Invasion of the Saucer Men

Invasion of the Saucer Men is just typical of the movies AIP came out with during the 1950's, aliens vs teenagers.

In this one, a young couple accidentally run over an alien but its hand comes alive and terrorises people. The local farmer doesn't like the teenagers using his land for snogging in their cars. More aliens then appear and kill one of the teens with an overdose of alcohol as revenge for their mate being killed. A flying saucer then blows up with the military in attendance and the aliens are done away with at the end by light, their weakness. With a drunken bull.

The best thing about the movie are those alien creatures, with their hideous looking bulbous heads.

The cast is lead by Steven Terrell and is joined by some familiar faces from sci-fi B movies: Gloria Castillo (Teenage Monster), Raymond Hatton (The Day the World Ended), Russ Bender (It Conquered the World) and Ed Nelson (Attack Of the Crab Monsters). With Frank Gorshen (The Ridler from Batman).

Invasion of the Saucer Men is essential viewing for all sci-fi fans, even just for those creatures. Great fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Okay, I could go over a lot of old terrain by telling you about the hokey script, the generally poor acting, and the sophmoric humour laced throughout this picture, and then I could tell you how bad the film was because of said qualities. I could( and did) but will not. Invasion of the Saucer Man is a silly picture that is too silly for its own good. Nonetheless it has some things going for it. The saucer men are incredible creatures. They have huge bulbous eyes on these giant vein-covered egg-shaped heads. Their hands, also covered with veins and the like, can make needles appear readily. Apparently they kill by flooding their victims with alcohol - but only those that have had a drink before die? If that is the case why does Gorshin's character die so early and the bull doesn't at all? Oh well! I digress. The costumes are plainly and simply exquisite and have had a major effect on our cultural visual definition of what "Little, green men" look like. Tim Burton uses them as a model for his silly film Mars Attacks. The film also touches on the way governments hide things from the public. This was a small aspect of the film, yet it was very interesting as a Colonel bulldozes evidence of aliens in the middle of the night to hide information from the public - the same public being terrorized all the while by the aliens he is trying to hide. At one point the colonel address his Lt. and says how wonderful it is being one of only two men that know what is going on. The street savvy Lt. then suggests that there are other such task forces cleaning up other things and possibly even after men such as the colonel. An interesting discussion. Discussions of this nature and great costumes; however, cannot save this picture from its teen against the establishment persona. Lover's Lane is full every night, teens drink heavily, and anyone over their thirties just doesn't understand anything. If I had been a teen when this film came out I would have felt I was being played down too with all its hokey, choking elements. So - my review is a middle of the road one. It's an interesting film for some reasons. One good performance comes from movie veteran Raymond Hatton as a crusty old farmer. He does a fine job with the material he is given.

Unlike most 1950s teenage date flicks, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN is still mildly entertaining today--and this, when combined with modern reaction to the film's typically "Golly Gee" mentality, makes the movie amusing. The story is basic: two all-American teenagers on lover's lane accidentally run over a little green man from outer space and are then threatened by his friends--but will any of the grown-ups believe them? Of course not, they're just crazy kids!

The movie bills itself as a deliberate mixture of comedy and horror; although very mild, the comedy is genuine--but unless you have a fear of children dressed up in big-headed space alien costumes you're unlikely to be even slightly startled, much less horrified. Even the teenagers under attack seldom seem greatly concerned, and our leading lady is more worried about having to hike in heels ("My feet are killing me!") than about little green men from outer space.

All in all, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN lacks the true camp appeal of, say, an Ed Woods movie--but even so it has its points: special effects so tame that even the actors can't get worked up about them, mildly absurd performances (watch for Frank Gorshin), and an odd-ball script. The film is out of print, but if you are really determined you can probably find an old copy for sale... or catch it yourself on the late-late show.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A silly yet likeable alien invasion film where only the town's teens are aware of the alien threat and the adults are complete incompetents. Neat to finally see some of Paul Blaisdell's finest creations in all their hideous glory. The story is laughable but the Saucer Men looked awesome..Favorite scene: a saucer man meets a bull!

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.