Cold War Cinema: How ‘Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet’ Became a Unique Cultural Crossover
Written By: Ken Hulsey The film “Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet” may be the most interesting science fiction film to be produced in the 1960s’. Although the film in itself is very well done and features some excellent special effects shots, it’s the film's origin and two different Americanized versions that may be of most interest to fans of this genre. You see, the film was not an American product, but a film made in the former Soviet Union. Although scenes that starred Basil Rathbone and Faith Domergue, filmed by Roger Corman, were inserted into the film for American viewers, the film is still basically “Planeta Bur” (Planet of Storms – 1962) in most respects. In this version, almost all Soviet references were removed from both the film and its credits, although it was hard not to notice the Russian insignias on all the spacecraft. American International must have been very nervous about releasing a Soviet sci-fi film during the middle of the “Cold War.”