| Earth vs. the Flying Saucers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | Earth vs. the Flying Saucers |
| Director: | Fred F. Sears |
| Writers: | Raymond T. Marcus; George Worthing Yates; Curt Siodmak |
| Producers: | Sam Katzman; Charles H. Schneer |
| Composer: | Mischa Bakaleinikoff |
| Cinematography: | Fred Jackman, Jr. |
| Editors: | Danny D. Landres |
| Production | |
| Distributed by: | Clover Productions; Columbia Pictures |
| Released: | July, 1956 |
| Rating: | Unrated |
| Running time: | 83 min. |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | — |
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is an American science fiction film directed by Fred F. Sears. It was produced by Clover Productions and Columbia Pictures and released theatrically in the United States in July of 1956. The film is alternatively known as Invasion of the Flying Saucers.
Plot[]
Scientist Russell Marvin and his new bride Carol are driving to work when a flying saucer appears overhead then zooms away. Without proof of the encounter other than a tape recording of the ship's sound, Dr. Marvin is hesitant to notify his bosses. He is in charge of Project Skyhook, an American space program that has already launched 10 research satellites into orbit. General Hanley, Carol's father, returns from an investigation and informs Marvin that many of the satellites have crashed. Marvin admits that he has lost contact with all of them and privately suspects alien involvement. The Marvins themselves witness the eleventh falling from the sky.
When a saucer lands at the lab the next day, the security guards weapons have no effect on the saucer's force field. The aliens kill everyone but the Marvins, who are trapped underground. The generalis kidnapped and taken away in the saucer. Russell records a broadcast from the aliens and plays it on a tape recorder, which just happened to be running low on its batteries. The message is slowed down enough that ther aliens' message can be understood: they wanted to meet with Dr. Marvin. Once rescued from the sub-basement, Marvin plays the message for his superiors, but they have to wait for authorization.
Impatient, Marvin contacts the aliens and steals away to meet them, but Carol and Major Huglin follow him. They and a motorcycle cop are taken aboard a spaceship resting on Malibu Beach. They discover that the aliens have extracted knowledge from Gen. Hanley's brain, and now have him under their control, although they reassure Carol that they can restore him. They also claim to be the last of their species and that they shot down the satellites because they thought they were weapons. As proof of their power, the aliens give Marvin the coordinates of where they sank a destroyer that had fired on them. the humans are released with the message that the aliens want to meet the world's leaders in 56 days in Washington, D.C. to negotiate an occupation.
The flying saucers are invulnerable to conventional weapons, but from his observations Marvin develops an ultra-sonic weapon, which is later upgraded to an effective anti-magnetic weapon. He feverishly starts building a prototype, and just as he finishes, a saucer arrives. Marvin tests his weapon and the saucer is disabled enough to send it wobbling away. As they leave, the aliens jettison Gen. Hanley and another captive, who fall to their deaths.
Groups of alien ships then show up in the skies over Washington, Paris, London, and Moscow, and begin destroying everything. But there are enough of Dr. Marvins' new truck-mounted weapons deployed in Washington, D.C. to slowly shoot them down. One saucer clips and topples the Washington Monument, while another crashes into the Capitol Building and a third into Union Station. The defenders also discover that the aliens are vulnerable to small arms fire once they leave the immediate force fields of their saucers. [1]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The tagline for this film is "The terrifying truth about flying saucers!"
- In 1953, a retired Major of the United States Marine Corps named Donald E. Keyhoe wrote a non-fiction book entitled Flying Saucers from Outer Space, which chronicled his beliefs concerning unexplained aerial phenomena. The book inspired the creation of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers was filmed in several locations in Los Angeles, California. Scenes were shot at the Hyperion Water Treatment Facility at 12000 Vista Del Mar in Playa del Rey. Other scenes were filmed at the Royce Hall at UCLA at 340 Royce Drive. Other shots were taken at the UCLA Medical Center at 10833 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood. More scenes were filmed at Zuma Beach in Malibu. The scenes featuring Washington, D.C. were shot on location in D.C. [2]
- Director Fred F. Sears passed away in November of 1957, sixteen months after the release of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. He was only 44 years old.
- Screenplay writer Bernard Gordon is credited under the name Raymond T. Marcus in this film. He was one of many Hollywood writers who were blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Gordon also wrote the screenplay for the 1962 adaptation of John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids.
- Actress Joan Taylor, who plays Carol Marvin in this film, also played a character named Marisa Leonardo in the 1958 film 20 Million Miles to Earth, directed by Nathan Juran.
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers received the Golden Reel Award in 1957 for the category of Best Sound Editing in a Feature Film.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hugh Marlowe | Doctor Russell A. Marvin |
| Joan Taylor | Carol Marvin |
| Donald Curtis | Major Huglin |
| Morris Ankrum | Brigadier General John Hanley |
| John Zaremba | Professor Kanter |
| Tom Browne Henry | Vice Admiral Enright |
| Grandon Rhodes | General Edmunds |
| Larry Blake | Motorcycle cop |
External Links[]
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers at AMG
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers at TCM
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers at IMDB
- Earth vs. the Flying Saucers at Wikipedia