Venus: History of a Film Heroine

This may or may not be the proper forum but due to its extreme fictionality (is that even a word?) I think it fits under the Alien Space Bats category and it's mostly just for fun.

Here is something I have been working on and off again: a pretend film series starring an alien superheroine in the mold of El Santo or James Bond. The series spans decades and a number of genre switches: sci-fi/spy-fi, horror, kung-fu, blaxploitation, Direct-to-Video schlock and modern reboot. It will feature many fake actors and actresses to fill-out the principal cast and crew (or would that be too different for a timeline?)

This is the prospective list of films in the series. I hope this will be a fun read for everyone.

American produced Venus movies:

Invader from Venus! (Venus/The Strange Woman/Woman from Venus/The Witch of Venus/Venus: Witch of Space) (1957). Miranda Quayle. The first of the “Venus” or “Invader” films; Venus faces off against gangsters using a force-field device and a wolf-man.
The Invader Returns! (Witch of Venus/The Alien Woman/Space Witch) (1958). Miranda Quayle. Venus returns and must stop another, evil, Venusian from taking over the world with a mind control device.
The Last Invader! (Daughter of Venus/Space Witch/Devil Woman of Venus/Queen of Venus) (1960). Susan Iverson. Venus faces her greatest challenge, the deadly Martian warlord Ares.
The Girl from Venus (Huntress of Venus/Revenge of the Invader) (1963). Lydia Lane. Venus works with the CIA to stop a Chinese plot to assassinate the Queen of England.
Spy from Venus (1966). Lydia Lane. It's a race against time to find a stolen super-weapon before it's too late.
Queen of Venus (1968). Lydia Lane. A woman's dreams of world conquest are thwarted by the lovely Venusian.
Venus on the Moon (1970). Lydia Lane. Venus goes to the moon to stop a nuclear weapon from destroying the Earth.
Agent from Venus (1973). Jenny Qi. Venus takes on an ancient secret society of Asian sorcerers, kung-fu ensues.
The Sister from Venus/Sister Venus (1974). Pauline Curtis. Venus versus a deadly virus released on a train. Last American produced Venus film before 1985.
Venus Reborn/Venus (1985). Lydia Lane. Venus returns to do battle against an evil Russian cyborg. This is the last film where Lydia Lane played Venus.
Venus versus Saturn (1986). Carol Williams. Venus travels into space to save the world from the Brain-Lords of Saturn. Last American made Venus film before 2004.

Modern Trilogy
Venus (2004). Zenia Crux. A modern remake of the first Venus film which uses modern special effects and elements from the original "Invader" trilogy for a modern audience.
Venus 2: Red Death (2006). Zenia Crux. A force of mutant men from Venus invade Earth and only our heroine can stop them.
Venus 3: The Black Star (2009). Zenia Crux. An ancient gem gives an archaeologist superhuman abilities and only Venus can stop him.

In 1971 Rob Carter leased the character to Italian film company FantaCine. Their agreement ended in 1980 over royalty reimbursement issues.

Foreign produced Venus movies:
Blood of Venus/Venus versus the Vampire Queen (1971). Maria Merchesi. First foreign made Venus film, made in Italy. Venus fights a cult that is kidnapping young girls to feed their evil, vampire queen, Morgana.
Venus and the Wolf (1972). Maria Marchesi. Venus investigates an ancient blood curse that turns all the men in the family into werewolves. A Spanish/Italian co-production.
Venus the Witch (1973). Maria Marchesi. Venus must make psychic war against an evil warlock. Made in Italy.
Venus the Warrior (1973). Gianna. Venus is taken captive and pitted against other alien women in a horrible arena. Made in Brazil.
Venus in Chains (1974). Gianna. Venus must escape from a sadistic warden in the jungles of Singapore. Made in Spain.
Venus in the Dark (1975). Maria Marchesi. Venus must solve a murder mystery whose killer might come from beyond the grave. Made in Italy.
The Terror of Venus (1976). Lydia Lane. Venus takes on a drug trafficker who is building a terrible cult of personality. Made in Italy.
Blood of Venus (1978). Inga Ulofson. Venus must fight a psychic battle against an evil scientist. Made in Germany.
 
