Invasion of the Star Creatures

I must have been about eight years old when I saw this on TV in the sixties. I was hesitant to watch it because I was home alone and the title seemed kind of scary. I watched it anyway and my initial reaction was that it seemed really odd. When I saw it again (and again and again)as an adult, I came to realize that a good deal of that oddness can be attributed to the low budget of the film(minimal cast,cheap sets,crude monsters and tacky - but distinctive - music). The box office appeal of the two voluptuous "galaxy gals" who were spearheading the invasion was also lost on me as a kid, as were the references to early television and the then-fledgling space program. Still, the overall kookiness of the whole thing really appealed to me at that tender age and it still does(I have a VHS copy my friend "The Alien" recorded off TV). Since, as I type this there is only one other comment for this film, there must be an awful lot of people out there who haven't seen it. The story involves a pair of dimwit army privates who discover that Dr. Poona and Proffessor Tanga(really!), two amazonian women from another world are in the early stages of planning an attack on the earth, aided by their army of "vege-men." Because their story is so fantastic(and they're so stupid)our two G.I. Jokers can't get their superiors to take action, so it's up to them to save the day. Sub-Three Stooges slapstick and brain-damaged dialogue can be found throughout,and it can't be over-emphasized that this is a very cheaply made movie. That said, I really enjoyed this film as a kid and I like it now.

Basically this film is a ridiculously silly spoof of 50s style sci-fi film cheapies. It stars Robert Ball & Frankie Ray, a poor man's imitation of Abbott and Costello, as incompetent army privates sent to investigate a mysterious radioactive cave in which they discover 7 foot plant men (yeah just guys in ridiculous costumes--there's some unintentionally funny moments later when they toss around boulders!) and 2 7-foot Space babes named Dr. Tanga (Gloria Victor) & Professor Puna (Dolores Reed) , who rather resemble some meaty lady pro wrestlers, bent on taking over the Earth and who seem to be well under way to doing so until our hero Pvt. Philbrick (Robert Ball) messes up Professor Puna's reactions by kissing her giving our heroes the chance to escape with the plant men in pursuit...actually this was fun, incredibly silly mindless stupid fun but fun nonetheless. This was actually written by Jonathan Haze and directed by Bruno Ve Sota...two old Corman/AIP mainstays.

Gloria Victor and Dolores Reed in space girl costumes.

I love 50 sci fi, I even love cheesy 50s sci fi, but this film is really, really bad. And not in a MST3K kinda way.

Virtually unwatchable as a couple of bozos do their best "hip cat" impression of Abott & Costello.

Chessecake can usually save cheesy sci fi, such as in "Cat Women On The Moon" but it can't in this case. This film requires a mute button and fast forward feature.

That said, I could watch Gloria and Dolores walk around the space ship for about an hour or so.

Some things need to be clarified. The picture of Mark Ferris is not the Mark Ferris who starred in this movie. I know that because he was my dad. Please remove that picture. Also, Mark Ferris was the writer, at least one of them. I have been trying to find a copy or a way to see this movie again. It has been years and if someone can point me in the direction of obtaining a copy, that would be great. The movie wasn't all that bad, and trying to compare it to todays world of Star Wars and other high tech sci fi's it futile. If you watch it, just enjoy it for the rediculousness and humor it possesses. Lighten up on being movie snobs and enjoy some less creative and innovated films.

Most bad comedies are hard to take, this four sheets to wind, jaw dropping, "I-must-be-dreaming" Stupidfest is, for some of us, a kind of movie heaven.

"Invasion" is still kind of hard to find (I went ten bucks for a bootlegged copy on ebay), it's never been issued on video, it was a bottom feeder even for A.I.P. Interestingly, a lot of mint condition poster and promotional stuff also turns up on ebay, suggesting the was pulled out of release(understandable) and sent to the T.V. showers early on.

I think Director Bruno Ve Sota, who does a cameo, really was the poor man's Orson Welles, his interesting career included staring in, and perhaps co-directing, the cult film "Dementia" (aka "Daughter Of Horror). Bob Ball, the even sillier half of Invasion's comic duo, ended up in the mime troupe in "Easy Rider." Anyway, "Invasion" like the hard to find "Ghost Of Dragstrip Hollow", is worth the hunt. Space Commander Conners wants you!