One of my absolute favorite movies from the 1950s is the 1957 classic, Invasion of the Saucer-Men. Sadly, the 1993 VHS release remains the only legal way to own this film. Consequently, most DVD bootlegs of this enjoyable picture are simply copies of that official VHS. Of all the alien designs to emerge from 1950s science fiction, I find the saucer-men the most captivating. These memorable creatures were brought to life by the legendary special effects artist Paul Blaisdell.
The movie begins by introducing our main characters. Joe Gruen (Frank Gorshin) is new to town. He is accompanied by his drifter friend, Artie Burns (Lyn Osborn). They are both hoping for a quick profit. While Artie is ready to rest, Joe is eager for a night out. Meanwhile, teenage sweethearts Johnny Carter (Steven Terrell) and Joan Haydon (Gloria Castillo) plan to elope. However, their path takes a dramatic turn. They must now defend Earth from an invasion by little green men. The aliens land their spaceship in the local woods near Lover’s Point. This area is a popular spot for teenage couples.
As the young couple leaves Lover’s Point, they drive without headlights to avoid disturbing old man Larkin, the property owner. In doing so, they accidentally strike and kill one of the saucer-men. The scene, quite graphic for its time, shows the dead alien’s hand detaching and using hypodermic-like needles from its fingertips to puncture their car tire. Stranded with a flat, Johnny and Joan decide to seek help at Larkin’s farmhouse to call the police.
Elsewhere, Joe, still looking for a good time (preferably in his car), witnesses the alien spacecraft landing. Driving closer to investigate, he discovers Johnny’s abandoned vehicle with the alien’s body lodged under the bumper. Immediately recognizing the significance of his discovery, Joe believes displaying the body will make him and Artie wealthy. He calls a sleeping Artie, telling him to clear the refrigerator because he’s found something valuable and perishable. While Joe tries to move the body back to his boarding house, other saucer-men attack him. They witnessed their companion’s death. Using their needle-like fingertips, they inject the already intoxicated Joe with a fatal amount of alcohol. The aliens then replace their fallen comrade with Joe’s body under Johnny’s car, framing the teenagers for his death.
When the police arrive, they suspect Johnny and Joan of drunk driving. They take them to the station. The suspicion arises due to the strong smell of alcohol emanating from the scene (a result of the aliens’ actions). The young lovers are shocked when shown the victim from under their car, as it’s a human, not the large-headed alien they encountered. Despite their attempts to explain, the evidence seems to contradict their story. During interrogation, they learn Joe had a roommate, Artie. The police won’t believe their alien tale. Johnny and Joan realize this. They decide to contact Artie. They see him as their only hope for proving their innocence.
Meanwhile, the military arrives at the landing site. Their attempts to communicate with any beings inside the spaceship are unsuccessful. They then decide to use a blowtorch to cut into the craft, triggering an explosion. An overlooked detail is the clear dome on top of the spaceship model, clearly showing an alien head inside. Thus, while the military tries to make contact, an alien simply sits and stares without responding.
The explosion alerts the police, and while they are distracted, Johnny and Joan escape. They find Artie, who mentions Joe’s strange phone call, a story that can corroborate the teens’ account. He agrees to go with them to Johnny’s car to help clear their names. Upon arriving, Artie sees the disembodied alien hand trapped in the car, providing the crucial evidence. He tries to photograph it, but the camera flash causes the hand to vanish in a puff of smoke. The secret to defeating the aliens is revealed: light destroys them! Artie is then attacked by the remaining aliens, who inject him with alcohol. However, because he was sober, he survives the attack.
Johnny devises a plan. He gathers all his friends at Lover’s Point and lures the aliens there. On his signal, everyone turns on their car headlights simultaneously. The bright light causes all the aliens to disintegrate, thwarting the invasion without any help from the authorities. The police were ineffective. The military intervened and destroyed the alien craft. This led to a subsequent cover-up claiming a military jet crash.
Teenagers saving the day was a common theme in Invasion of the Saucer-Men. This is because teenagers were the film’s target audience. It was released as a double feature with I Was A Teenage Werewolf. The film portrays the police as incompetent; Johnny and Joan easily escape the station in the police chief’s car. Even the military is shown as inept, blowing up the alien ship.
Invasion of the Saucer-Men functions effectively as both a science fiction film and a comedy. While the saucer-men might appear comical to some, there’s an undeniable unsettling quality to their design. Paul Blaisdell is their creator. He also designed some of the most iconic monsters of the 1950s. This includes those in It Conquered the World and It! The Terror from Beyond Space, and The She-Creature. His imaginative designs are particularly impressive considering the limited budgets he worked with.
The film called them “little green men” in all advertising materials. However, the actual color of the masks and hands used in the movie was brown. In my opinion, this makes them even more frightening. Since the film was in black and white, the actual color was irrelevant on screen. For 1957, the film featured two surprisingly gory scenes. When the disembodied hand moves, trailing tendons are visible, along with exposed bone. In another scene, a saucer-man attacks Larkin’s bull, resulting in a graphic depiction of its eye being gouged out. This particular scene was often cut from television broadcasts.
As mentioned earlier, the only official home video release of Invasion of the Saucer-Men was a VHS tape in the 1990s. The release was in the 1990s. To date, there has been no official DVD or Blu-ray release, and none are currently planned. This is because Susan Nicholson Hofheinz owns the rights. She is the ex-wife of the late James Nicholson. She owns many classic AIP films and refuses to allow their release. Consequently, those wanting a DVD copy must resort to bootlegs, especially if they no longer have a VCR. It’s a shame that this stubborn refusal allows bootleggers to profit. There was a glimmer of hope when Lionsgate began releasing double feature DVDs under the “Samuel Z. Arkoff Collection: Cult Classics” banner, featuring some excellent films in a fun format. However, only four sets were released, with no future plans.
Invasion of the Saucer-Men was remade in 1965 by director Larry Buchanan as the vastly inferior The Eye Creatures. This was an almost scene-for-scene remake, this time in color. The aliens’ appearance doesn’t even come close to Blaisdell’s saucer-men design. Everything about this remake falls flat, making it virtually unwatchable. It’s not even a case of “so bad it’s good”; it’s simply bad. However, it is worth watching once to see how poorly a remake can be executed. Buchanan also remade It Conquered the World as Zontar, the Thing from Venus. Interestingly, both The Eye Creatures and Zontar have received official DVD releases. As a curious side note, The Eye Creatures‘ title was changed at the last minute to Attack of the. However, the final prints mistakenly read Attack of the the Eye Creatures!
Invasion of the Saucer-Men remains an enjoyable film today and a great example of the 1950s alien invasion genre. It must have been fantastic to experience this movie at a drive-in. Until an official digital release becomes available, we are left with our aging video cassettes, worn from countless viewings. It’s frustrating that movie fans must support bootleggers to enjoy classic films like this.
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