Invader era

Venus the Invader
Miranda Quayle, Susan Iverson

In the first films of the Venus series, Venus (Miranda Quayle) is portrayed as being much more villainous than she would later be played. Her sub-textual lesbianism, arch attitude towards men and coldness gives her a sinister air that has never quite been matched by later actresses. Because of her alieness and position as outsider she “dies” at the end of each film only to return in the next, with a plot of her own that is often thwarted by the actions of the villain who she then battles.

Miranda Quayle is still seen as being THE Venus, after Lydia Lane, her version of the character being seen as the standard by which all later actress were judged by. Her striking looks and athletic build set her apart from many actresses of her day. In later interviews, Miranda is quoted as saying "Without this role I wouldn't be here today. Neither would I have ever really felt comfortable with who I am without first processing what I was feeling at the time with Venus."

Writer and director, Rob Carter, made the first Venus film, titled “The Invader from Venus!”, for a little under $1000 and in less than a month. It proved to be a smash hit on the b-movie circuit and earned his producer, National Planet Pictures (NPP), over ten times the amount it took to make it. A sequel was quickly put into production and the following year “The Invader Returns!” premiered to a lukewarm reception. Convincing the producers to give him another chance with the next film starring the character, and more creative control, Carter made “The Last Invader!”. It proved to be a minor failure and Carter turned to writing and directing cooking shows on television.

But this was not the end of Venus, or Rob Carter's involvement with the franchise.

In these early films (Invader from Venus, the Invader Returns, and the Last Invader) the mythology of the character is left very vague and it's usually up to the viewer to figure out what her background is. This much is known at this time: Venus, the planet, was subject to an immense bombardment of radioactive meteorites that destroyed its ecosystem and mutated the inhabitants. For centuries terrible wars raged until there emerged two new societies, two new species upon the planet: the ever freakish Anti-Men and the psychic shapeshifting Meta-Women. But their world was still dying and in one final, desperate effort the High Council of Venus placed all their scientific and paranormal knowledge into one subject, our Venus. She was sent in a flying saucer to Earth, her mission was to overcome the governments of Earth and ready the planet for colonization. Later this was changed to her being an ambassador to Earth's governments to get them to agree to let the Metas to relocate to Earth.

However Venus became involved with the inhabitants of Earth, namely a brilliant scientist, his beautiful daughter and the gangsters that were perverting his research to their own ends. In the ensuing conflict Venus apparently died in a terrible explosion while locked in mortal combat with the mutated fiancé of the scientist's daughter. It is later revealed (in The Invader Returns!) that Venus did not die but managed to escape the explosion. In the mean time she had been working on a “atomic particle projector”, or ray gun, with which to help aid her against aggressors. Her experiences since the fateful night she nearly died she came to better understand humanity and amended her original plans for conquering Earth; she came to believe in freedom and so her slide from demi-villainess to heroine began.

In The Last Invader, Venus is set against a warlord from Mars named Ares and his army (or rather his five generals). She defeats the would be monarch of mayhem and pledges herself to protecting Earth from any and all invaders. An interesting change to the character is that she begins to show a much softer and “feminine” personality in this film that will follow her in subsequent entries.
 
Spy era

Venus the Spy
Lydia Lane, Jenny Qi, Pauline Curtis

The big splash of “Dr. No” propagated a new wave of cheap, disposable entertainment to thrill movie-goers. Planet Pictures (formerly National Planet Pictures) saw big bucks in making their own franchise of super-spy films but they didn't necessarily wanted to make a complete knock-off. There have been about a dozen stories about who it was exactly that suggested turning the heroine from Venus into a spy. Rob Carter claims they called him to get some feedback on the idea; head of distribution for Planet Pictures (and Carter's old boss) Jermaine Hoss claims credit for the idea; house scriptwriter/actor Hank Bucklin said that he was having lunch with the P.P. head of advertising and that he suggested the idea.
In any case it was a fateful and successful decision.

