Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)

As has been pointed out by most reviewers on IMDb, this film has all the perceived elements of cold war-period American cinema. However, what also should be considered is the influence it has had on contemporary SF movies and TV.

Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor and, especially, Morris Ankrum are well-known B-movie actors: they appeared in everything from Westerns to SF, with lots of stops in between. Thus, this film (complete with all the other stalwarts of '50s and '60s "Bs" who appear therein) can be seen as a progenitor of later low-budget productions which rely on a cheap yet capable cast.

At the time it was released (1956), Ray Harryhausen was proving his expertise with stop-motion special effects, later to be given much larger budgets in '60s colour productions. "Gumby" and similar TV items owe much to this man, as does Aardman Productions and, possibly, Dreamworks.

It has already been indicated (by others) that "Mars Attacks" owes its saucers to this film. So, too, "ID4" has a debt, as does "Dr Who"! (Specifically the outfits worn by the aliens - that leaden 'dome' on top of their environment suits belongs to a famous adversary of the good doctor - check out a couple of Tom Baker serials!) Be that as it may, Fred F. Sears does an acceptable job as director; Curt Siodmak supplies a clever screenplay based on Don Keyhoe's book (Keyhoe also wrote 'non-fiction' accounts of UFOs); and some of the dialogue is definitely quotable! IMDb has some ripper examples.

Watch it and enjoy it. Strip some of our contemporary SF of CGI and they really do lack substance in comparison with this entertaining and funny movie. OK. You won't gasp and ooooh. If you have a love of '50s B-movies however, this one is a 'corker'!

Fmovies: Certainly, the renowned/redoubtable Ray Harryhausen's special effects are absolutely superb in this 1956 sci-fi film. As several of the previous posters have already pointed out, the late Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe (one-time director of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenonema, based in Washington, D.C.) served as technical adviser to this film. In fact, Maj. Keyhoe always maintained that alien (?) spacecraft HAD buzzed our nation's capital, during the summer of 1952. Veteran actors Hugh Marlowe, Morris Ankrum and Donald Curtis (who, I believe, portrayed "Prince Barron" in one of the final Flash Gordon serials) appear in the film. However, the wonderful and voluptuous Joan Taylor also appears as Carol Marvin (Hugh Marlowe's new bride in the film). Now, Ms. Taylor also appeared as the medical student granddaughter (?) of a scientist in another 1950s sci-fi flick, "20 Million Miles to Earth." And, I MUST say that Ms. Taylor looked terrific in those shorts of hers, as she and her granddad were conducting scientific research in sunny Sicily, when that U.S. space ship returned, rather abruptly, to Earth. (Seeing her perambulate through the verdant Sicilian countryside, I felt like singing Dean Martin's "That's Amore!") Yet, my favorite scene in "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers," was at the film's conclusion, when, Ms. Taylor and Mr. Marlowe are sitting on a beautiful beach as the sun is starting to set, and she says to Mr. Marlowe: "Do you think that the aliens will ever return to Earth?" To which, Mr. Marlowe (looking at his beautiful bride, attired in her extremely-flattering one-piece bathing suit) dreamily replies: "Not on such a beautiful day as this." And, hands held-together, they both happily and somewhat, "saucily" scamper into the water!

I always wondered how they managed to pick the name of the main character in this movie (Dr. Russell A. Marvin). That is my name, and it is very uncommon. When I saw the credits in the IMDB, I realized the answer. The inspiration for this movie was a book by Donald E. Keyhoe, who was consulted on this film. In 1956, Keyhoe started an organization called NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena). In 1956, I was a real flying saucer enthusiast, and was one of the very first people to join NICAP. I believe that they picked my name off of Keyhoe's membership list. I was 14 years old at the time. Anyway, it's a good flick with some great special effects (done the old fashioned way) by the legendary Ray Harryhausen.

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers fmovies. This is a great example of 1950's sci-fi movies and the flying saucer scare craze that was sweeping the nation and of course parallels the cold war threat and the resilience and ingenuity of American science and military might. Retired Major Donald E. Keyhoe was the author of a series of non-fiction books of the era outlining his belief in the reality of flying saucers and this film draws from his book Flying Saucers From Outer Space. Veteran monster movie writer Curt Siodmak adapted a story based on the book for this film and veteran monster movie screenwriter George Worthing Yates wrote the screenplay. Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen supervised the effects and Josh Westmoreland, a sound veteran of westerns and monster movies, provided the sound. B-movie director Fred F. Sears and B-movie cinematographer Fred Jackman Jr. put it all together on the screen. In what would be a foreboding of things to come on 9/11 American monuments are under attack and destroyed. Aliens from a dying planet come to earth to claim it as their own but earth fights back. Hugh Marlow and Joan Taylor star. It's campy but it's still a good flick and a good representative of it's era and genre and I would give it an 8.0 out of 10.

My sister took me to this movie in 1956 when I was 8. It shocked me. For two weeks I was afraid to go to sleep at night for fear of nightmares. Some years ago I bought a 16mm print and studied it. It has all the right elements for a nerdy kid with glasses: Beautiful Joan Taylor and serious Hugh Marlowe work well together. The lonely laboratory at night is a wonderful location, frightening when attacked. Dr. Russell A. Marvin removing the helmet from the alien is particularly creepy. We know so much more now about outer space, so to appreciate this you have to suspend disbelief and travel back in time when comic books were 10¢. Soon after seeing this movie I was bitten by the movie bug which resulted in a lifelong passion for films and animation, which I have to credit to the intense effect that Earth Vs the Flying Saucers had on my young mind. I still watch this film several times a year and never get tired of seeing it.

There are no dull frames in this remarkable saucer invasion film set directly in the center of the fifties. Harryhausen met the challenge of animating flying machines. Sure enough, they whiz, spin, even wobble when need be. Saucers even have a protruding ray-gun device. The action begins during the credits and never lets up. Admittedly, it's fifties. But it was impressive enough to heavily influence Tim Burton's Mars Attacks. You can't miss the references. Film is packed with clever and creative touches such as the tape recording including aliens speaking at a speed natural for them, but not for us on Earth. If you are not terribly put off by 50's, black and white, and (god forbid) stop motion, you can't go wrong with this quintessential sci-fi extravaganza.