Welcome to Public Domain Theater, your home for the wonderful world of films that have (in the United States, at least) fallen into the public domain, and are free for everyone to see!

We have a real treat for you this time … for a given definition of “treat”. It’s Plan 9 from Outer Space, a film oft proclaimed to be The Worst Movie Ever Made. But the very best kind of worst.

It’s an attempt at a 50’s sci-fi monster movie, with flying saucers, a message about nuclear war, and old horror movie tropes dressed up in Atom Age aesthetics. And today it’s remembered for being the pinnacle of So Bad It’s Good cinema. With its hammy acting, absurd plotting, bizarre dialogue, futile attempts to disguise its lack of budget, and the obvious bloopers that made it through editing, Plan 9 is a treasure trove of filmmaking so charmingly incompetent, you can’t help but laugh.

To keep with the 50’s sci-fi angle, we’re pairing up Plan 9, not with the usual opening cartoon, but with the film serial Radar Men from the Moon. Twelve chapters of fistfights and cliffhangers, featuring a he-man scientist battling gangsters and space invaders with the aid of a rocket ship and jet pack (and a goofy looking flying outfit that would later inspire The Rocketeer). It doesn’t have the same tripping-over-its-own-feet fascination as Plan 9 from Outer Space, but with its fast pace and decently done action scenes, it makes for a fine bit of pulpy fun.

So come with me back to world of old-school sci-fi cinema, take your protein pills, put your spacesuit on, and enjoy these offerings from the public domain!

Film Serial:

Feature Presentation: