2+5: Missione Hydra (1966)

Country of Origin: Italy
Year of Production: 1966
Running Times: 84 mins     89 mins
Format: Eastmancolor
Ratio:
Sound:

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Golden Motion Pictures / Sarda Cine Service
Producers: Aldo Calamara, Ermanno Curti
Production Managers: Silvano Scarpellini, Otello Cocchi
Unit Managers: Renato Mineci, Giulio Cesare Venuti

SCRIPT
Script: Pietro Francisci
Idea: Fernando Paolo Girolami
English Language Version Adaptation: Ian Danby

DIRECTION
Director: Pietro Francisci
Assistant Director: Pietro Nuccorini

PHOTOGRAPHY
Directors of Photography: Giulio Albonico, Silvano Ippoliti
Camera Operator: Enrico Sasso
Assistant Camera: Renato Poli, Sebastiano Celeste
Lab: Istituto Luce

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Pietro Francisci
Assistant Editor: Ornella Chistolini

MUSIC
Music: Nico Fidenco; Johann Sebastian Bach (from Toccata and Fuga in D minor)

SOUND
Sound Engineer: Renato Caducci
English Language Version Post-Synchronization Director: Ralph Zucker
English Language Version Sync Assistant: Uti Hof
Sound Studio: Doppiaggio Internazionale, Roma

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Euclide Santoli
Assistant Make Up: Cesare Paciotti
Hair: Anna Cristofani
Wigs: Maggi
Costume Designer: Gaia Romanini
Wardrobe Mistress: Pina Delli Carpini
Costumes: Ditta Peruzzi
Footwear: Pompei

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Gianfranco Ramacci
Set Decorator: Rosario Majo D'Aloisio
Set Decorations: Cimino-Rancati

MISCELLANEOUS
Continuity: Renata Clarici
Production Assistant: Italo Tallone

LOCATIONS
Studio: Cinecitta' Film Studios

CAST
Leonora Ruffo (Phena)
Anthony Freeman (real name: Mario Novelli) (Martin Baldi)
Roland Lesaffre (Professor Solmi)
Kirk Morris (Ben)
Alfio Caltabiano (Borelli)
Leontine (real name: Leontine May) (Luisa Solmi)
Nando Angelini
Giovanni De Angelis
Mirella Panfili
John Sun
Antonio Ho
John Chen
Gordon Mitchell (Murdu)

SUMMARY

Aliens from the constellation Hydra are stranded on Earth after their spaceship crashes on the island of Sardinia. They abduct a scientist and his daughter along with a mixed group of young technicians and Oriental spies and force them to help repair their damaged ship. They try to take the humans back to their planet but hadn't reckoned on a mutiny that will put all of them in terrible danger.

CAPSULE REVIEW

A cheap, campy SF romp which, almost in spite of itself, has a silly charm and which all but killed director Francisci's career stone dead. Clearly no-one at work on the film had any idea what they were doing and it all looks to have been made up as they went along. Still, it's hard not to warm to scenes of a spacewalk achieved with the hlp of an off-camera trampoline or the riotous battle with a race of tatty space apes. One for fans of no-budget, no-brain tat to treasure forever.

AVAILABILITY

UK
Video Distributor: Fletcher Video (V178)

USA
Theatrical Distributors: Monarch Releasing Corporation
Video Distributors: Sinister Cinema

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

USA
Rating: PG

TIMELINE

1966
September
16: Italy - passed by the ratings board

October
2: Italy - theatrical release

1967
June
22: West Germany - theatrical release

1974
January
23: France - theatrical release

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

2+5 Mission Hydra
Destination: planète Hydra - French title
Encuentros en las galaxias - Spanish title
Star Pilot - US title
Star Pilots - US reissue title

LINKS

INCLUDES FOOTAGE FROM
Kaiju daisenso (1965)
Yusei Gorasu (1962)

REFERENCES

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

aliens, caves, scientists, space travel, spaceships, underground

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009