“When an armed and threatening power lands uninvited in our capitol, we don’t meet him with tea and cookies!”

ZombieDog’s rating: Before Independence Day there was Earth vs. the Flying Saucers!

ZombieDog’s review: As there’s been a lot of discussion about UFOs lately, it’s important to remember that aliens and flying saucers are cult movie magic [Editor: That’s just what an alien infiltrator would say!]. Ancient Greek philosophers talked about the possibility of other worlds; however the first time an author suggested that extraterrestrial aliens might want our stuff was HG Wells’ War the Worlds in 1895. This began a tradition of humans versus creatures not from Earth.

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) starts off with the glorious quote of “Since biblical times, man has witnessed and recorded, strange manifestations in the sky, and speculated on the possibilities of visitors from another world.” A thought-provoking quote, to be sure. Shortly after this, we get a montage of flying saucers terrorizing all kinds of airplanes and people on the ground. It gets so bad that the Air Force issues a “shoot first ask questions later” order. All of this happens before we even get to meet our lead characters and start to figure out what the plot actually is.

The movie stars Hugh Marlowe as Dr. Russell Marvin along with Joan Taylor as his newlywed wife Carol. Marlowe was 46 at the time of filming to Taylor’s 27 which makes for a little bit of a creepy vibe, but it is forgivable and fairly common for films of the time. Anyway, Dr. Marvin is a rocket scientist attempting to launch a satellite into orbit. He’s on attempt number 12, and every rocket that has managed to make it to orbit has failed inexplicably. On the way to the launch site for number 13, Dr. Marvin is recording his notes onto a tape recorder the size of a small suitcase when they are buzzed by a pesky out-of-control UFO. Understandably freaked out by the sight, the two stop the car on the side of the road and take time to smoke a cigarette.

A little bit of a sidenote here. If you’re going to be exploring movies that are over 50 years old, you should probably be ready for a little bit of culture shock. Societies change over time and film is a wonderful time capsule that captures these changes. Some aspects of older films may be concerning; however, my advice is to view it as a work of the time. This isn’t to say that you agree or disagree with whatever you’re watching, it’s simply pointing out that whatever was produced was made in a different atmosphere.

Back to the launchpad, where the UFOs show up and start causing trouble. The Army has had enough of their crap and starts shooting, doing well against the aliens’ advanced technology and defending the base well even though they take a few lumps in the exchange.

After the attack, Dr. Marvin is fiddling around with his gigantic tape recorder when he realizes that the aliens were actually trying to send him a message. He wastes no time and hops on his shortwave radio to try and make contact with the aliens. Remarkably, they respond and request a meeting. I should say that there’s a heavy Cold War feeling throughout this whole movie. What’s more, the military is portrayed as being completely inflexible when it comes to threats, perceived or otherwise. We also learn that during the attack on the launchpad Carol Marlow’s father, who is Maj. Gen. John Handley (Morris Ankrum), was captured by the aliens. The Army thinks that in lieu of all these facts, the attack, the kidnapping, and the overall harassing by the aliens that a meeting would be pointless.

Dr. Marvin definitely thinks the aliens are a threat but still wants to meet them. Everyone else chases him in an attempt to stop him from making contact. Ultimately, they fail to stop him, and all four people are taken onto the flying saucer. The aliens tell Dr. Marvin that all they want is peace because their planet was destroyed. They request that we surrender immediately so that they could be in charge of this planet. To show how committed they are to the peace process, the aliens bring out Carol Marlow’s father — a little worse for the wear due to being turned into a zombie via alien brain removal technology. After that, they give the humans two months to decide what to do.

With this new information at hand, the military admits that it may not have the ability to defend earth against the extraterrestrials’ technology. Dr. Marvin, still angry from the worst first contact meeting in the history of Starfleet, offers to build a gun. A construction montage later and we have a giant gun ready to kick some alien ass. The aliens are not idiots though and have discovered that the humans have made a formidable weapon. This is when it gets good! Everybody meets in Washington DC to see who could do the most collateral damage. Nothing short of the fate of the world is at stake and it’s a glorious battle toyale between the aliens in the humans.

This movie has everything. It’s campy, it has unique looking aliens, awesome looking flying saucers (courtesy of legendary Ray Harryhausen), it has a big giant gun to shoot back at the aliens, and — above all — it has excessive destruction. If you’re experiencing anxiety because of the recent reports of UFOs and government investigations into what they may be doing, this movie should set your mind at ease.

Intermission!

• This movie was originally in black-and-white however there is a decent color print which is the version I watched.
• Quick picks include Mars Attacks! (1996), Invaders from Mars (1986), and War Of the Worlds (1953)