Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

7/4/19561h 23m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The terrifying truth about flying saucers! ~

Overview:

Test space rockets exploding at liftoff and increased reporting of UFO sightings culminate in a direct attempt by alien survivors of a dead, extra-galactic civilization to invade Earth from impervious flying saucers, using ray-weapons of mass destruction.

Director:

Fred F. Sears

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

washington dc, usa
flying saucer
us army
stop motion
alien invasion
scientist hero
global threat
colorized
space program
ray harryhausen
property destruction
land-air battle
ray weapons
sonic weapon
foo lights
rocket launch site

Cast

Hugh Marlowe

~ as ~

Dr. Russell A. Marvin

Joan Taylor

~ as ~

Carol Marvin

Donald Curtis

~ as ~

Maj. Huglin

Morris Ankrum

~ as ~

Brig. Gen. John Hanley

Thomas Browne Henry

~ as ~

Vice Adm. Enright

Grandon Rhodes

~ as ~

Gen. Edmunds

John Zaremba

~ as ~

Prof. Kanter

Paul Frees

~ as ~

Alien (voice)

Frank Wilcox

~ as ~

Alfred Cassidy

Sydney Mason

~ as ~

Frank the garage man

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

John Chard
Written 11 year(s) ago
6
Restrained but still an effective piece of sci-fi pie.

Reports of flying saucers start coming in thick and fast until sure enough alien invaders begin to attack the Earth. Focal point of their attack is the U.S. Space Programe, can hero in waiting Russel Marvin conjure up a defence weapon to save the day?

Obviously a template for many an alien invader film since its release, Earth Vs The Flying Saucers never quite reaches the heights that perhaps it should have. Bogged down by maudlin scripting and restricted by its budget, it often hints at what a great picture it could have been. The lead cast are poor and this hurts the film even more, Hugh Marlowe as Russell Marvin bores us with the scientific speak when really he should be fascinating us, whilst scream queen duties fall to poor Joan Greenwood who forgets that she is actually supposed to emit some sort of terror when the alien hordes attack! However, on the plus side the aliens themselves are certainly creepy enough to grab your notice, Ray Harryhausen's flying saucers animation is of course top dollar for its time, whilst the final battle across Washington DC is classic gold, an all buzzing assault with splurges of death rays at every turn.

An important film in the pantheon of the genre for sure, but it's just a tad too restrained for its own good. 6/10
CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
7
This is another enjoyable little 1950s sci-fi movie with scientist Hugh Marlowe ("Dr.Marvin") and Joan Taylor, his wife "Carol", having to use all their wits guile to save the planet from an alien race who want to invade the Earth and enslave us all. Despite their vastly superior technology our resourceful team work frantically to come up with a very effectively portable, if almost as destructive, solution. The visual effects are quite remarkable for the time, with some input from Ray Harryhausen, and the action is well shot and paced. The end is never in doubt (we are all still here!) but it's a fun ride for eighty minutes of ray guns and competent acting.