War of the Satellites

Plot synopsis:
We open with the title and credits in white font on a black background and a score by composer/conductor Walter Greene. A star field is crossed by a satellite as observed in a control room at an observatory. The assembled scientists and politicians argue over the tenth mission. Jason ibn Akad (Michael Fox) chides Dr. Pol Van Ponder (Richard Devon) about his lack of success and waste of half a billion dollars on a satellite project, Project Sigma, that hits a barrier in space and is destroyed. Cole Hotchkiss (Robert Shayne) reminds Akad that, "its still in it's orbit, Mr. Akad." Akad asks Sybil Carrington for her thoughts, but she deflects the query with her analytical reply, "I correlate observed data Mr. Akad, I make no predictions." Mr. LeMoine (Bruno VeSota) quickly injects, "I'll make a prediction. All those men in that satellite will die as have all the others. And when they do your project comes to an end, doctor." Dave Boyer (Dick Miller) announces to the assembled, "The satellite is approaching the critical area." All gather around the screen and watch the latest satellite encounter and then be destroyed by a force field. Van Ponder announces that he will launch another satellite.A "young" couple are parked under a moon lit sky, necking in their car. Jay (Jay Sayer) and Mitzi (Mitzi McCall) see a light in the sky. At first they assume it is a shooting star, then realize it is something else when it crashes. They investigate and discover a small rocket with a message, in Latin, for the world. Sybil reads the translated message to the United Nations. The aliens warn the inhabitants of the earth that their, "contamination shall not be allowed to spread." Any attempt to depart the Earth will be stopped. The President (Roy Gordon) opens discussion regarding the message.Van Ponder calls a press conference in his office. He announces another satellite mission that he, himself, will lead. Sybil tells Dave she will accompany her boss. Van Ponder does admit some misgivings to Dave and Sybil, but training and crew selection start. Hotchkiss calls Van Ponder and warns him that Akad is trying to stop the mission. Van Ponder drives over to the U.N. Along the way he experiences trouble with his car and crashes. The aliens cause his wreck, then replace him with one of their own. Hotchkiss announces, "Dr. Van Ponder was killed in an automobile accident while on his way to this forum." To the shock of the assembled, Van Ponder arrives at the U.N. to spontaneous applause. After Hotchkiss leaves Van Ponder's office, the alien demonstrates one of his capabilities--to duplicate himself. The alien reports to his masters that a stronger warning is proposed, but before we learn any details of the plan, Dave enters Van Ponder's office to persuade Van Ponder to keep Sybil off the launch of the next satellite. Sybil enters Van Ponder's office and tells him to turn on the radio. Reports of worldwide disasters are blamed on the aliens. Van Ponder capitulates to the threat and calls off the next mission. Dave and Sybil attend the U.N. meeting and Dave, without consulting with Van Ponder, tells the assembled delegates that, "We must proceed with project Sigma at all costs."As Dave and Van Ponder go over launch parameters, John Campo (Jerry Barclay) enters the room and registers surprise at Van Ponder's presence. He remarks that he just saw Van Ponder at the Proving Grounds. The new solenoids have arrived and he wants Dave to check them. Dave notices a growth on Van Ponders arm. Dave reminds Van that he should have it removed. Dave sees another identical growth on his other arm. His curiosity piqued, Dave records the license plate (New York 9Z 9324) on Van's Lincoln in the parking lot. Dave drives away. Meanwhile, Van goes down to the lab where John is welding a component. John puts the welding torch down on the component and directs Van's attention to the solenoids. The torch is bumped and rotates the flame directly onto Van Ponder's right hand. Feeling no pain at all, his hand is quickly charred. John notices and pulls Van's hand away from the flame and runs for medical attention. Van Ponder shuts off the acetylene. Using his good hand he removes the char from his burnt hand revealing an intact and perfectly restored and normal right hand. When John returns with Dr. Howard Lazar (Eric