The Lost Missile

The Lost Missile (1958) is the last film directed by William Berke. The music is by Gerald Fried, who wrote music for Star Trek. It begins with the ubiquitous voice-over narration that sets it all up. The mysterious rocket -nervous countries world-wide can't determine the origin- leaves destruction in its wake. Standard methods to bring it down fail. There's one couple who has to postpone their wedding because of the crisis and a husband who can't leave work to take his pregnant wife to the hospital to give birth. The personal relationships don't distract from the tension of the threat plot, which doesn't tend to drag. There's an interesting series of civilian reaction scenes, a man advising his wife to stay home, a woman giving directions to her son, civil defense activation, school evacuations, stress in the shelters, people waiting and wondering if they'll die... One of the couples shown is black.

This film ends abruptly.

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This movie doesn't have a wikipedia entry, and reviews are scarce. Classic Sci-Fi Movies has a review that says it "has a passable, if not original, plot. It has some eclectic acting but minimal special effects" and "Watch LM to see what The Giant Claw could have been."

6/11/2009: WTF-Film.com has a review, saying: "it remains reasonably entertaining - a blessedly brief running time and a few unexpected moments of comedy..."