Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

Plot synopsis:
Opening scene
We see a montage of UFO sightings including Air force pilots, farmers and civilians. After collecting and examining these reports the military decides they are a threat and orders a shoot on sight orderThenDr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlow) and his recently married wife Dr. Carol Marvin (Joan Taylor) are driving through the desert to a rocket testing ground - Project Skyhook, when they are buzzed by a UFO. Although they don't realize it at the time, a recorder used to dictate research notes has picked up and recorded the UFO encounter.General John Hanley (Morris Ankrun) arrives at the rocket range and begins trying to postpone the launch. However Marvin and other scientists advise it is too late to abort the launch. During this conversation we discover that Carol Marvin is his daughter, and although pleased for the couple was unaware of their recent marriage.Rocket 11 launches without incidentThat evening over dinner the General discusses with the Marvins the failure of the previous 10 rockets launched in the program. Dr. Marvin surmises that UFOs might have shot the rockets down; he then reveals the recording he made during his encounter with the UFO. As dinner is finishing the three of them see glowing lights in the sky, Carol explains they are fog lights, and no one knows what they are. A few seconds later the wreckage of rocket 11 enters the atmosphere and burns up.Against everyone's better judgment, it is decided to launch rocket 12. During preparations for the launch a UFO is seen buzzing the rocket range before landing in the middle of the facility. Three suited occupants emerge and are fired upon by soldiers. The aliens retaliate, as one of their group is killed. Returning to their ship with their fallen comrade the aliens take off and begin to systematically destroy the rocket test area, kidnapping General Hanley in the processTrapped below ground by fires started during the attack, the Marvins begin to consider rescue unlikely. With their air running out, they decide to make a recording of the events that led up to the alien attack. The tape recorder they are using starts to lose power slowing the playback down. Rewinding the tape the Marvins realize the noise they heard was greatly sped up message from the aliens asking them to meet at the rocket installation. Dr. Marvin understands that a terrible mistake has occurred and fears what might come of it.To their surprise the Marvins are rescued and race to Washington to reveal what they have learned. The authorities expressly forbid Dr. Marvin from making contact with the aliens. Ignoring this, Marvin does contact them and gets new instructions for a meeting place: a beach on the California coast.Carol and Major Huglin (Donald Curtis) discover his plan and try to stop him, racing to the rendezvous point, where the aliens have already landed. Marvin ignores them and approaches the ship. A voice explains it is safe to enter, which they do.Once inside the ship a disembodied voice explains the aliens' mission. They come from a dying star and need to find a new place to live. They demand that Earth surrenders and let them control of the planet. The aliens then admit they have Carol's father onboard and have sucked all memories out of his brain, reducing him to a zombie-like state. Finally, they give Earth an ultimatum of two lunar months to surrender or they will attack with their fleet. Once this is understood, the humans are released, except General Hanley.Back in Washington, the group is debriefed over events on the ship. Further debate breaks out over exactly how to handle the situation. Dr. Marvin explains given his interactions with the aliens he might have an idea for a weapon that could stop the attack. The military embraces the idea of a weapon that uses sound to disorientate UFOs causing them to crash. With only sixty days to the attack the military begins talking to other nations to help speed up and build enough weapons to fend off the attack.Weeks pass and the development is better than expected. During a final test of the weapon a spy drone sent by the aliens is spotted. During a final test of the weapon, an alien spy drone is spotted observing the area, the scientists destroy the drone, but fear the aliens now have valuable information regarding the weapon and its location.The scientists evacuate but during the final stages of the process an alien ship arrives. Seeing an opportunity the weapon is deployed against the ship. The ray works and the aliens are driven off, but not before one of them is killed and left behind.Opening the alien's suit reveals a highly atrophied corpse, it is thought that the aliens are quiet fragile and need the suits to survive. In a matter of minutes the corpse rots and disappears to nothing. Before any more can be done the UFO returns and destroys the installation where the weapon had been housed. As the UFO leaves after the successful attack, two bodies are seen falling from the craft. One of them is Carol's dead father, General HanleyThe next day further examination of the suit reveals a communication device, with which the military is able to interpret the attack plan of the aliens. It also appears to be able to amplify both sight and hearing. Examining how the