''Star Pilot'' ( it, 2+5: Missione Hydra) is a 1966 Italian

science-fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by

Pietro Francisci Pietro Francisci (9 September 1906 – 1977) was an Italian film director, best remembered for the film ''Hercules'' (1958) which inspired the sword and sandal boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in Rome, his career took a distinct tur ...

. It stars

Leonora Ruffo Leonora Ruffo (13 January 1935 – 25 May 2007) was an Italian film actress. Career Born in Rome as Bruna Bovi, the daughter of Angelo Bovi, basketball coach of Ginnastica Roma, Italian Championship pluri-winner, Ruffo failed to obtain the main ...

as Chaena

Plot

Chaena is the commander of a spaceship from the constellation Hydra, which has crashed on the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. An Earth scientist, some technicians, their companions, and some Chinese agents are abducted by the aliens and forced to repair the ship. With the ship repaired, the aliens decide to take the humans to Hydra for the purpose of genetic research, but while in flight, the humans mutiny.

Cast

as Kaela *

Mario Novelli Mario Novelli (26 February 1940 – 21 August 2016) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1962. He died on 21 August 2016. Filmography References External links * 1940 births Italian male film actors ...

(credited as Anthony Freeman) as Paolo Bardi * Roland Lesaffre as Prof. Solmi * Kirk Morris as Belsy *

Alfio Caltabiano Alfio Caltabiano (1932–2007) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director.Curti p.25 Partial filmography * ''Il principe dalla maschera rossa'' (1955) * ''Messalina'' (1960) * ''La strada dei giganti'' (1960) * ''The Colossus of Rho ...

as Artie * Leontine Snell as Luisa Solmi * Nando Angelini as Morelli * Giovanni De Angelis as Giulio * John Sun as Dr. Chang * Antonio Ho as Chinese Secret Agent * John Chen as Chinese Secret Agent *

Gordon Mitchell Gordon Mitchell (born Charles Allen Pendleton; July 29, 1923 – September 20, 2003) was an American actor and bodybuilder who made about 200 B movies. Biography Charles Allen Pendleton was born in Denver, Colorado, and began working out in ...

as Murdu

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

found the movie poorly produced.

Production

Once in space, the film uses stock special-effects footage from

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

Studio's films ''

Invasion of Astro-Monster is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration b ...

'' and ''

Gorath is a 1962 Japanese epic science fiction disaster film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Based on an idea by Jojiro Okami, the film is about mankind's efforts to move Earth out of its orbit to prevent it from ...

'' to depict a pursuit of Chaena's ship and an ecological catastrophe on Earth. In the fall of 1977, to quickly capitalize on success of '' Star Wars'', the film was dubbed in English and released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

under a new title. The English dub included references to "Star Fleet", "Star Fleet Command", "Warp Speed", and "Impulse Drive", as used in the ''Star Trek'' television series.

Home release

The film was released as a double movie pack with '' Battle Beyond the Sun''. It was also released in 2000 on Blu-ray.

References

External links

* 1960s science fiction films 1966 films Films directed by Pietro Francisci 1960s Italian-language films Italian science fiction films Space adventure films Films shot in Sardinia Films scored by Nico Fidenco 1960s Italian films {{1960s-sf-film-stub