Sinclair) Van Ponder pretends nothing happened and that John Compo must be hallucinating. John, on the verge of hysteria, concludes, "There's something about you. You're not human."Dave stops at an auto wrecking yard and discovers the bumper of Van Ponder's wrecked car. The license plate number is identical. He concludes the car was so destroyed no one could have survived. He calls Sybil on the phone from a café. She is at the base and informs Dave that the launch schedule was moved up. He has forty-five minutes to get to the launch site. At the launch command center a tech hands the ground controller (Roger Corman) final corrections on the calculations. Dr. Lazar arrives at the elevator with John Compo and tells Van Ponder that John is cleared to fly. Dave witnesses Van Ponder's ability to duplicate himself. His suspicions are now confirmed--Van Ponder is an alien and means to sabotage the mission.Aboard flight #1, Sybil straps herself into her Contour Chaise Lounge while Van Ponder checks on the flight crew and John. Dave joins Dr. Lazar on flight #2 for their departure. The ground controller handles the rocket stage separations and the assembly of the satellite components. The pilot/astronavigator (John Brinkley) and co-pilot (Tony Miller) prepare the craft for its mission. Van Ponder goes to visit John Compo. He places his hand on John's chest immobilizing him. Van Ponder reveals himself and his mission before he kills John. Sybil walks in to the compartment. Van Ponder explains that John couldn't handle the g-force acceleration. Dave tries to convince Sybil that Van Ponder is an alien, but Van Ponder enters and interrupts. John's body is buried in space. Dave meets with Dr. Lazar and tells him John was murdered. He has the doctor examine Van Ponder's finger prints. Dave tells Sybil that the mounting evidence points to an alien imposter. Dr. Lazar goes to confront Van Ponder and give him the required medical exam. But before the doctor can check Van's heart, an urgent call from the pilot interrupts. The satellite is approaching the Sigma barrier. Upon his return, Van activates a heartbeat. It is a new sensation and he visibly reacts. Van Ponder encounters Sybil on his way back to the doctor. He expresses his new found desire for Sybil. She is confused. She excuses herself, "I'm in the middle of a computation." Van submits to the doctor's cardiac exam. When Van tries the same hand on the chest routine to dispatch Dr. Lazar, as he did with John, he is surprised to see that it doesn't work. He kills Dr. Lazar by choking him.Sybil finally suspects Dave may be right about Van Ponder, when under Van Ponder's orders, two crewmembers (Beach Dickerson and James Knight) arrest Dave. On her way to find Dr. Lazar, Sybil sees Van Ponder placing the doctor's body in the disposal chute. Van Ponder sees Sybil and gives chase. She hides in the Solar Energy room. Dave escapes his guards and Van Ponder is informed over the PA system. The Sigma barrier forms while Van Ponder is trying to decide whether or not to kill Sybil. He splits himself into two, confirming Sybil's suspicion. One remains to confront Sybil while the other heads for the command center or bridge. She asks, "You're not human. Who are you? What are you?"Dave follows Van ponder into his cabin and shoots him in the hand. Both Van Ponders bleed. Dave and Van scuffle and Dave gets the gun back and shoots Van Ponder several times. While Dave's Van Ponder collapses, the one confronting Sybil also falls to the deck. Dave orders Plan B be abandoned, and Plan A be activated, much to the flight crew's relief. Both Van Ponders disappear. The Solar Accumulator is deployed against the barrier, but Sybil is still in the Solar Energy Room and is rescued by Dave. The Solar Accumulator works and the Sigma barrier is broken. The closing shot is the satellite in orbit over the Earth.

Tags: brainwashing

Review:
WAR OF THE SATELLITES is too low budget for it's subject matter but is still great fun.
First of all, you have the great Dick Miller as the lead, a cool score by Walter Greene and pretty good low-budget special effects by Irving Block, Jack Rabin and Louis DeWitt.
Basic plot is that aliens take over earthlings in order to sabotage our space program, particularly the satellites.
Roger Corman's strength was making something out of nothing and this film is no exception.