The film was a break-out success, thanks to charismatic lead Lydia Lane and a thrifty yet resourceful production. In these films, Venus's alien nature has been toned down to the point where the only elements of her inhuman nature is a vague “prescience” and the ability to read minds. She has become a member of the NSIA, a CIA analogue that is tasked with dealing with foreign threats, and she now has training in judo and other super-spy skills. These abilities would serve her well for four films. Accompanying her is Agent X10, Max Renard, a rough and tumble spy with a mean right hook (fans have made more than a few jokes at the expense of Agent X10 due to his less than stellar interpersonal skills).

The last film starring Lydia Lane, Venus on the Moon, proved to be a costly project for Planet Pictures who decided to retool the series to film-goers newly acquired taste for kung-fu and “blaxploitation” flicks. Lydia Lane was not to be a part of this new direction and moved on to other projects (her most well-known work being a decade long stint as host of the game show “Priceless Treasures”). For three years the next film languished before finally beginning production in February 1973 and being released in August of that same year.

Agent from Venus starred Hong Kong starlet Jenny Qi as the lovely Cytherean Crusader. The production was troubled due to Miss Qi's behavior on set and insurance problems due to some of the more dangerous stunts that were being performed (a botched boat chase ended with the Jenny's stunt double with a several broken bones and severe internal injuries). The film's release date had to be pushed back twice because of production issues before being released to a lukewarm reception. Problems with the film included Jenny's scenery chewing antics, such as the (in)famous noodle scene, and the underwhelming martial arts choreography displayed. Jenny Qi was not to return to as Venus ever again. The next film, Sister Venus, was another genre shift, this time to “blaxploitation”, and starring Pauline Curtis. The film, while considered something of a return to form, did poorly at the box-office and it seemed then that Venus was to end right there.

But there was a great deal going on behind the scenes that would ensure that this was not to be the last adventure of Venus.
 
Witch era

Venus the Witch
Maria Marchesi, Gianna, Inga Ulafson, Lydia Lane

The Girl from Venus (or Sister Venus as of the Ultimate Edition DVD set) was the last film produced and released in the US, but it was not the last of “classic” Venus films to be made. During the long run-up to the release of Agent of Venus, starring Jenny Qi, Venus creator Rob Carter became involved again with the character in 1971. He sued Planet Pictures, saying that his contract to make The Last Invader, the last Venus film he made, had given him the rights to the character. In the ensuing legal battle the courts ruled that he did have the right to license his work to Planet Pictures but not have any claims to reimbursement from them. After this all Venus films were required to give Rob Carter credit for making the character.

This small victory in hand Rob Carter then licensed the Venus to FantaCine, an Italian film company that specialized in genre films, especially horror.
This series of films turned Venus into a much more mysterious figure. She no longer claimed to be from another planet but instead said she came from “the Realm of Women”. In these films her psychic abilities were greatly emphasized making her into something of a modern day witch.

She posed as a psychiatrist and paranormal researcher, using her old stand-by alias of Lucy Ferris, to investigate strange events. In these films Venus was played by the darkly beautiful Italian-born actress Maria Marchesi.

The films produced by FantaCine couldn't be more different from the drive-in horror and super-spy flicks made by Planet Pictures. They were dark, moody, and often beautifully violent. Venus faced horrific werewolves, sadistic mad scientists, depraved authoritarians and flesh hungry ghouls.

Venus was shown as being an extremely sexual creature, seducing men and women who would become her allies or sometimes her enemies. The effects in the series were notably surreal, featuring strange landscapes and bizarre scenes; Venus's psychic powers were portrayed by strange electronic sounds and colorful animated figures of herself.

