Fire Maidens of Outer Space (1956) - Atomic Age Sci-Fi on Jupiter's Mysterious All-Female Moon

When scientists discover that Jupiter's thirteenth moon has an Earth-like atmosphere, a five-man expedition is sent to investigate. The crew consists of Luther Blair (Anthony Dexter), Captain Larson (Paul Carpenter), Dr. Higgins (Sydney Tafler), Sydney Stanhope (Harry Fowler), and Anderson (Rodney Diak). Armed with handguns and expecting a scientific mission, they land on the strange world and rescue Hestia (Susan Shaw) from a savage creature. Hestia leads the astronauts to New Atlantis, a dying civilization founded by survivors of ancient Atlantis after their continent sank beneath the sea. Only seventeen people remain: the elderly Prasus (Owen Berry), revered as their father, and thirteen Fire Maidens (listed herein below). With them is Duessa (Jacqueline Curtis), whose loyalty to Prasus makes her dangerous. Prasus welcomes the visitors and asks them to stay long enough to destroy the monster that prowls outside the city walls. The creature (Richard Walter) is a dark, bulletproof humanoid, described as a man with the head of a beast, and its attacks have helped push New Atlantis toward extinction. At first the astronauts believe Prasus is a ruler trying to save his people. Luther, however, learns from Hestia that the old man is really a tyrant who intends to keep the Earthmen captive so they can mate with the remaining women and repopulate the colony. As Luther and Hestia grow closer, they secretly plan an escape. Duessa overhears them and urges the other Fire Maidens to punish Hestia as a traitor. Hestia is bound for sacrifice, but before the ritual can be completed the monster breaks through the city's defenses and attacks. In the chaos, it kills both Prasus and Duessa, destroying the two people most determined to keep the astronauts trapped on the moon. The Earthmen finally defeat and kill the creature, ending the terror that's haunted New Atlantis. With Prasus dead and Hestia saved, the surviving women abandon the plan to imprison the visitors. They allow the astronauts to return to Earth, and Hestia chooses to go with Luther. Before leaving, the crew promises to send spaceships back with husbands for the remaining Fire Maidens. The expedition ends with the discovery of a lost Atlantean civilization, the death of its tyrant, and the hope that New Atlantis may still have a future among the stars. A 1956 British Black & White independent science fiction B-Movie written, produced & directed by Cy Roth, George Fowler associate producer, cinematography by Ian D. Struthers, starring Anthony Dexter, Susan Shaw, Paul Carpenter, Jacqueline Curtis, Harry Fowler, Sydney Tafler, Rodney Diak, Owen Berry, Bill Nagy, and Richard Walter as The Creature. Released by Topaz Film Co. A collaboration between Cy Roth Productions and Great Britain's Criterion Films. There were 13 additional "fire maidens": Maya Koumani, Norma Arnould, Sylvia Burrows, Ann Elsden, Marcella Georgius, Corinne Gray, Gloria Haig, Jan Holden, Eunice Jebbett, Sonia Martin, Kim Parker, Barbara Pinney, and Dinah Ann Rogers. One time heart-throb Anthony Dexter stars as Luther Blair. Anthony John Dexter (1913-2001), born Walter Reinhold Alfred Fleischmann, in Nebraska was an American actor known for his striking resemblance to silent film hero Rudolph Valentino, whom he portrayed in the biopic "Valentino" (1951). Dexter sometimes used the pseudonym Walter Craig. He was known for portraying many real-life characters such as Captain John Smith, Captain William Kidd, Billy the Kid and Christopher Columbus. He earned an athletic scholarship to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and later earned a Master of Arts from the University of Iowa. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army's Special Services in England earning the rank of Sergeant. After the war he performed on Broadway productions of "The Three Sisters", and "The Barretts of Wimpole Street." When preparing a film biography of Rudolph Valentino, producer Edward Small chose Dexter for the lead from over 75,000 applicants and 400 screen tests. His incredible likeness to Valentino led to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He also made three unsuccessful television pilots, two of them swashbucklers. After his movie career ended, Dexter, now known as Walter Craig, taught high school English, speech, and drama classes at Eagle Rock High School (circa 1968–1978) in the Los Angeles area. The music score features cues excerpted from the opera "Dances from Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin. A bottom-of-the barrel piece of British Science Fiction B-Movie extravaganza, decorated with diaphanously clad English damsels, which reflects the racial biases and Eurocentric clichés of the 1950s. Its story exceeds the bounds of credibility, but its tongue-in-the-cheek presentation disarms criticism. The film's one claim to fame is its extensive use of classical music (mostly Borodin) as background music. Hysterically awful entertaining fluff. Its very ineptness is endearing rather than fatal.