attack succeeded the day before, a disadvantage is discovered in that the ray only has a range of 1500 yards.The aliens interrupt the discussion with a worldwide broadcast threatening to manipulate the sun in such a way as to cause severe meteorological convulsions in eight days . The aliens insist that all the world leaders should meet in Washington to discuss surrender termsThe military believes rather than discussing anything the aliens intend to destroy Washington. As predicted, the solar eruption takes place. It is further realized that there are only nine days to prepare, and those preparations are going to suffer due to worsening weather conditions.We now see a montage of the increasing disruption by the weather. This causes delays evacuating civilians, and there is still 60% of the population still in the city when sirens begin to sound indicating the attack has begun.The aliens brush past a combined aircraft and artillery attack and three crafts begin to assemble over Washington. Dr. Marvin fires the sound weapon and downs one of the alien craft. Artillery batteries open fire again to distract the remaining ships as Dr. Marvin repositions his weapon to attempt a further attack.The aliens respond by opening fire on various buildings around the White House and Capitol building. Dr Marvin races with their team to re-deploy and defend the White House. A second ray unit is destroyed and the aliens land. Local soldiers attempt to slow down the invaders as the second machine deployed.The two remaining ships are brought down in quick order. On the other side of Washington more ray units deploy and yet another ship is brought down crashing into the Washington monument. A running battle breaks out around the Supreme Court trapping the Marvins amid the wreckage.An emergency broadcast announces that more saucers are landing in front of the Capitol building. A battle intensifies as more ships appear and the aliens leave their craft in one final assault. This is beaten back with a combination of ray machines and infantry. Suddenly everything goes quiet and slowly the realization comes that the battle is over and the aliens have been repelled.Some time has passed and we now find the Marvins relaxing on a beach. Mrs. Marvin reads a newspaper article that her husband has been placed in charge of rebuilding Project Skyhook and that the United Nations is going to award him a gold medal.The two go for a swim in the ocean as the final credits roll.

Tags: cult

Review:
Great 50's Sci-Fi. Ray Harryhausen developed the flying saucers for this film, and they are worth seeing to be sure.
Soon after seeing this movie I was bitten by the movie bug which resulted in a lifelong passion for films and animation, which I have to credit to the intense effect that Earth Vs the Flying Saucers had on my young mind.
This is a great example of 1950's sci-fi movies and the flying saucer scare craze that was sweeping the nation and of course parallels the cold war threat and the resilience and ingenuity of American science and military might.
(Seeing her perambulate through the verdant Sicilian countryside, I felt like singing Dean Martin's "That's Amore!") Yet, my favorite scene in "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers," was at the film's conclusion, when, Ms. Taylor and Mr. Marlowe are sitting on a beautiful beach as the sun is starting to set, and she says to Mr. Marlowe: "Do you think that the aliens will ever return to Earth?" To which, Mr. Marlowe (looking at his beautiful bride, attired in her extremely-flattering one-piece bathing suit) dreamily replies: "Not on such a beautiful day as this." And, hands held-together, they both happily and somewhat, "saucily" scamper into the water!.
Thus, this film (complete with all the other stalwarts of '50s and '60s "Bs" who appear therein) can be seen as a progenitor of later low-budget productions which rely on a cheap yet capable cast.At the time it was released (1956), Ray Harryhausen was proving his expertise with stop-motion special effects, later to be given much larger budgets in '60s colour productions.
Ray Harryhausen's flying saucers, the alien's "exoskeletons" and sound effects in this movie are especially standout..
Personally, I love this kind of stuff.But it isn't just unseen invaders annihilating victims in a rampage; there's a great story with well-organized sub-plots: efforts by the aliens to actually communicate with Earthlings, minds being taken over, aliens who want to make Earth a subservient colony, scientists and military devising weapons (in a strangely short period of time), and some of those classic Ray Harrryhausen special effects that made these types of flicks so fun.Some of the stuff you see in this movie inspired (a nice way to say ripped off) by other movies: the trucks with ray-transmitter machines, the method of disrupting the alien spacecraft in flight, the design of the alien armor, and many more.
Reports of flying saucers start coming in thick and fast until sure enough alien invaders begin to attack the Earth.
Focal point of their attack is the U.S. Space Programe, can hero in waiting Russel Marvin conjure up a defence weapon to save the day?Obviously a template for many an alien invader film since its release, Earth Vs The Flying Saucers never quite reaches the heights that perhaps it should have.
