Before the Kardashians (yes Virginia, there was such a time), there were the Gabor sisters, a trio of minimally talented*, much married Hungarian sisters with a flair for self-promotion. The most chutzpahtic of the three was undeniably Zsa Zsa, who brings her iconic Hungarian accent to the Planet of Love in "Queen of Outer Space". Briefly, a crew of Earth's astronauts are knocked off course by a mysterious beam and land on Venus, which is populated by lovely, leggy lassies ruled by the titular despot. The film is fun in a goofy, nostalgic way (remember 'lady driver' jokes?) with sufficient sexist comments to infuriate the most stoic SJW. Zsa Zsa (who allegedly was unimpressed with being surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women half her age), plays Talleah, part of a revolution against the masked queen who is planning to destroy the Earth. Special effects are a mixed bag: there are some great props borrowed from earlier, bigger-budget films and a cool 'flat screen TV', yet much time is spent running from a beeping spotlight and, as a spiritual antecedent to the 'Death Star', the 'beta disintegrator', is underwhelming. If your expectations are low, "Queen of Outer Space" is an enjoyable space-romp, with lots of pretty girls, a "Star Trek TOS" aesthetic, campy dialogue, and one of the least convincing giant spiders ever put on film. As an added bonus, you can snigger with your friends when the gorgeous Venusian says to the amorous astronaut "We don't really need any more wood". (*to be honest, I actually think Eva Gabor was great in "Green Acres").
Review of Queen of Outer Space
