''Star Pilot'' ( it, 2+5: Missione Hydra) is a 1966 Italian

science-fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestrial ...

directed by

Pietro Francisci Pietro Francisci (9 September 1906 – 1977) was an Italian film director, best remembered for the film ''Hercules'' (1958) which inspired the sword and sandal boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in Rome, his career took a distinct tur ...

. It stars Leonora Ruffo as Chaena

Plot

Chaena is the commander of a spaceship from the constellation

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

, which has crashed on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

. An Earth scientist, some technicians, their companions, and some Chinese agents are abducted by the aliens and forced to repair the ship. With the ship repaired, the aliens decide to take the humans to Hydra for the purpose of genetic research, but while in flight, the humans mutiny.

Cast

* Leonora Ruffo as Kaela * Mario Novelli (credited as Anthony Freeman) as Paolo Bardi *

Roland Lesaffre Roland Lesaffre (26 June 1927 – 3 February 2009) was a French film actor.Turk p.380 He appeared in many films directed by Marcel Carné. Selected filmography * ''La présidente'' (1938) * ''L'embuscade'' (1941) * '' La Marie du port'' (1950) - ...

as Prof. Solmi *

Kirk Morris Kirk Morris (born 26 August 1942) is an Italian bodybuilder and actor. He was the winner of "Mr.Italia Bodybuilding contest 1961” Born in Venice as Adriano Bellini, while at university Morris devoted himself to bodybuilding and thanks to his ph ...

as Belsy *

Alfio Caltabiano Alfio Caltabiano (1932–2007) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director.Curti p.25 Partial filmography * ''Il principe dalla maschera rossa'' (1955) * '' Messalina'' (1960) * ''La strada dei giganti'' (1960) * '' The Colossus of Rh ...

as Artie * Leontine Snell as Luisa Solmi * Nando Angelini as Morelli * Giovanni De Angelis as Giulio *

John Sun Gianni Solaro (born Gianni Lorenzon, 11 August 1926 – 12 August 2006) was an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Solaro was a character actor in the Italian film industry for about twenty years, between the late 19 ...

as Dr. Chang * Antonio Ho as Chinese Secret Agent * John Chen as Chinese Secret Agent *

Gordon Mitchell Gordon Mitchell (born Charles Allen Pendleton; July 29, 1923 – September 20, 2003) was an American actor and bodybuilder who made about 200 B movies. Biography Charles Allen Pendleton was born in Denver, Colorado, and began working out in h ...

as Murdu

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

found the movie poorly produced.

Production

Once in space, the film uses stock special-effects footage from

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

Studio's films '' Invasion of Astro-Monster'' and ''

Gorath is a 1962 Japanese epic science fiction disaster film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Based on an idea by Jojiro Okami, the film is about mankind's efforts to move Earth out of its orbit to prevent it from ...

'' to depict a pursuit of Chaena's ship and an ecological catastrophe on Earth. In the fall of 1977, to quickly capitalize on success of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'', the film was dubbed in English and released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

under a new title. The English dub included references to "Star Fleet", "Star Fleet Command", "Warp Speed", and "Impulse Drive", as used in the ''Star Trek'' television series.

Home release

The film was released as a double movie pack with ''

Battle Beyond the Sun ''Battle Beyond the Sun'' is the English-dubbed and re-edited U.S. version of ''Nebo Zovyot'', a 1959 Soviet science fiction film. Roger Corman acquired the Soviet film for US distribution and hired a young film-school student named Francis For ...

''. It was also released in 2000 on Blu-ray.

References

External links

* 1960s science fiction films 1966 films Films directed by Pietro Francisci 1960s Italian-language films Italian science fiction films Space adventure films Films shot in Sardinia Films scored by Nico Fidenco 1960s Italian films {{1960s-sf-film-stub