Hot-Rod Horror: Gloomy Picture Heads New Double Bill

Published: August 10, 1967

NEITHER "Hot Rods to Hell" nor "Wild, Wild Planet," the double bill that opened yesterday in neighborhood theaters, is as bad as their labels portend.

The first of these Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer color releases, heading the bill, is a harrowing account of the harassment of a nice, All-American family by some animalistic teen-agers, murderously careering around in flashy cars. This is a well-intentioned, but lumpy little picture. Two postwar favorites, Dana Andrews and Jeanne Crain, act professionally as the agonized parents. Laurie Mock also does well as their sensitive daughter, drawn to the meanest of the young hoodlums, convincingly played by Paul Bertoya.

But for all its earnest, warning weighing of values, the film is a gloomy, gruelling and plodding eyeful—and long.

Far more interesting is "Wild, Wild Planet," an Italian-made item that almost scoots under the wire, out of nowhere, as a science-fiction sleeper. Almost.

This one is about a master chemist whose robot stooges kidnap handpicked earthlings to create a race of perfect humans. In the cast headed by Tony Russell and Lisa Gastoni, only Massimo Serato's face is familiar, to the good of the picture.

For a change, the English dubbing is both snappy and literate. Add, further, beautiful color, rich electronic-spiced music and striking, labyrinthine décor. Even some obviously miniature props are snugly manipulated by the director, Anthony Dawson.

A little less initial confusion and "Wild, Wild Planet" would have made a neat landing.