Little did Rob Carter know but FantaCine was also leasing Venus out to other companies in other countries. FantaCine first leased Venus to Brazilian film company, Quality Films, in 1973. While they were filmed on virtually opposite sides of the planet, one in Brazil, the other in Singapore, they had virtually the same plot: Venus, played by sultry singer-turned-actress Gianna, is captured by an evil warden or games-master and must escape through a jungle setting. FantaCine also let West German film company, Witchfire Films, to make their own Venus film, starring Inga Ulafson. In 1976 Rob Carter got a chance to get back in the directing chair on the film The Terror of Venus, starring Lydia Lane. It was to be one of the least successful of the FantaCine films as it was an awkward blend of Lane era super-spy antics and the more violent and surreal aesthetics of the FantaCine films.

When Rob Carter learned of FantaCine's double dealing he ended their relationship and refused to lease the character for almost four years. It was up-and-coming film company, Fusillade, that would bring Venus back to the big screen.

This proved to be a disastrous decision on Carter's part.
 
Space era

Venus the Queen of Space
Lydia Lane, Carol Williams

In December of 1984 Rob Carter was approached by Fusillade director Richard “Dick” Cobb. Cobb wanted to make a new Venus film with a script written by Carter and starring Lydia Lane. Rob Carter finished the script in a week and filming began less than two and a half days after that.

Rob Carter would come to regret agreeing to Cobb so quickly.

Cobb made changes to the script daily to suit his needs which also changed frequently. One member of the cast became fed up with Cobb's mercurial directing style and quit the production a quarter of the way through. This was problematic as he was one of the stars and was playing the film's villain, Sergei Marakov. When the actor, Dan Blanc, left his stunt double, Lloyd Bergen, stepped in and Dan's scenes were refilmed with Lloyd in his place, some times very obviously.

Lydia Lane remembers that one day they were filming a scene when Cobb stopped it in the middle of shooting and completely changed it. Then as they were filming that version of the scene he again changed it until finally they came full circle and they filmed the scene the way it was originally planned.

Cobb's producers were troubled by the dailies they were being shown and the reports from the crew of Cobb's instability. It was soon revealed that Cobb was abusing prescription medication on set and was using a portion of the film's budget to feed his addiction. Cobb was fired and replaced with another Fusillade director, Kevin Jason.

Kevin Jason was tasked with finishing the film as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Which he did with aplomb. He would only do one take for every scene, he auctioned off props and pieces of the set to other Fusillade productions and laid off three members of the cast. The film finally, and very briefly, arrived to theaters with a resounding flop and was quickly shuffled off to home video.

Due to their poor experiences with Fusillade neither Lydia Lane nor Rob Carter would return for the next film, Venus versus Saturn. Venus versus Saturn would see Kevin Jason back in the director's chair and with Carol Williams taking over for Lydia Lane.

In Venus (Reborn), Venus is almost incidental to the plot as two others, Agents Y and X, take on the machinations of Sergei Markov the diabolical Soviet cyborg. It is only in the film's climax that Sergei and Venus come into conflict. It is a spectacle of shoddy special effects and bad acting on poor Lloyd Bergen's part as Venus uses her telekinetic powers to beat the Russian to death with a chair. In Venus versus Saturn, Carol Williams, and her co-stars Sandra Keir and Keri Quartermain, use their striking assets to pad out the running time of the film. The plot, such as it is, is about an evil group of disembodied brains from Saturn attempting to take over the Earth using their mind controlled minions.

Venus versus Saturn is perhaps the most reviled movie in the whole series. Fans were drearily disappointed that the final film adventure of Venus ended on such a terrible note. In the nineties there were rumors of a revival that never came to fruition.

Not until the new millennium would Venus return to the big screen and in a big way.
 
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