the audience applauded

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

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

"Prince of Space" is an Anglicised condensation of two Japanese tokusatu films ("Planet Prince" and "Planet Prince - The Terrifying Spaceship", both 1959) that were in turn feature length versions of a 1958 kid's television series. The film finds Earth being threatened by Dictator Phantom of the Planet Krankor, a beaked, gloating alien who never misses the opportunity for a sinister laugh, as he flies menacingly above our cities in his flagship (which also seems to be his only ship). Opposing him is the "Prince of Space", an apparently indestructible masked hero in a sub-compact flying saucer. Cheered on by the genre's ubiquitous kids, the Prince of Space retrieves stolen plans, battles Phantom's inept minions including a spongy looking giant with huge ears, and rescues a group of somewhat hapless Earth scientists. The special effects are limited to the two spaceships (Earth's ship never gets off the ground), Phantom's base on Krankor (and the eerie giant that defends it), and some limited pyrotechnics, all of which are pretty underwhelming. Silly fun if you're a fan of this sort of thing but neither as imaginative nor as entertaining as 1961's "Invasion from a Planet" (featuring 'Starman') or 1965's "Invaders from Space" (featuring 'Space Chief'), which have similar aetiologies. For viewers who can't take this kind of silliness straight-up, the film has been riffed on both 'MST3K' and 'Cinema Insomnia'.

Maniacal extraterrestrial villains from the rocky planet Krankor make it their mission to take over Earth. Led by a dude named The Phantom (Joji Oka), they're an utterly ridiculous bunch in their bargain basement costumes and their beak-noses. Fortunately for Earth - or at least, the people of Japan - there is a saviour. By day, he's sly shoeshine boy Waku-san (Tatsuo Umemiya). But every so often, he turns into his alter ego, the "Prince of Space". The bad guys are hopelessly outclassed since the Prince is fond of telling us, over and over, that he is impervious to their weapons.This was originally a two-part Japanese serial running approximately two hours. Trimmed down to 85 minutes for the North American release, it's so cheap and tacky that it generates a generous amount of guffaws. One can sense that the original Japanese version isn't very much better. This U.S. cut contains hilariously awful dialogue, delivered to cheesy perfection by a low rent cast. The Phantom in particular is a riot because, like many bad guys before and after him, he's quite merry. EVERYTHING is amusing to this dude. HA HA HA HA HA. Waku-san (referred to as WALLY in the U.S. cut!) is a very confident hero, never in any doubt that he can outsmart his foes. The sets and special effects, unsurprisingly, aren't the slickest that you'll ever see. The "giant monster" that appears to menace the Prince is a particularly ridiculous element.Although the movie ultimately wears a bit thin, it's funny often enough to earn its place among other Hall of Infamy turkeys.Six out of 10.

Black and White Japanese film from the late 50s.It's really strange.The aliens are Japanese with hook noses!Everyone talks like it's so normal for space aliens to land.Is it a good film? Not in the slightest. But if you're a bit you know, you'll probably find it a hoot.The plot A Group of space men from the planet Krankor who resemble chickens are led by their leader, Phantom to invade Earth. But a strange superhero named Prince of Space (actually a bootblack in disguise) arrives to defeat the spacemen. Although the weapons of the aliens cannot harm the Prince of Space, the Phantom continues to fight, and many plot twists (including capturing a group of elderly scientists) ensue. Watch out for the Giant!

A spaceship from the planet Krankor invades Earth with the intention of stealing a new rocket fuel formula. Fortunately for all of humankind, Prince of Space is on hand to thwart the aliens at every turn.I have never seen Prince of Space without the Mystery Science Theater 3000 commentary and, to be honest, I'm not sure I want to. Usually, when I write about a movie that appeared on MST3K, I focus on the movie – not the television show. I pride myself in being able to separate the movie from the silliness going on around it. I can't really do that with Prince of Space. It's the kind of movie that was just made to be lampooned by MST3K. Annoying Japanese kids, ridiculous looking aliens, an even more ridiculous looking hero, crazy weapons, cheesy dubbed dialogue, bad special effects – Prince of Space has it all in spades. The riffs hit their marks almost every time and have me laughing out loud more than once. Some of the quotes that leave me in stitches include: "Tokyo: a rare Godzilla-free day" "I am the lemon zester of destruction." "Crank whore?" "An exchange of deadly negative scratches!" Yeah, it's silly, but boy is it fun. While I rate the movie Prince of Space a 2/10, I'll give episode #816 a 5/5 on my MST3K rating scale. It's truly one of the best.