Absolutely the worst movie.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Let me say right off the bat that at least for me, there were two things working in this film's favour even before I started it (as 2 nifty percent of my infamous Mill Creek 50-pack, 'Nightmare Worlds'): a) I love the old-time serials, a part a week at the theatres, each with a cliffhanger ending; and b) I'm a fan of Buster Crabbe, from seeing him previously both as Tarzan and in a Flash Gordon serial. Directors Beebe and Goodkind were masters at the format, and this is no exception (although since it's from the 30's, and with B-movie budgetary restrictions at that, I readily dismiss all negative comments from people complaining that for the 1950's, it's really crappy filmmaking--it's NOT from the 50's, but simply edited then into a feature-length film the company could then sell, most probably to television stations).I enjoyed it, though I wish that instead of seeing this, I was watching the unedited, undiluted full serial that was originally made. I have read that the best and most exciting parts were edited out.

There's always a way to pull a buck out of the movie going public, and for those young boys who hadn't been around when the original Buck Rogers had come out, getting to see it probably on a Saturday afternoon was a thrill, especially if they went with their father who had seen each of the chapter plays as a kid. I have never seen the full serial and really don't have the time amongst my movie research to see all four hours of it, so this greatly edited version of it will do just fine. For a serial made more than 75 years ago, it holds up very well, with Buster Crabbe handsome and heroic as Buck. A survivor of a trapped dirigible, he wakes up from being frozen centuries later, he must catch up on modern (or futuristic) technology and shows he's got what it takes to remain a hero many moons later.I'd like to think that young people today could enjoy this for its imagination, but they have been greatly spoiled by the noisy sound effects and computer generated animation of today. Constance Moore is a fine female lead with Jackie Moran as Crabbe's equally heroic sidekick and Anthony Warde a wonderfully nefarious villain. A lot of the back story seems to be missing, as is Manu of the thrills of the original, but the choice bits have remained, making this simple and to the point.

Have watched many times and also the serial it came from... Love the old science fiction movies... Especially in black and white... Yet I wonder if any one has really watched this oldie... Every time I have seen it, one thing keeps bugging me about the character of Buck Rogers... Here on the IMDb site for "Planet Outlaws" the military rank of Buck is Colonel... Yet every single time I have seen this movie I distinctly hear Buck Rogers being referred to as Lieutenant ( excuse the spelling )... Not once in the movie have I ever heard Buck being referred to as Colonel Buck Rogers... Probably not the best review posted to this site but it is my first and thought I would put this to you all... I give it 5 out of 10... cheers

The old movies, and especially the old serials, had a naive charm of their own. Starting with the characters, there was no ambiguity here. Bad guys did bad deeds and only bad deeds. Good guys did good deeds and only good deeds. This characterization is very apparent in this movie. Killer Kane is all evil and Buck Rogers is the next thing to a saint.The futuristic sets and apparatus are a hoot. They would be laughed out of todays science fiction films. Compare with Stars Wars, big difference. The space ships eject sparks more appropriate to fireworks than a rocket engine. Saturn is a rocky planet, not a gas giant. The uniforms are ridiculous. Why bother with pressure suits and space helmets. Computers, what are they? The hero, of course, is indestructible, and so on.All of this elements, and a few more, make old movies the charmers that they are.