Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Queen of Outer Space Blu-ray Movie Review

Amazon Women on... Venus?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 11, 2025

Sporting a title that reflects Zsa Zsa Gabor's star power rather than her actual role in the film, Edward Bernds' Queen of Outer Space was one of Allied Artists' more lavish productions of the 1950s. Shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope, it promises copious colorful thrills and a gaggle of leggy blondes but, at its core, is just as campy as you'd expect out of such a title and studio. Retaining its winking satirical edge from Ben Hecht's earlier story called Queen of the Universe, the concept was tightened up by future Twilight Zone writer Charles Beaumont and, while it's not a full-on laugh riot, Queen of Outer Space's paint-by-numbers plot is saved by the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Our story gets going after a slightly drawn-out 15-minute pre-credits sequence, which was reportedly shot in a single day -- that's one-fifth of the movie, folks. Taking place in the then-distant year of 1985, we're introduced to handsome Captain Neal Patterson (Eric Fleming), wisecracking Lt. Mike Cruze (Dave Willock), ladies' man Lt. Larry Turner (Patrick Waltz), and poor portly Professor Konrad (Paul Birch), who's now being escorted by all three astronauts to Earth's space station high above... it's a "milk run", as they call it. Their plans change dramatically, however, when a mysterious laser beam zips around the area and completely obliterates their intended destination, and to make matters worse their ship is sent spiraling millions of miles off-course to... somewhere. That "somewhere" ends up being the planet Venus, a colorful, vegetation-rich, and totally breathable planet that's nothing like their science books described.

After presuming the planet to be uninhabited and settling down for the night, our four castaways are rudely awakened by a patrolling group of short-skirted women who are part of an all-female society after totally ousting the aggressive, war-loving males from their ranks. Unfortunately the ladies have retained a few bad habits from their former "captors", such as advanced weaponry including the regular use of that frickin' laser beam which may or may not soon be pointed at Earth. So for now, the four-man group is brought back to their colony and placed before the judgment of one Queen Yllana (Laurie Mitchell) who, like others on the high council, wears a full face mask for as-yet-unknown reasons. Treated as prisoners with their very presence seen as a presumed attack on Venus, Patterson and his crew eventually win over a few of the city's more sympathetic ladies and, wouldn't you know it, there's a gal for each of 'em. (Except Professor Konrad, at least for now.) But their most valuable defector might be the lovely Talleah (Zsa Zsa Gabor), a scientist or something but also a high-ranking official who's apparently fallen head-over-heels for the Captain.

It's all beyond hokey, of course, as we're constantly reminded of the film's technical shortcomings via its cheap sets, cheaper costumes (except for Gabor's gowns, which she claims were all designed by Edith Head and cost upwards of $15,000 apiece), a goofy spider (screenshot #5), and the barebones plot. These characters are hardly likeable, given its era-specific gender dynamics -- even the so-called "independent women", which I guess would've survived for one generation, swoon over these strange new visitors in record time -- and a few dangling subplots, like Lt. Turner's poor girlfriend back on Earth who's basically forgotten about. Yet Queen of Outer Space is still good, goofy fun with the true spirit of low-budget late 1950s sci-fi -- it remains enjoyably campy and ready to (re)discover on Warner Archives' Blu-ray, which was released several years ago go but is still very much available and recommended to genre fans.

Queen of Outer Space Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope, Queen of Outer Space looks quite good on Blu-ray from Warner Archive; not consistently as tack-sharp as similarly-formatted films from that era, but certainly much better than expected for low-budget fare like this. As seen in these direct-from-disc screenshots, fine detail is quite impressive in the right conditions and the gaudy color palette gets a lot of chances to shine. The relatively flat staging, occasionally odd framing choices, ultra-soft establishing shots and stock footage (some of which is stretched horizontally), and far-less-than-convincing visual effects add their own lo-fi charm, with only the latter occasionally reflecting an unavoidable but temporary drop in clarity. The bottom like is that the wide, wide majority of Queen of Outer Space is on par with some of the boutique label's very best restorations, and that alone should sell this disc to interested parties who don't own it yet.

Queen of Outer Space Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The accompanying DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track offers a suitably straightforward split two-channel spread of Queen of Outer Space's original mono mix, which is mostly dialogue-driven while still serving up a few sci-fi sonic surprises. The loopy original score by composer Marlin Skiles (who I just learned was born in my humble hometown of Harrisburg, PA) has likely never sounded better as, like the film itself, it comes through about as cleanly as can be expected under the circumstances. Only a few stray sibilance issues during the pre-credit sequences mar what's otherwise a purely perfect presentation, but even that's not enough to keep it from getting supportively high marks.

English (SDH) subtitles, unfortunately of the ALL CAPS variety, are included during the main feature only.

Queen of Outer Space Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork and a few extras.

• Audio Commentary - A fantastic DVD-era commentary that features celebrated author, film researcher, and historian Tom Weaver sitting down with the late Laurie Mitchell (d. 2018), who played "Queen Yllana" in the film. There are plenty of interesting details shared about the production and first-hand memories, but this track goes beyond your usual warm and friendly gab fest as Weaver and Mitchell even re-create a bit of cut material and, at one point, he presents her with a decorative mask like the one she wore in the film. (Too bad it wasn't a video commentary.) Either way, this one's obviously a lot of fun and well worth watching for fans of the film.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:16) - This fairly deceptive promotional piece can also be seen here.

Queen of Outer Space Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Edward Bernds' Queen of Outer Space ain't exactly high art, but this infamous B-movie adventure is still a lot of fun almost 70 years later and plays well on the small screen thanks to the restorative efforts of Warner Archive. Much like their recently-reviewed Blu-ray of The Cyclops, Queen of Outer Space would be even easier to recommend had it been part of a collection -- hell, it was apparently even distributed to select theaters as a double feature with Frankenstein 1970 -- but is still worth a purchase as-is, especially since it includes an outstanding audio commentary.