answer: yes there was in japan the movie was edited together out of the episodes.
It was released in the west dubbed in english.
The film has more in common with star wars than e.e. doc smith's lensman series though.
The best book being in my opinion Gray Lensman/ or grey lensman, and if you can afford the fifties fantasy press edition that is the best edition.
The film by the way is sort of an amalgamtion of galactic patrol and gray lensman.