Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956)

Directed by Fred F. Sears. Starring Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba, Grandon Rhodes, Thomas Browne Henry, (voice) Paul Frees.

A flying saucer lands on Earth and is immediately fired upon by the U.S. military (so much for “we come in peace” and “take me to your leader”), sparking a catastrophic war between the outer space visitors and the earthbound natives. Title is a shade misleading, as America is the only country seen scrapping with the saucers (cursory mentions of London, Moscow, etc. notwithstanding). Serious, if occasionally juvenile and clichéd, treatment of the 50s sci-fi material helps maintain interest even when it bogs down with scenes of flirtatious banter and sober military science plotting; straightforward pic lacks camp value today, and is all the better for it. Clunky usage of stock footage aside, Ray Harryhausen’s nifty special effects that send all those saucers a-spinning make for a memorably destructive climax set in the nation’s capitol—he’s best known for stop-motion animation of gruesome monsters, but he manages to imbue the sleek metal spacecraft with a hint of personality, too. Also known as Flying Saucers from Outer Space, which was the name of the Donald Keyhoe book from which this film was adapted.

67/100