FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE

The "fire maidens" try to dance 

FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE (1956). Written and directed by Cy Roth. 

A British-American team of astronauts head for the 13th moon of Jupiter, which they feel has an atmosphere similar to Earth's and may even hold  human life. It sure does! An old man and a bevy of beauties occupy a domicile inside an enclosure, outside of which a tall, hideous monster lurks trying to get in. Luther Blair (Anthony Dexter), who heads the expedition, and Captain Larson (Paul Carpenter) manage to meet up with the elderly Prasus (Owen Berry), who claims all of the young ladies are his daughters and that they somehow managed to make it all the way from the lost continent of Atlantis on Earth to the 13th moon of Jupiter! There is no talk of spaceships, the ladies' mothers, exactly what happened to Atlantis, who or what the dark humanoid creature roaming outside may be, or much of anything aside from the fact that Prasus wants "New Atlantis" to be repopulated. 

the crew prepare to land

Fire Maidens of Outer Space operates on the level of a child's comic book from years ago with its severe lapses in both continuity and logic. Oddly, it also has the quality of a fairy tale, and the monster is fairly creepy in long shot. Harry Fowler and Sidney Tafler are the other members of the crew -- who register absolutely no surprise or even much interest when they hear a man's voice calling them from Jupiter's moon (!) -- and the friendly daughter, Hestia, is played by Susan Shaw, while her bitchy older sister, Duessa, is played by Jacqueline Curtis. Shaw had quite a few credits but Curtis not too many. Richard Walter was given the thankless role of "the creature." 

the creepy creature

The "fire maidens" in the movie are given to dancing ballet -- or what passes for ballet in movies like this -- at the drop of a hat. Generally they dance to music from Borodin's "Prince Igor," popularized as "Stranger in Paradise" in Kismet. No one on Broadway or in the world of real ballet had anything to fear from these gals. Aside from this film and one TV episode, Cy Roth only directed two poorly-received war films. With some time and effort, a bigger budget, and a little actual thought, the picture might have amounted to something -- although I'm not certain what. Still, it's honestly not utterly awful. Anthony Dexter made a very good Valentino in that biopic of the silent film star. 

Verdict: Don't say you weren't warned. **1/4.