1960's "Battle of the Worlds" (Il Planeta Degli Uomini or The Planet of Extinct Men) marks only the second science fiction entry from Italian director Antonio Margheriti (under his usual pseudonym Anthony Dawson), perhaps his best given that "Assignment: Outer Space" did not fare well internationally, plus the towering screen presence of an aging Claude Rains in the central role of Professor Benson, very similar to his just completed Professor Challenger in Irwin Allen's "The Lost World." A rogue planet dubbed 'The Outsider' has entered our galaxy and is believed to be on a collision course to destroy the earth, the scientific community casually brushing off Benson's assertion that it will merely pass by without incident. The old man soon learns that 'The Outsider' has slipped into orbit around our planet. Causing a wave of destruction and suicides to force an exploratory ship to examine it more closely. A small force of saucers are dispatched to obliterate the ship, so Benson himself is finally allowed to take charge in the battle, reasoning that 'The Outsider' is something of a 'Noah's Ark,' a relic from a dead world that can be reprogrammed to go back where it came from. The climax offers a race against time, Benson's crew desperate to return to their vessel and take off before nuclear warheads target 'The Outsider' in a blaze of glory. Top screenwriting workhorse Ennio de Concini was coming off Mario Bava's "Black Sunday," and continued working in all genres throughout a prolific career, the 70 year old Rains giving this one a stronger edge with an over the top performance that commands the screen, cantankerous yet lovable, an outsider himself who would prefer to die knowing the truth than live without knowledge. Rarely seen outside the confines of his greenhouse, scribbling calculations on flower pots, Rains easily dominates a cast of barely outlined characters, one couple ready to wed who suddenly end their relationship, another happily married and working in tandem from Earth to Mars. Margheriti's 1965 "Planet on the Prowl" would feature the same type of underground world for its finale, what appears to be a living, breathing organism with brain cells and arteries that bleed crimson. Rather than waste the talents of a fine actor, this low budget vehicle actually gives him something tangible to sink his teeth into, delivering in spades for a film that never receives much love, mostly relegated to horrid, washed out prints.
