Earth vs Flying Saucers Film Review

Director: Fred Sears
Year: 1956
Rating: 6.0

"It still belongs to us". Referring to the earth after an invasion of aliens in technologically superior flying saucers. But once again thanks to American ingenuity and sacrifice, the world has been saved. It became our calling card in the 1950's as America again and again defeated giant monsters and aliens. The Japanese did their share as well but all too often they just drove their monsters away to return in a sequel - while America killed them. Will these aliens return some day? Perhaps, but 75 years later they still have not. Flying saucer sightings were a big deal in the 1950's - it must have been the introduction of chlorine into the water - but magazines and newspapers were full of stories. Still true to some degree today. If they were ever here, my guess is they didn't like what they saw and returned home with reports that humans just don't taste that good.

This is another Ray Harryhausen special effects film with his creation of the saucers that spin around and when they land they hover and a bottom drops down to allow aliens out and visitors in. But his best money shots in the film are when the aliens attack Washington DC and destroy some of their best tourist traps - the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial among them. I think I prefer his monster special effects to destroying buildings from laser beams. It is difficult putting ourselves into the minds of an audience in 1956 - were they wowed by the special effects? Clearly, Boswell Crother of the New York Times wasn't - "utter nonsense that is childishly and humorlessly put forth", but then Crother was a horrible snob who hated all genre films.

But it is quite low budget coming from the B division of Columbia. Anything that looks expensive such as a sinking of a destroyer is stock footage. Other than the special effects, the film doesn't have all that much going for it - stiff performances and poor dialogue - but it does create a sense of urgency and has some nice touches such as mind control and an alien translation machine. The United States has a space program that is sending up a dozen satellites to orbit the earth. This is being led by Dr. Marvin played by Hugh Marlowe, who had dealt with a nicer species of alien in The Day the Earth Stood Still five years earlier. But he has other things on his mind as he drives to the secret compound. He just married his secretary (Joan Taylor) and is feeling frisky until a vehicle behind him gets too close. Oh wait, it is a flying saucer not keeping a legal distance. Did we just see a flying saucer, he says. I don't know his wife says but I think I see one in your pants.

The aliens show up the next day and land and of course we immediately fire on them. The only good alien is a dead alien. They return fire and kill everyone but our happily newly married couple who are trapped in a bunker beneath the rubble. This isn't the honeymoon I promised but we are all alone and running out of air. The aliens it turns out don't want much - just to conquer the earth. I say give them Texas. Instead, our hero scientist invents a ray of our own. Will it save earth. Come back next week to find out. Directed by the reliable B director Fred Sears with a script from Curt Siodmak. In black and white. There is a colorized version.