It Conquered the World

I have always found Lee Van Cleef to seem to be a very limited actor. Of course, that is because of the roles he found himself having to play. There was not much he had to do in the spaghetti westerns except stand around and look blankly sinister. Then some years ago I found a copy of this film. I remember seeing it in the 1950s but had forgotten the cast. I remember thinking the film silly back then. Now as I have ripened into maturity ("A full grown nut" as Ralph Kramden said to Ed Norton)- or maybe I have just gotten ripe- I find I really enjoy this film. A good monster film is never about the monster. The film is about the people dealing with each other and the monster in that order. It Conquered The World fits that rule. The special effects simply do not exist. The alien is totally absurd in its appearance. However, I can ignore all that because of the acting and the plot involving the characters. I found Lee Van Cleef especially effective in this role and I enjoy watching him bring his character to life. He is struggling with his decision to assist an alien from Venus come to Earth to save us all from our jejune frivolities which inhibit human progress. He wants things to be better for people and thinks he has found a way through this alien being. He has his doubts and Lee is well able to act this conflict of doubt to our great satisfaction. Peter Graves is an actor you can count on to give a good performance even when he is not inspired. Dittos for the rest of the cast. In short, if you can ignore the cheap sets, absurd special effects, uninspired means of corner cutting due to lack of budget, and just enjoy the acting- a weakness for the lesser of the 1950s genre helps, too- I would recommend this film with the stated qualifications.

Give me a break! The commentary for this movie cracks me up...why don't you nay-sayers give a second to remember WHEN it was made? It's one of the best examples of 50's drive-in treasure in collective memory. This silly yet earnest little movie has wormed it's way into the consciousness of anyone who's ever seen it. Paul Blaisdell's Venusian Carrot remains one of the most memorable aliens to ever grace the screen! Add to this total piece of weirdness one of Beverly Garland's best performances, most memorable in her first sighting of the Carrot: "So that's what you look like.....You're ugly!!!". Where was her Oscar for delivering this line with total conviction (and a straight face?) Yes, there was life before bloated CGI computer effects, and this superior potboiler proves yet again that once upon a time, imagination and ingenuity could work wonders. One of the all time-great sci-fi movies!

Sci-fi about a creature from Venus coming to Earth. A scientist (Lee van Cleef) gets in touch with it through some machine. He believes the creature wants to bring peace and helps guide it to Earth. Naturally the creature wants to possess and conquer...

Infamous Roger Corman movie which has one of the silliest aliens ever filmed. It's also pretty stupid, dull in spots and laughable. But the acting is actually good (Peter Graves and Beverly Garland especially) and I DO find the alien at the end just...unbelievable. Also it does have two instances of over the top violence (for its time)--a man is set on fire and the thing gets its eye poked out (this is cut from some non-cable prints).

Not good but 100 times better than its remake "Zontar the Thing from Venus". And Garland and Graves ARE good. I give it a 5.

Go easy on this movie.......hell, it's the only time that Lee VanCleef gets to have a wife who actually likes him (at least for a little while). And it's Beverly Garland!!!.... at her sexiest, with her pointed padded Maidenform bra. What a babe! This is such a fun movie and a good one of its type......the black and white, 50's, paranoiac, cheesy monster "B" flick. There were so many of this type film being made during the 1950's and there are some that are a lot worse than this one. Sure, the monster is a hoot but it worked for the audiences at the time. The stories were always the same......an outerspace entity (a carrot,cucumber, crawling eye, etc) comes to take over the earth, even though there is only one of them (wouldn't it take a long time to overpower the entire world population?). Additionally, they always use a scientist as their champion who is so obtuse that he doesn't realize what their game plan is and who always get killed in the end. So it's predictable, cheap, and overacted........so what! It's a lot of fun and there is a subculture of us out there who love this movie and all the others of the genre. The next time it shows up on TV, give it a look.....you won't regret it!

A well meaning scientist guides an alien monster to Earth from Venus, so that he can rid mankind of feelings and emotions -- but only death and sorrow results.

Yes, this is a terrible movie by any real standards. Once you see the monster (or cucumber, or whatever it is) that allegedly "conquers the world", you will instantly know this is not a film to be taken seriously.

But, of course, that is sort of the point. Roger Corman built his reputation on cheesy science fiction fun. He knew it was not terrifying, but that was not the goal -- grab some popcorn and a Dr Pepper, and just have fun!