War of the Satellites
                             
Director: Roger Corman
Year: 1958
Rating: 5.5
A Roger Corman production when he could knock off a film in a jiffy (90 days being a jiffy in this case) in order to take advantage of the latest fad or something in the news. This time the launch of Sputnik by the Russians that terrified America. But the Russians are not the bad guys; aliens are. In theory. But are they really? Sixty years later, the aliens may have been right. It is a fun film with incredibly low production values, but some good sci-fi ideas. At 65 minutes, it managed to hold my attention. America keeps sending up manned spaceships that run into some sort of space barrier that blows them up. Eight times. All dead. Yet they still keep getting volunteers. The program is being run by Pol Van Ponder (Richard Devon) with his two brainy assistants, Sybil (Susan Cabot) and Dave (Corman regular, Dick Miller). But what is blowing up the ships? They soon get an answer.


 
Corman manages to get two horny teenagers into the film when they are making out in a car and a message arrives in a small rocket. Surprisingly, they stop smooching and pick it up. It says "Earthlings, you are an infected inferior planet. Stay home. We don't want you screwing up the universe like you have Earth" or words to that effect. Can you blame them? But will humans ever listen to aliens? Of course not. So, then they set off volcanos and say we were not joking. Surely now we will stop. Of course not. We didn't become top dog by listening to others. That's for losers. So, we try again. But Ponder is acting oddly. One might even suspect he isn't human any longer but that doesn't stop him from making the moves on Sybil. On the spaceship that has two lounge chairs with seat belts and endless hallways. Look for the cameo by Corman at the control board on earth.