I wish someone would take all of Corman's films for Allied Artists such as ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS and NOT OF THIS EARTH and this one and release them in a big box set with commentary.
Recommended for sci-fi fans and Corman/Dick Miller completists..
"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.
What I can't figure out is that "War of the Satellites" was a project of Roger Corman, a somewhat well known producer and director of low budget sci fi horror films of the 50's and 60's.
For those who enjoy the schlock scifi spectrum of cinema, this Roger Corman epic will be fun and interesting.
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.
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!
"War of the Satellites" is a better than average science fiction flick; which, just means, it is not achingly awful.
Roger Corman did some genuine stylish and engrossing Edgar Allen Poe films and the cult classic "Little Shop of Horrors," an amazing film, especially when you realize it was shot over a weekend.
However, except for this and "Attack of the Crab Monsters," virtually ever other Corman sci-fi is garbage,largely because of the incredibly kitschy special effects.
However, what really distinguishes "War of the Satellites" is actor Richard Devon's mostly dignified performance, mindful of Michael Rennie in "The Day the Earth Stood Still".
Watching Devon is far more interesting than anything else going on around him.Not to say Dick Miller and Susan Cabot do not contribute a lot.
Miller, a stalwartly reliable character actor who worked a lot, has his moments and Susan Cabot, a fine, beautiful actress who never got her due, keep the film moving nicely.
Actually, the acting and fast pacing are what keep "War of the Satellites" from being a total dud.
Typically fast and cheap early Roger Corman sci-fi epic was put together in a hurry in order to capitalize on the launching of the Soviet satellite Sputnik, and the subsequent efforts of the United States to launch a satellite of their own.
Goldman wrote a script (based on a story by Jack Rabin and Irving Block), about the United Nations repeatedly failing with their space exploration missions.
But the aliens are ready to sabotage the mission.The not so special effects and the minimum of sets merely serve to add to the fun factor of this Corman quickie.
It's an amusing, fast paced, decently acted Allied Artists production that has a certain charm that often came with the low budget genre movies of this period.
It's impossible to dislike, especially considering the way that Corman is slyly injecting some commentary about the Cold War as part of the package.
Cormans' constant collaborators during this time, production designer Daniel Haller and cinematographer Floyd Crosby, do the best that they can with their minimal budget, and the music by Walter Greene is highly enjoyable.
The acting is pretty good from all concerned: Richard Devon is effective as the determined Dr. Pol Van Ponder, Susan "The Wasp Woman" Cabot appealing as leading lady Sybil Carrington.
But the primary appeal of "War of the Satellites" is the opportunity to see the legendary Dick Miller in not just a leading role, but a *heroic* leading role, as brave scientist Dave Boyer.These 66 minutes go by quickly and engagingly.Seven out of 10..
I believe that I read somewhere that Roger Corman made this film in 4 days.
You can look him up on IMDb. He had great fun at the expense of this film which he selected as the all-time worst sci-fi film ever shown on his show.
Roger Corman directed this forgotten(and forgettable) science fiction story about Earth satellites being mysteriously destroyed, only to have it revealed that unknown aliens(who refuse to reveal themselves) are responsible, and that they warn the United Nations to stop launching them, or face destruction.
Perennial second-billed Dick Miller(Roger Corman favorite) is given the heroic lead here, and isn't too bad; it's just a pity it comes in this lifeless and drab film, with little credibility or imagination..
Aliens aren't too happy with Earthlings launching satellites into space.
Once in space, the alien puts his evil plan into motion, but then he falls for a human woman.
Because why not?Sci-fi cheapie from director and producer Roger Corman (he also has a bit part as a ground control radio operator).
Stars Dick Miller, Susan Cabot, and Richard Devon.
Shot quickly on a small budget, it's a modest effort that's fun at times but mostly just a middling B movie.
The flick's not as much fun as most Corman epics, maybe because there're no rubber monsters to laugh at.
Instead, the bad guy-alien is a very human-like Richard Devon who appears to come in doppelgänger twosomes.
