Guerra dos Satélites

War of the Satellites (1958)

** (out of 4)

American scientists are trying to send a satellite into outer space but they keep running into some sort of force shield that causes the satellite to explode. After the tenth failed attempt the aliens from space grow tired so they kill the scientist (Richard Devon) and take over his body so that they can sabotage any future attempts. It's up to Dave (Dick Miller) and Sybil (Susan Cabot) to try and bring down the alien as well as the deadly satellite shield. I love Roger Corman. I love the films he directed and produced no matter if they were higher quality stuff like the Price-Poe flicks or lower trash like this film here. There's no question that this film belongs in the "so bad it's good" category and I must admit that I'm rather shocked that this film doesn't get called out more than it does. Perhaps because until recently it was hard to see many fans haven't given it the badly made label because if you watch this thing and then watch something from Ed Wood you're going to notice a lot of things in common. As with most of Wood's features, this here features a large amount of stock footage and more often than not it doesn't match up with the "new" footage. Take for example the scene where the aliens try to teach the world a lesson by doing various bad things. We're greeted with all sorts of stock footage with stuff taken from previous movies and it appears one scene showing a full moon was borrowed from one of the Universal werewolf pictures. Another funny bit is when a couple are making out when something crashes and explodes. When we see the explosion it's far away from the kids but the boyfriend goes to look for the item and finds it a few feet from where they were. One, this doesn't match up with what we've seen and if it really was that close then the explosion would have killed the kids. Other funny moments include some really over-the-top performances including one hilarious sequence where the alien/scientist burns himself and the young scientist starts freaking out. The expression on his face as he tries to convince someone else of what he saw is priceless. Dick Miller fans will be happy to see him playing the hero here and it's always nice to see Cabot. WAR OF THE SATELLITES is one of many rips of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Most of the rips are poorly made and boring. This one here doesn't have much quality to it but the thing is never boring and fans of bad cinema should have a good time with it.

For those who enjoy the schlock scifi spectrum of cinema, this Roger Corman epic will be fun and interesting. And by 1958 Corman standards, this film is indeed an epic...it has at least 3 different sets as opposed to the usual 1 or 2, and has hundreds of feet of stock footage from other films, greatly expanding upon Corman's usual trailer park scope of action. There are a number of curiosities about this film.

Of particular note is the footage containing matte-paintings of rocketships, and the rocket miniature FX footage...these segments look nothing like typical Corman stuff, being almost barely acceptable. Corman loved to buy foreign movies on the cheap, and the rockets look like the ones from an old Italian pic...I bet you a nickel all the exterior rocket shots are from a foreign film Corman bought.

There's also a strange comedy relief bit in which 2 necking teenagers find a small alien artifact...one of the teens is young Mitzi McCall, whose career occasionally flirted with modest success...anyway, this bit is totally out of tone with the rest of the film...it must have been filmed either before or after the rest of the movie and edited in. This short sequence does provide information and advance the plot, but the rest of the film is so deadly serious that this sequence is bizarre. It does hint at the horror/scifi comedies that were just around the corner for Corman.

The deadly serious and low key tone is effective for an invasion/paranoia story. Richard Devon is very effective in his portrayal of an ambivalent alien invader disguised as an Earth scientist. The loyal and long-suffering Dick Miller does an unusual turn as a square-jawed hero, and although he is noticeably shorter than the villain, his performance does not come up short.

The title of this film is often discussed. IMO, the idea of calling the film 'War of the Satellites', besides capitalizing on the newly popular term, also evokes the Cold War. In 1957, the USA considered the Soviet satellite Sputnik as a veiled threat...and the frantic haste of the USA to launch its own satellite was in fact a counter-move in the Cold War. Therefore, at the time of this film's production, a real War of the Satellites had already begun...on Earth.

It is not unusual for Corman's films to contain a degree of thinly-veiled political commentary.

Here is a great quote, spoken by one of the astronauts, after the evil alien invader has offered him a chance to join the aliens: 'You can go to Hell! I was born a human and I'll die one before I join a race that kills innocent people for abstract ideas!'

Of course, that line is highly ironic...human beings kill innocent people all the time over abstract ideas, such as capitalism, communism, democracy, fascism, Christianity, Islam, etc.

This is cut-rate science fiction from Allied Artists and producer-director Roger Corman. The United Nations space program involving launching manned spacecraft into outer space is met with defeat after defeat as a strange energy barrier surrounding the planet destroys any craft that gets too close. One last chance is taken with an experimental solar device which will hopefully subvert the energy field, only unbeknownst to the programs members, the proposed captain (Richard Devon) has been replaced by an alien duplicate bent on stopping human efforts in space exploration once and for all.

This was rushed out in reportedly eight weeks, from conception to theaters, in an effort to cash-in on the Sputnik launch in the news. The special effects aren't very special, and a good bit of the film's final third is comprised on people walking back and forth through the same 10-foot stretch of ship corridor. But I liked seeing Richard Devon, a familiar character actor, in a lead role, and there are some fun moments when his true alien nature pops up. Longtime Corman regular Dick Miller gets one of his very few heroic leading man roles, and he uses a more serious voice than normal, much to my amusement. Susan Cabot acts a bit like a robot. This movie is no one's idea of high art, but it hit enough of the right B-movie buttons for me to be entertaining.

In October, 1957, the Soviet Union surprised everyone with the first successful launch and orbit of a spacecraft, a satellite dubbed "Sputnik". That name and the term "satellite" was on front pages of every newspaper in America.

"War of the Satellites" was produced by Roger Corman because he knew he could get a deal (funding) from his distributor by promising a film with the then hot buzz-word, "satellite", on the marquee. His plan worked and the film was rushed together. By then, Corman had a number of capable people he could count on to pull it off. Discount the war-surplus and junkyard props and and the hardly scientific premise and "War of the Satellites" turns out to be fun and a rather credible popcorn epic. It was released on a double bill and the title brought in the expected crowd.

Roger Corman is well-known for his ability to make something fun and enjoyable out of nothing and War of the Satellites fits the bill. Corman even has a bit part as a ground control radio operator! It is a fast-paced film with an interesting premise that gets right down to business. Just add a few war-surplus props, footage lifted from other films and a set that looks like a basement for a UN meeting scene and Bob's your uncle! I'd love to get my hands on those fabulous reclining chairs that were used by the crew of the rocket ships!