With thousands of downtown theatres, drive-ins, and television airwaves to fill, it behooved the independent film producer of the 1950s to keep costs down in order to pump out endless reels of popular entertainment for the masses. One way to accomplish this while still maintaining some semblance of production value was by utilising the nearly bottomless goldmine of military stock footage available from good ol’ Uncle Sam. Via this public domain B-roll, Sabre jets could be pitted against giant monsters and endless artillery could be deployed against flying saucers for a fraction of the cost of actually shooting them first hand.
Seasoned producer William Berke was no stranger to the wacky world of B-movies having written, directed, and produced thousands of feet of film in the ever-bankable western, crime, and jungle adventure genres. With the space race having launched via Sputnik in late 1957, Berke saw fit to create an otherworldly tale that could still make use of all the military and air force stock he could get his hands on. It would also result in one of the few Hollywood films of the era featuring Canada with nary a Mountie nor a dastardly Québécois fur trapper in sight.
The Lost Missile launches right to the point with the titular projectile hurling its way across the Arctic. Soaring a mere 5 miles above the Earth’s surface, it emanates immense heat, destroying nearly everything in its path. As luck and dramatic convenience would have it, it’s headed straight for New York by way of Ottawa.
No one knows its origin with every nation including the USSR denying any knowledge of the flying menace. Any attempt by either the Canadian or American air forces to topple the missile has met with utter failure and mounting taxpayer cost. It is quickly determined by top scientific minds that unless this errant missile is stopped, it will eventually crisscross the entire earth and ultimately annihilate the human race.
Mankind’s one hope for salvation may lie in the work of Dr. David Loring (Robert Loggia) who has developed a “baby” nuclear warhead that can be rapidly dispatched to intercept this weapon from hell. But first he’ll have to navigate the panicked evacuation of NYC and contend with the very real possibility that this missile may not be man-made at all, but the work of alien beings.
At a brisk 70 minutes, The Lost Missile wastes little time in cutting to a chase that it never really departs from. The film’s primary mission is flashy entertainment with the best whiz-bang special effects that a dollar can buy with the change securing enough stock footage to make up nearly a quarter of the runtime. It’s far from remarkable cinema, but more than competent entertainment and a fitting capper to William Berke’s truncated career (he died from a heart attack while shooting and his son Lester ultimately finished the film).
Despite competing with a larger-than-life premise and endless cutaways, Robert Loggia proves every inch the winning character actor he would become, managing to carve a tragic and compelling character amidst all the early space-age mayhem. His supporting cast fills out their archetypes well enough and eagle-eyed viewers will have fun spotting cameos (Blink and you’ll miss Hawaii 5-O’s Kam Fong and Adventure of Superman’s Robert Shaybe).
The film’s biggest fault lies not so much in its dated and ramshackle trappings, but the script’s failure to explore and deepen themes only hinted at in the final film. One of Loring’s colleagues (Phillip Pine) is convinced there must be aliens on board the missile, but no serious attempt to make contact ultimately occurs and the film forgets the plot point almost as soon as it’s brought up. And you can forget about a denouement or any reckoning with the traumatic events that have just occurred (Ottawa doesn’t make out too well here). Once the threat is neutralised, its time to clear the theatre for the next show.
No one will mistake William Berke’s last film as (uncredited) director as great cinema. Hell, Tubi itself advertises it with the subtitle “An Original Schlock Classic”. But movies like these whose reach exceeds their grasp have their heart (and wallet) in the right place and are pitch-perfect for riffing with friends and picking up time-tested tips on how to save money on your next film. Given modern Hollywood’s vile spendthrift ways (in what universe does a Beetlejuice sequel need to cost $100m??), they could certainly use the advice.
6.5/10
The Lost Missile and other fine B-movie classics can be streamed for free on Tubi