Mysteries of William Shatner

I recently found myself watching Mysteries of the Gods (1976) or, to give it its full promotional title: William Shatner's Mysteries of the Gods.  Yes indeed, this is presented as Shatner's personal exploration of the whole 'Ancient Astronauts' nonsense that was popular back in the seventies.  He gets lots of screen time, wandering around in front of radio telescopes and Saturn V rockets as he speaks to various cranks, sorry, 'experts' on the alleged phenomena.  The reality, though, is that these scenes were inserted into material from a West German pseudo-documentary derived from one of Erich von Daniken's dubious texts.  The German original was a follow up to a popular adaptation of his best known book, Chariots of the Gods? and shares that film's director, Harald Reinl, a veteran of West German westerns and Krimi films, (including a couple of entries in the sixties Dr Mabuse series).  For the English language adaptation featuring Shatner a co-director, Charles Romine, is credited.  (His only other directorial credit is for the 1968 porno film Behind Locked Doors - the trailer for which fascinates me).  Mysteries of the Gods is every bit as laughable as one might expect, rehashing the 'Ancient Astronauts' business without adding any actual evidence to back up the preposterous theory or bringing anything new to the table.  But it fascinates and entertains in the same way that 'Mondo' movies do - we know that they are fake, but they are enjoyably fake.  That said, whereas the genuine Italian 'Mondo' was usually stylishly directed and featured lush musical scores from the likes of Riz Ortolani, Reinl's direction of Mysteries of the Gods is more workman-like and features an electronic score typical of its era.

The main reason for watching Mysteries of the Gods, though, is William Shatner.  He strides around in his wide lapels and flared trousers, sporting a truly magnificent hair piece.  He is every inch 'seventies man' and, to be fair, he actually gives a very invested performance, giving the impression that this really is some kind of personal quest for truth.  His interviews with various people come over as earnest and sincere - he never seems condescending and nowhere does he give the impression that he thinks they are crackpots.  Which, seen from the perspective of 2022, simply indicates tat he is a far better actor than usually given credit for.  Because, if you have ever seen the TV series Weird or What?, that he fronted about ten years ago, or even the more recent The Unexplained,  (both of which he has production credits on and creative input into), you'd come away with the distinct impression that he is deeply sceptical about UFOs and the paranormal.  (Unless he is such a good actor that these represent the stellar performance, masking his true beliefs).  Indeed, he seemed to spend a large part of Weird or What? debunking most of the stuff that he had apparently endorsed in Mysteries of the Gods, (the crystal skulls, the supposed model of a glider from an Ancient Egyptian tomb, the 'ancient' rocks supposedly depicting humans co-existing with dinosaurs, to name but a few).  His innate sceoticism about the whole 'Ancient Astronauts' thing seems to be backed up by his comments about the Ancient Aliens TV series which he made a guest appearance on.  Perhaps he did Weird or What? as penance for Mysteries of the Gods. After all, he made the film during his 'wilderness years' between the cancellation of Star Trek and the first of the Star Trek movies.  A period when, by his own admission, he couldn't be choosy about what work he accepted.  

The bottom line here is that I actually have a lot of time for 'The Shat', built upon fond childhood memories of watching him as Captain Kirk when Star Trek was first screened in the UK.  I'm well aware that many have accused him of being a raving narcissist, (an allegation not exactly dispelled by his autobiographies about his days on Star Trek), but what the Hell - he's an actor, for God's sake, a profession where possession of an over-sized ego is prerequisite.  I've no idea whether the persona he nowadays projects in interviews or even in his presentation of stuff like Weird or What? is a result of his mellowing with age, or simply a performance, (I suspect a combination of the two), but I enjoy this genial, often self-effacing, version of a childhood hero.  Call it a willing suspension of disbelief, if you like.  So, I'll forgive him Mysteries of the Gods, (not to mention a whole shed load of seventies TV movies).