The lead cast are poor and this hurts the film even more, Hugh Marlowe as Russell Marvin bores us with the scientific speak when really he should be fascinating us, whilst scream queen duties fall to poor Joan Greenwood who forgets that she is actually supposed to emit some sort of terror when the alien hordes attack!
However, on the plus side the aliens themselves are certainly creepy enough to grab your notice, and Ray Harryhausen's flying saucers animation is of course top dollar for its time, whilst the final battle across Washington DC is classic gold, an all buzzing assault with splurges of death rays at every turn.
Credit Ray Harryhausen's dazzling special effects for much of the film's appeal; the scenes of the saucers zipping through the atmosphere still look great.
Above-average sci-fi which I had missed on its solitary TV broadcast years ago and one that I had been eyeing as a possible DVD purchase for what seems like forever; I'm overjoyed, therefore, that I managed to get my hands on it at long last.The film is basically an amalgam of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)  with Hugh Marlowe convincingly making the leap from despicable villain to intelligent hero here  and WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953): even if its outlook is a naïve one (while also displaying something of an obsession with technology) and the plot rather contrived, it is nonetheless generally absorbing and tremendously entertaining along the way.
The special effects (by Ray Harryhausen) must have looked spectacular back then but come off as pretty shaky nowadays; still, this takes nothing away from his achievement and doesn't affect one's enjoyment  or involvement  in the film in any way (the design of the aliens' metallic suits and the briefly glimpsed creatures themselves is also quite impressive).This is actually the first black-and-white Harryhausen film I've watched, and also the only one which doesn't have to do with prehistoric or mythological monsters of some kind; as such, it's not as juvenile as his other work and makes me look forward to the effects wizard's other sci-fi outings  IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955), TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957) and FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1964).
Dr. Marvin: "Then it's been decided that we'll fight?" General: "When an armed and threatening power lands uninvited in our capital, we don't meet it with tea and cookies." The paralysis of fear (of nuclear war) was giving way to a defender's resolve.Along the course of the movie, the saucers attack and destroy some obviously logical targets, such as artillery or planes which are shooting at the saucers.
There are only a few standouts in the crop of sci-fi movies, among them the original The Thing, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Forbidden Planet, Godzilla, and Earth vs the Flying Saucers.
There's not a lot of philosophizing in this one, just a set of aliens as bad and as weird as they come.With special effects by Ray Harryhausen that still look pretty good today, and a simple but effective and consistent storyline, it didn't get much better than this.
They contact one scientist (Hugh Marlowe) and tell him to set up a meeting with the world's leaders in 56 days to arrange surrender of the Earth to the alien invaders.
With a deadline looming, the scientist works on building a weapon to stop the flying saucers.Great sci-fi movie directed by Fred F.
I began looking for his name on movie posters to choose movies.The ball lightning-like "Foo fighters" were interesting and tied into the UFO hoopla of the 1950s (having them turn out to be alien spy drones was a nice touch).After the sparse saucer effects of movies like "Invaders from Mars", Harryhausen's putting his saucers front and center in detail with lotsa screen time for his stars (the saucers) was a welcome change (most other 1950s movies had a few seconds of good special effects as an establishing shot with a sound effect or musical cue, after that relying on the cue to imply or suggest the danger).The faceless, handless spacesuits of the aliens were spooky.
The aliens triggering solar flares to disrupt weather and communications created an atmosphere of helplessness, giving urgency to the search for a counter-weapon.What cre-e-eped me out most of all was when captive General Hanley's brain was scanned for the "Infinitely Indexed Memory Bank" (we later see him as a mindless zombie and after that, the aliens unceremoniously drop him and another captive into a forest fire; these were not your friendly ETs).The Operation Skyhook in the movie is based on Project Orbiter and Project Vanguard which started in 1954 and 1955, timed to put a satellite in orbit for the IGY 1957.The saucer design, it turns out, was based on several independent descriptions given to Maj Keyhoe of a disc shaped craft with a stationary central cabin and a spinning outer disk with vanes or slots.
The movie is tight, taut & crisp, with action scenes abounding, and great special effects by one of the Masters of Stop-Motion Animation: Oscar Winner Ray Harryhausen, and for this fact alone the movie should be considered a classic.
