You've got to love the Italians.  A firey, colorful people, this often shows up in their science-fiction, giving us some of the wildest, most vibrant images, gorgeous women, and wide, extravagant scenes of lush comic-book style.

     To start this one off, a rogue planet is detected entering the solar system.

     Claude Rains plays Professor Benson, the only man able to (sometimes incredibly) predict the behavior and nature of the rogue planet (with his power of CALCULUS!), which he dubs the Outsider.

     Just as Professor Benson predicts, the Outsider moves to within 95,000 miles of the Earth....and then goes into orbit, which he did not predict.   The authorities want to explore the planet, ignoring his pleas to destroy it.

     He says that since the Outsider did not respond as predicted, it must have been a result of a deliberate change from the Outsider itself.

     He recalculates, coming to the conclusion that the Outsider is inhabited, and that it will tighten its orbit around Earth as a prelude to invasion.

     The authorities dispatch a mission to the Outsider, but it s intercepted by a squadron of flying saucers that fire fearsome volleys of animation at them.  They manage to knock one of the saucers off course, sending it tumbling down to Earth.

     The crashed saucer is found to be empty, save for one central device that Professor Benson demands be brought to him immediately.

     From this Benson is able to make the Magical Device to affect the alien control of their saucers.  Space battle begins...with lots of animation!

     Earth wants to destroy the Outsider.  Benson insists that they can't do that until they uncover its secrets and land on the Outsider, which leads to the final conclusion.....

*   *   *   *   *

     BATTLE OF THE WORLDS is an over-the-top romp of fun schlock scifi. Full force adventure, wild alien landscapes, fun (though not great) special effects.

     There are some romantic interludes between two of the supporting characters, but they won't even stick in your brain--none of the supporting cast will. Rains owns the show here, and plays his role with relish, so much so that it is impossible to tell which side of the line between brilliance and insanity he is treading at any given moment.

     And who thought that calculus could give you such insight into alien minds and the ability to predict the future?  Heck, if they'd just told us that, I might have paid more attention to math in school!

     Lots of classic Von Braun/Ley -style rocketships, complete with flaming rockets.  Flying saucers, lurid alien landscapes and bizarre vistas.  Plus an over-the-top performance by Claude Rains at his wackiest since The Invisible Man.  What's not to love? 

2½ rocketships (out of five) 

PLUSES: Great European visuals, and a sheer over-the-top romp.

MINUSES: Hey, like I said, it's over the top.