokum, not for the plot, which is slender, but for the various amusing points such as wobbly string-held space stations and shaky model rockets (the epic space battle is like the climax of Star Wars, but with George Lucas working with a budget of $10). Also, there is a brief sojourn to an alien planet (that looks like the quarry world that would become so vital to Blake's 7) where the locals instantly attempt to sacrifice the leading lady, and the advanced alien communication technology that consists of swimming caps with some wires sticking out. Still, where else can you see Mrs Cravatte and Carry On icon Charles Hawtrey in space? The Terrornauts, that's where!

Seriously whacky

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 17 December 2019]

The film starts as a straightforward sci fi film and then becomes something like Carry On Up the Spaceship.With Charles Hawtrey and Patricia Haines on board there is time for comedy.It looks as if they went to the local toy shop for the models.A totally surreal experience.

Well, it has a great poster

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 2 July 2021]

I'll give The Terrornauts two things: It has a great poster with the tagline "The virgin sacrifice to the gods of a ghastly galaxy!" and it's only 75 minutes long. Based on The Wailing Asteroid by Murray Leinster, this film was double-billed with The Came from Beyond Space (which we'll review directly after this) and both are considered amongst the worst films that Amicus released.

Project Star Talk has just ninety days to succeed in its mission to listen for radio signals from intelligent life from outer space. A message brings the entire team of Star Talk to an asteroid where they must defeat an entire planet of savages who are the last survivors of a galactic war. If they don't, their evil planet will make its way to destroy Earth.

This was directed by Montgomery Tully, who also directed the Edgar Wallace story The Man Who Was Nobody twice - once for TV and again for theaters. He also made Battle Beneath the Earth.

I really want to see the movie that the poster is advertising more than what was made.

What were they smoking at Amicus Studios?

[Coventry · 8/10 · 6 March 2015]

Sci-Fi and horror movies don't often win Academy Awards, but that's not necessarily the fault of the films themselves but merely due to the fact there aren't sufficient categories! If, for example, there existed an Oscar for the coolest movie title, it would guaranteed be won by a horror or Sci-Fi flick almost every year! "The Terrornauts" definitely would have deserved the Oscar for coolest title back in 1967, that's for certain, even though it's a completely irrelevant title. There isn't much "terror" here and the main characters arguably don't even qualify as "astronauts" either. Then again who needs the Academy Awards; because I've never seen an Oscar winning film that provided me with so much entertainment and chuckles than "The Terrornauts". Thus far I always assumed that "First Men in the Moon" (Nathan Juran – 1964) was the cheesiest and most pleasantly deranged Sci-Fi movie to hail from England, but that was before I discovered this even crazier and more imaginative little accomplishment from the Amicus Studios. It's practically impossible to describe the plot of "The Terrornauts", but I'll give it a try anyways. Dr. Joe Burke, along with his girlfriend Sandy and co- worker Ben, is running operation Star Talk. His mission is to intercept radio signals from outer space in order to prove the existence of other intelligent life forms. He's devoted to his job because, as a child, he once had a vivid dream about being on a planet where he could breathe normally. But since his project is unsuccessful for the past four years and quite expensive at the same time, a grumpy government official now informs Dr. Burke that the project will be terminated in three months. But then suddenly Dr. Burke receives signals, hallelujah! He responds to them and, before they properly understand what is going on, their entire laboratory is sucked out of its fundaments and into a massive space ship! The crew, including the talkative coffee lady and a nerdy financial auditor sent by the government, is hosted by a tacky robot and forced to participate in hallucinating experiments. They also stumble upon a portal that leads them directly to – oh yes – the planet that Dr. Burke dreamed about as a child! Do I really need to re-emphasize that "The Terrornauts" is downright awesome?!? Whoever wrote the script of this movie was permanently high on excellent drugs and the team in charge of the special effects and costume designs must have been even crazier! At a certain point in the film the group runs into a flamboyant monster with tentacles on its head and one giant eye on the lower left side, whilst on the planet our heroine is chased by green-faced aliens that want to ritually sacrifice her. The warfare during the climax (I'm not even entirely sure against whom…) looks like it could have formed the inspiration for the legendary "Space Invaders" video game and the very last sequences, featuring a French gendarme, are simply priceless.

Back in the late '60s and early '70s, Amicus was a fairly solid and respectable production studio in the shadows of the almighty Hammer Studios. They released several great anthology horror films starring British horror regulars such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee ("Asylum", "Tales from the Crypt", "Torture Garden"), as well as fantasy/Sci-Fi flicks ("Dr. Who and the Daleks", "At the Earth's Core"). "The Terrornauts" is a bit of an outcast in their overall repertoire, but definitely a gem for avid cult fanatics to seek out and enjoy!

Charming in its way

[Stevieboy666 · 6/10 · 2 November 2019]

A group of British astronomers, an accountant and a tea lady are abducted by an alien force and transported to their base on an asteroid. Amicus are best known for their splendid horror anthologies so this offering is very different. It is very dated, the special effects and make up are laughable - actors body painted green and wearing what looks like green swimming caps - and it has a ludicrously silly plot. But on the other hand it is visually very colourful, with greens and reds being prominent, and Charles Hawtrey and Patricia Hayes, two familiar faces for British viewers, provide much comical relief, A charming but dated sci-fi romp from Amicus.

Decent effort from Amicus, more famous for horror movies.

[neil-douglas2010 · 6/10 · 1 May 2023]

Even though this film has a short running time it crams a lot into it's story. Set in an observatory in the UK, a group of scientists have been trying to find signs of alien life but to no avail. With threats to their future funding they receive a signal from outer space. An alien spaceship arrives and brings their building back to an asteroid, here they have to pass a series of tests. The alien craft is under attack from an another race and the scientists have been chosen to help them.

It's a well made film even though on a shoestring budget, the cast are decent even with Charles Hawtrey and Patricia Hayes as comedic value.