Other films in this genre include: Battle in Outer Space & Independence Day. Earth vs the Flying Saucers begins back the Saturday afternoon matinees and is still great fun after all these years..
If "The War of the Worlds" is the definitive sci-fi "alien invasion" film of the 1950s, then "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" is the definitive "flying saucer" one.
Ray Harryhausen's magic provided us with the prototypical "flying saucer"; his marvelous special effects are indeed the axis upon which all else in the film revolves.
One of special-effect expert Ray Harryhausens best work with the footage of the movie used in dozens of Sci-fi films all throughout the 1950's and 60's.
Earth vs the Flying Saucers is one of the better alien invasion movies of the 1950's.Rockets that are being sent up to Earth's atmosphere as part of Operation Skyhook suddenly start disappearing.
The script, the action, the characters are all from the Fifties-- but still watchable, even NOW, as a Saturday night flick.Best to watch with friends so you can tear it to pieces together!If anything, the aliens in TODAY'S films do a lot better job of flying than these do.
Not much happens in this 82 minute story, but if you like the serious tone and special effects of the '50s, then you'll like this movie.Basically, it involves, aliens (via flying saucers) attempting to take over earth.
The story is visibly inspired in the storyline of the classic "The Day Earth Stood Still", with humans seeing flying saucers in the sky; then the aliens asking for a meeting with leaders of mankind and showing their power, but with a different conclusion.
Later, a flying saucer lands on the military base where they work and an alien comes out.
After half an hour or so I started skipping scenes and moving forward because unable to stand it much longer.The whole principle of the story is the worst part of it, because, why-oh-why the scientists were never believed by the military men and they always shot first and listen later??The aliens came over with good intentions, but the earthlings didn't give them time to say Hello!
Scientist Hugh Marlowe and partner/wife Joan Taylor are contacted by aliens whose flying saucers are becoming more frequently seen.
He's told to get all the members of the world together and get them to surrender to them...or be destroyed.The dialogue is terrible, the acting is wooden (Marlowe tries too hard but Taylor does have a few good moments), there's absolutely no characterizations and the story is silly...but when the special effects are on screen this is a lot of fun.
Blast off into orbit with this classic Sci-Fi Alien-Invasion Flick, featuring some truly remarkable flying saucer effects courtesy of Ray Harryhausen.EARTH VS.
THE FLYING SAUCERS pits puny, little earthlings against mighty alien humanoids in a violent battle for Earth's survival.When the robot-like aliens arrive at a U.S. Army base in search of help for their dying planet, they attempt to make friendly contact with scientist Dr. Russ Marvin.
But the military gets into the act and greets their fleet of saucers with non-stop gunfire, and so, the aliens are automatically forced to retaliate.Can Dr. Marvin invent the ultimate weapon in order to counter their terrible attack of mass destruction and save the human race in this deadly game of beat-the-clock?
It's a typical science-fiction movie from the '50's, in which aliens with their flying saucers are invading the world.
FLYING SAUCERS is a neat sci-fi film which obviously shows its '50s origins, the kind of thriller that was much in demand during all the stories in the tabloids about flying saucers and UFOs, not to mention the craze for anything involving aliens from outer space.HUGH MARLOWE plays the hero here in a straightforward way, earnestly trying to solve the riddle behind his rocket ships being shot down by flying saucers that intend to take over the planet, starting with Washington, D.C. JOAN TAYLOR makes little impression as his wife, but nobody in the cast really has a chance against the Ray Harryhausen special effects that steal the show.
As Maltin points out: "Solid Ray Harryhausen special effects make this a winner that belies its B origins nearly every step of the way".A forerunner of all the big sci-fi dramas that came along much later on (like "Independence Day") with far more superior CGI effects.
The flying saucers look pretty damned real even today, and must have been astonishing to any lucky child of the 1950s who was priveleged enough to see it on the big screen in their youth.Unlike modern movie nonsense (like MARS ATTACKS, and INDEPENDENCE DAY) the aliens are here for one reason and one reason only: not to make you laugh, but TO F**K YOU UP!
Studly Hugh Marlowe ("The Day the Earth Stood Still") is the egghead hero of this classic example of alien invasion sci-fi.