Together the two Devons seriously confuse the rocketship crew, that is, when the alien half isn't zapping and ejecting human "trash".
Good thing Corman spent his budget instead on a pretty good cast that makes the nonsense watchable.
A tight sweater and skirt would have done nicely; after all, I thought this was required attire for all Corman heroines, inside spaceships or not.Then too, I'll bet this was the first flick to cash in on the first space satellite, the Russkies' Sputnik.
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.
Take for example the scene where the aliens try to teach the world a lesson by doing various bad things.
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.
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..
One scientist & a handful of his associates are determined to launch a manned satellite into space.
The financial backers in the United Nations are resistant to continue funding the program because 10 manned satellites have all been destroyed by some cosmic force.
A message from the aliens informs the UN that the Earth is under quarantine to keep humans from "infecting" the rest of the universe by entering space.Since the doctor doesn't take the hint, he decides to personally man one last attempt at establishing a manned satellite in space.
So the aliens must find more creative ways to deter the human infestation of space.The story & the acting are mediocre, although Dick Miller is predictably great as his the always stunning Susan Cabot.
WAR OF THE SATELLITES is one of Roger Corman's slower, more dialogue-driven films.
Co-stars Corman regulars, Susan Cabot (THE WASP WOMAN), Dick Miller (A BUCKET OF BLOOD, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), and Bruno VeSota (ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES)...
'War of the Satellites' is another typical cold war era space paranoia film they made loads of in the fifties.
The film was distributed as double feature with much more famous 'Attack of the 50 Foot Woman' (which is real cult classic now), while 'War of the Satellites' remains mostly unknown today.
The reason for that is probably because the film is too mediocre - it's not laughably bad and it is not (Corman's) good either.
The film was rushed together after Soviet Union launched it's first satellite Sputnik into the space, and Corman found the satellite idea easy to sell for a drive-in crowd.
Sets are fantastically low key and unrealistic (even by the standards of '50s sci-fi), making the inside of satellite look like a mansion (notice the lounge chairs the astronauts are strapping themselves into before the launch).High point of the film actually comes at the very beginning of the movie with loving couple in the convertible ("Yeah, but getting warmer every second, a-ring-a-ding-ding.") who find the alien capsule with message to human race.
Great piece of sleaze.'War of the Satellites' is not the Corman's worst, but probably his least memorable one..
The best Corman movie I have seen..
I got tricked into watching another Roger Corman movie but this one wasn't too bad.While it does have the Corman staples, long tight shots and long periods of time with no dialogue, it's not boring or stupid.There's very little special effects and I'm sure that helps.With no silly looking monster, a Corman movie isn't half bad.Weirdly, it's very similar to the last movie I watched, Spaceways.Just like in that movie, the star goes into space on a certain death mission and lives.If you can believe that manned satellites that are spinning wildly through space are our only hope, then you will love this movie.I give it four stars because it's four times better than any of his other movies..
So, along comes Roger Corman and makes a movie that isn't about satellites but rather a dull space movie.
The aliens just want the people to abandon any kind of space program.
The scientists have been trying to do a little exploring, but their manned missions keep getting blown up.
This Roger Corman film begins with an ominous message from space...stop the space program and send no satellites into orbit or else!
Then, after a space flight is sent up with Dr. Van Ponder and several others, he begins trying to kill them off one by one!The film has a very unusual performance by Dick Miller in the lead because for once Miller acts like a leading man--and usually Corman used him more as a supporting actor or oddball.
He and the rest of the cast do a decent job but the film loses points because even for a 50s sci-fi film, the outer space effects are terrible.
Not a bad horror- sci-fi film but one that looks cheap and could have been better..
Mind you I was up until recently only exposed to Roger Corman's work with Vincent Price those Edgar Allan Poe adaptations he made in the 1960's and they were quite good which made me even more eager to get my hands on some of his notoriously, mind numbing, cheaply made science-fiction films he's so wildly known for and by George that short wait finally paid off.Whatever little there is of its plot concerns humanity's determination to build the first satellite in space despite some nasty warnings coming in from an unknown alien entity.
