kevinolzak Review of The Bamboo Saucer

The Bamboo Saucer (1968)

First seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1970

[4/10 · 10 June 2020]

1967's "The Bamboo Saucer" began life over a decade earlier as "Project Saucer," going by the working title "Operation Blue Book" before its final moniker was decided a year after production started in Sept. 1966 (a third title was attached for rerelease, "Collision Course"). Receiving story credit on his final film was Universal's ace special effects maestro John P. Fulton (he passed away during preproduction), the one responsible for the Invisible Man series, plus the glowing effect for "The Invisible Ray" and "Man Made Monster." Writer/director Frank Telford was able to forego shooting in Spain for easier access on Western sets in Lone Pine, California, a simple story somewhat drawn out to 103 minutes but not an uninteresting one (theatrical distribution by World Entertainment Corp). John Ericson's veteran pilot is casually dismissed by superiors when he spies a flying saucer that cannot be seen on radar, maneuvering in all directions to avoid collision. His attempts to prove its existence put him in touch with Dan Duryea's Hank Peters, who shows him a sketch of the saucer drawn by a peasant farmer in a remote mountain range of Red China, leading a small team of scientists to claim the saucer for the United States. All we learn about its two alien occupants are that they died outside the ship and were cremated by the local villagers, the little group parachuting behind enemy lines to find a similar expedition of Russians on the same mission. An uneasy alliance is formed, Ericson naturally falling for Lois Nettleton's pretty blonde Anna, who speaks English and translates for both sides. It plays out in all too predictable Cold War fashion until the saucer's discovery at the midway point, but the interior is disappointingly reminiscent of low budget drek like "The Wizard of Mars." It's a welcome surprise to see the surviving cast members take off inside the spacecraft on automatic pilot, returning to its home base on Saturn at the speed of light, so at least there's a payoff more satisfying than Mikel Conrad's "The Flying Saucer," a 1949 production that never once takes flight, its saucer built by foreign powers. The actors are all hamstrung by one note characters, some of whom are ill suited for serious roles after years of comic television work. The biggest name is that of top billed Dan Duryea, his last feature shortly after appearing in "Five Golden Dragons," as one of the Dragons with George Raft, Brian Donlevy, and Christopher Lee.