Blake ("Creature with the Atom Brain"), Clark Howat ("Billy Jack"), and Harry Lauter ("Escape from the Planet of the Apes") co-star, and the great Paul Frees - actor, author, composer, songwriter, and prolific voice-over artist - performs the voice of the alien intelligence.Good fun, and essential for anybody who enjoys this sort of entertainment; subsequent blockbusters like "Independence Day" may outdo it for sheer spectacle, but this movie isn't nearly as stupid as that one.Seven out of 10..
The movie starts out with two recently married scientists, Dr. Russell and Carol Marvin (played by Hugh Marlowe and Joan Taylor) on their way to see Carol's father, the general, when a flying saucer comes out of no where and hovers over them.
The stop motion animation master works his magic into the story, making you believe that aliens really are invading Washington, despite the hokeyness of the movie.
Featuring top-class special effects (for the day) by Ray Harryhausen, this mid-50s sci-fi film can still hold its own.
The stop-action effects used to animate the saucers were used by many later SCI-FI movies.
Stock footage is used with astonishing artistry: Harryhausen doesn't just splice in stock scenes of crashing Air Force planes and exploding warehouses, he actually COMBINES his special effects with these background shots in ways that demonstrate his unique artistic genius.Huge Marlow (`The Day the Earth Stood Still', `World Without End') and Joan Taylor (`2o Million Miles to Earth') star as Dr. and Mrs. Russell A.
One of the most memorable sci-fi films of the 1950's, it stands up well today, mostly due to Ray Harryhausen's superior, stop-motion saucer action!
THE FLYING SAUCERS Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: Mono(Black and white)A scientist (Hugh Marlowe) struggles to convince authorities of an imminent alien invasion after he's contacted by sinister beings who threaten the entire planet.Typical 1950's B-movie fodder, with stock characters and a predictable narrative arc, directed with humdrum efficiency by Fred F.
Sears directed this Science Fiction story that stars Hugh Marlowe as Dr. Russell Marvin, who, along with his new wife Carol(played by Joan Taylor) is driving back to the rocket ship program he is working on, when he encounters a flying saucer overhead, and manages to record it.
Special-effects-wise, Harryhausen does his level best with this sadsack, and the saucers do look pretty good, but it's painfully obvious that the whole thing was shot on a shoestring budget, with scenes lifted from "Day the Earth Stood Still", music reused from "Sahara", and lots and lots of stock footage.
the Flying Saucers', do yourself a favor and watch 'Independence Day' and 'Mars Attacks!' right after you're finished.You can see the progression of the "50s alien paranoia" into spoof over 40 years and yet people will try to making a serious version of it much like 'ID4'.
the Flying Saucers is a science fiction "B movie" about an encounter between the Earth and a seemingly advanced alien civilization.
This effect may be a little cheesy but it's all good fifties fun.However, the really impressive special effects take the form of the flying saucers, portrayed in wondrous stop-motion animation by that king of the genre, Ray Harryhausen.
Events in the film climax to an excellent battle between Earth and the flying saucers, with rockets having no effect on the alien technology.
Hugh Marlowe, wife Joan Taylor and scientists around the world discover the weaknesses of the invaders.I think the real star of this film is special effects guru Ray Harryhausen.
the Flying Saucers" is one of the best of the 1950s Sci-Fi movies.
While this isn't as good as INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS or THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, it is one of the better sci-fi movies of the 1950s.
Even by today's standards, the Ray Harryhausen special effects are pretty good (except in a few spots) and it's great fun watching the city of Washinton, DC being destroyed by these evil aliens.
After his rockets (meant for exploration in space) are shot down ("Operation Sky Hook") and a flying saucer flies over his car while on the way to the factory/facility launching them, scientist, Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) is actually "contacted" by an alien race escaping a solar system that disintegrated.
Simply plotted (but not dumb which is always nice) sci-fi "watch the skies" B-movie is one of the best of its kind thanks to superior Ray Harryhausen special effects.
No, this movie isn't greatit's clearly not the best of the genrebut it's clearly not the worst, either.In this film, suddenly, one day, flying saucers show up on earth.
The next day & Marvin is overseeing the launch of a space rocket when the flying saucer returns & lands, being a Government facility an attack on the alien craft is ordered.
The good news is that Ray Harryhausen's special effects are pretty impressive even today, there are some nice scenes including a shot of a flying saucer crashing through the window of a train station & one crashing into a lake.