Waste of time

Strong and Moving!

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

"The Bamboo Saucer" begins with an F-104 fighter jet being chased by a BADLY animated UFO. In the process, the plane crashes and the pilot is killed. Eventually, the eggheads realize that the UFO, oddly, has come from China. Hank Peters (Dan Duryea) leads a small team of agents into China to discover the craft and either destroy or capture it. Soon, however, they are shocked to come upon a group of Russians (complete, of course, with a hot lady) there to do the same and they work together.The film marks a milestone for Dan Duryea. While he was very prolific in films, he died soon after the movie was made...and he was only 61. And, even sadder is that this wonderful character actor chose to be in this dull movie. In addition, the UFO effects were horrible...even by 1968 standards. Compare, for instance, the crappy look of the film to "2001" which came out the following year. While I am not a fan of "2001", it was technically gorgeous and a huge step ahead in special effects. Overall, a film that is very skippable with little to offer for most viewers.

I love older sci-fi movies but in my 67 years I had never heard of this one. I have never seen it on TV and have never seen it in any lists of sci-fi movies. As this movie is fairly well done-the color for example is very good and the acting is good and the story is interesting-I wonder why it is so little known? P.S. I now know why-having now finished watching the entire movie, I know why it is mostly ignored-it is way too talky and utterly unexciting. As well, the outdoor scenes were so obviously not taken in China.

A party of Americans secretly enter Red China in search of a downed flying saucer. The group includes Fred Norwood who is a pilot previously buzzed by a similar saucer. On the way they meet a group of Soviet Russians who are doing the same. The two groups join together to locate the saucer. They find it in an abandoned church and study it. Meanwhile Chinese soldiers are mobilised to find them. Written and directed by Frank Telford this is slow moving until the last half hour when it livens up considerably. In between there is a dull love story between Fred Norwood and the attractive (of course) Russian scientist Anna Karachev. Of the actors Dan Duryea (in his last film) as the grizzled leader Hank Peters and Lois Nettleton as Anna come off best. Good support is given though by Bernard Fox, James Hong and Robert Hastings. A fair adventure story with science fiction trappings done on a low budget.

The budget for this movie was never going to allow it to get beyond the B level, barely at that. The cast and crew seems to have decided that despite the limitations, they were going to make an honest effort in a bad situation. They succeed in creating a movie that manages to be worth watching as a curiosity. Notable successes are some decent scientific references, the authentic Russian language, proper weapons for the Russians and Chinese and acting that is better than expected. There were some good people at work here. Inevitably, some contemporary clichés slip in (e.g. seemingly canned feminine screams, California scenery you have seen many times before) that date the film in a way that pulls it back into its B level pedigree. If you are a genuine movie buff, you'll probably like this but it is limited.