Our three main characterless characters are played ever so over the top by Dick Miller, Sybil Carrington, and grand ham Richard Devon.
A Roger Corman Space Epic?.
Yes, a Roger Corman Space Epic!
With all that implies.And despite a plot which makes little or no sense on several levels, which borrows bits and pieces from Kronos and The Day the Earth Stood Still and half a dozen other sf films, this is actually a fun little movie.
The team of Block, DeWitt and Rabin once again delivers some sparse but (mostly) well-executed effects, such as the giant multistage cargo rockets which could have come straight out of a Chesley Bonestell illustration.Corman regular Dick Miller for once gets the lead role as the protagonist, Dave Boyer, playing opposite a couple of other Corman alumni: beautiful Susan Cabot as the romantic interest, Sybil Carrington, and reliably sinister Richard Devon as Dr. Pol van Ponder, sooper-genius and head of the space program.The movie opens with yet another failed attempt by one of van Ponder's spacecraft to break through a mysterious invisible barrier beyond the Moon, resulting in the complete destruction of ship and crew.
After this latest disaster (the tenth, actually -- these guys are either very dedicated or very slow learners) the higher-ups are ready to shut down the program, but, putting his life on the line, van Ponder persuades them to authorize one more mission, with himself in command.Shortly afterward, a message written in Latin arrives from outer space by rocket mail (no, I'm not kidding) addressed to the U.N. Translated, it's an ultimatum, informing Earthlings that our planet's been quarantined to prevent the "contamination" of primitive humans from spreading into the galaxy, and demanding we abandon any further attempts at space exploration.
Plus, you have to admit it's a pretty feeble galactic civilization, if they have to destroy the Earthlings' space program by covert means.
(It's the only way to be sure.) Yeah, yeah, I know: this is, when all is said and done, a Roger Corman flick.
The spaceship (which assembles itself in orbit) is certainly an unusual design, and the interior sets aren't too bad -- for the time, anyway.
Devon makes a convincing alien doppelganger; Corman comes up with some interesting bits to underscore his otherness, including one nifty sequence involving a carelessly placed blowtorch.It never fails to amaze me, what Corman and his associates could do with a mere $70,000..
An unknown alien force declares war against Earth when the United Nations disobeys warnings to cease and desist in its attempts at assembling the first satellite in space.
The aliens take possession of the body of determined scientist Dr. Paul Van Ponder (well played by Richard Devon) in order to sabotage the mission.
Director Roger Corman, working from a tight, if slightly talky script by Lawrence L.
The sound acting from a bang-up B-movie cast helps a lot, with stand-out contributions from the always dependable Dick Miller as stalwart hero Dave Boyer, Susan Cabot as Van Ponder's loyal assistant Sybil Carrington, Jered Barclay as ill-fated engineer John Compo, Robert Shayne as the gruff Cole Hotchkiss, and Bruno Ve Sota as the gloomy Mr. LeMoine.
While there has been much better films warning about the exploration outside of our planet, this Roger Corman science fiction actually isn't bad considering that it came late in the game.
aliens from outer space come down to earth in human form simply as a warning, and they aren't kidding in their methods.
It is as if producer Roger Corman looked into the future and saw what could happen.
Certainly, there haven't been any serious situations other than the two tragic that took the life of astronauts and trained people outside of that field, but it has been less than 60 years since man really began exploring, so the repercussions will not be felt possibly for centuries.while this is more of a psychological thriller with science fiction elements, it is definitely the nail biter in the sense that you are on the edge of your seat from the beginning through the conclusion as certain details prove that the visitors from outer space are justified in how they feel, while the humans aren't as intelligent as they seem to claim to be.
Richard Devon is particularly memorable in a dual role as the noble astronaut and the alien being who cunningly takes over his body.
Dick Miller and Susan Cabot are in fine support as the young couple determined to prevent catastrophe.