Set the controls for the heart of the daughter

Three overdue quickies united in romantic pursuit by remote control:

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Night Fright

Objective grade: D
Camp value bonus: C-

Ludicrous extraterrestrial monster vs. John Agar (whom we remember fondly from Zontar) as upstanding sheriff. Eventually, the beast loses, thanks to a clever ruse involving explosives and a RealDoll. In the meantime, "teenagers" frolic, make out, get killed. You'll remember the absurd dance scenes, night vistas lit by headlights, and John Agar givin' those kids what for; you'll forget the rest. Which is fine, really.

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Robot Pilot (aka Emergency Landing)

Grade: C+

Hey, Goofus: what'll win the heart of that bratty rich bitch? Kidnapping, imprisonment, and a new invention that lets you manoeuvre aeroplanes by wire? Yes, that's right, and as a bonus, your pal gets some too. (Gallant's spending the night alone with the Sears catalog: sometimes the wrong thing is the right thing, or vice versa.) Basically a silly early '40s romantic comedy (the Mill Creek folks apparently didn't buy Webster's, nor the "H" volume of Encyclopedia Britannica), and your enjoyment of this is predicated on your enjoyment of that. But it ends on a high note, thanks to the best (ahem) "little person" cameo ever.

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Frozen Alive (aka Der Fall X701)

Grade: B+

Human cryogenics, in both senses, and so this film's focus on character development and relationship dynamics is a pleasant surprise. Of course plot takes over eventually, but that's true of Greek tragedies as well, right? And -- others may disagree on this -- we actually cared about what happened to these people and their interesting faces, which is a welcome change too. Still, there must have been something keeping this from scoring in the A range, unless it's just the memory of P.'s credulous friend who came back from American Beauty saying "Dude, I just saw the greatest movie ever": who wants to be that guy? (The Academy, apparen'ly.)

Persistent images: gun safety violations, expatriate academics who stonewall for a good cause, and an unexpected explosion of Africanisms that took us by surprise.