Invasion of the Saucer Men

Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)

*** (out of 4)

Teenagers Johnny (Steve Terrell) and Joan (Gloria Castillo) are returning from Lover's Lane when they run over something. At first they fear they've ran over a human but when they get out of the car they see a little green man. They go to tell the police and other adults but no one believes them so they must gather up their friends and try to defeat the aliens.

INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN is without question one of the better "B" science fiction movies of the 1950s. The decade offered up so many awful "B" movies that were thrown into drive-ins that it's almost easy to forget that there were some pretty good ones made. I think most people are going to remember this film thanks in large part to the terrific posters, which proudly show off the terrific looking aliens.

As far as the film goes, I think it's a lot better than it actually gets credit for. Most of the science fiction from this period was either dead serious, downright bad or so bad it's campy. INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN tried to be campy on purpose and it's actually quite funny. The film manages to show the frustration of the teenagers because of being around adults who never believe anything they say. There's also some humor with a local farmer and his beloved cow. And lets now forget a couple out-of-towners seeking ladies with a very funny sequence inside a café.

The comedy works just well but I also found the death scenes to be effective too. When it comes time for an alien attack director Edward L. Cahn goes 100% serious and the scenes are very effective. The performances are about what you'd expect from a film like this but the two leads at least manage to carry the film nicely. With all of that said, there's no question that it's the aliens that are the highlight. Their terrific large heads and bugged eyes are just downright neat to look out and they certainly add most of the fun.

This is one of those sci-fi movies of the 50s that obviously did not take itself too seriously. Sure, the typical invasion from outer space was the theme of the film, but the bug-eyed aliens are so gosh-darn cute and the costumes so cool you can't help but smile instead of becoming afraid. And, the script also takes a less than serious look at the invasion. Sure, it is a dopey martian invasion movie but it makes no attempt to be otherwise and that is why I liked the movie so much--for what it was, it was sure fun. So, if you do watch the film, view it more as comedy and don't be too hard on this old film! If you do, you'll find it's a delightful little time passer.

Frank Gorshen (TV's Riddler) and Lynn Oborne (from TV's Space Patrol) are the "adult" leads in the film. As traveling salesmen they find the saucermen and plan to make money by showing them around the country.

There is the "teenage" couple who also find the saucermen but are not believed by authorities. These are the two parallel story lines. This is one of the first movies to use the "teenagers save the world" theme that became popular during this period.

The saucermen makeup is well done by the makeup genius of that period, Paul Blaisdell. His balloon-headed, bug-eyed, mini-martians are still one of my favorites and their photos and other likeness still appear from time to time. Unfortunately, at the time of this review this movie is not available on Video or DVD. But we can hope!

If you like the "Drive-In" films of the 1950s, you certainly wont be disappointed with this venture. It has everything - fun, creepy little creatures, chills and laughs. It has a narrative form to it which I find I liked, but you couldn't tell if the narrator was talking about an incident, a comic book or an inebriated nightmare that he'd had! I give this film ten stars!

After reading some of the other comments, I must be one of the few who actually liked this movie. Invasion of the Saucer Men can be either enjoyed as a serious movie or a comedy. I like the old style special effects where they have to make a model flying saucer instead of computer generated graphics. Also, this movie may have been the first to depict Air Force coverup of UFOs.