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Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 9:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Bravo! Well said! Very Happy

I'm always puzzled by the reviews and message board comments that claim the story is weak. I've always thought that the alien's brief statement ("We are the descendants of a disintegrated solar system"), was intriguing!

An entire civilization gone, and all that's left are a few saucers? Interesting. Were these saucers a small military force that was away from the home star system when it was destroyed in a natural disaster?

Or was the "disintegrated solar system" blown up by an enemy race, and these ships fled the battle after the war was lost?

And were the ships we saw the only ones who survived . . . or were there more ships which went to another planet to start a colony, and the crews of those ships disapproved of the plan to conquer Earth and subjugate humanity?

Wowzer bowzer, there are plenty of ideas we could kick around to fill in interesting backstories . . . and fascinating sequels! Very Happy


"Attention, patrons of the Roosevelt Drive-in!"

"This is a force speaking to you through the sound system! The snack bar will be closed in ten minutes. Repeat: the snack bar will be closed in ten minutes!"




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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 12:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, Bud, the aliens stating they are from a disintegrated solar system is intriguing.

However, none of that, or much else about this civilization is fully explored in EVTFS.

The script hands this intriguing comment & then proceeds to ignore it. That is why this movie is only a fraction of what it could have been.

It ignores intelligence so that it can go to the visual effects of the battle.

I am a huge Ray Harryhausen fan & love his FX work here, the finale is rousing. But I cannot help wonder why they could not have produced a more thoughtful & meaningful kind of script.

It seems to me that the visuals too often dominate a sci-fi movie or TV show. Intellect is dispensed with because it will slow down the film. And we can't have that sin take place.

However, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, The Andromeda Strain, Colossus: The Forbin Project, Contact, all show us that you can merge splendid visuals with a splendid script.

I'm not blaming Ray at all as I doubt he had that much power in overseeing the writing aspect of this movie. It is a pity though that the producers did not set the bar higher than what we ultimately received.
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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Keep in mind that the target audience for most of these '50s movies was kids; less talk, more action.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Yes, Bud, the aliens stating they are from a disintegrated solar system is intriguing.

However, none of that, or much else about this civilization is fully explored in EVTFS.

The script hands this intriguing comment & then proceeds to ignore it. That is why this movie is only a fraction of what it could have been.

It ignores intelligence so that it can go to the visual effects of the battle.

With respect, sir, I'd have to disagree with your statement that this movie ignored intelligence, and I certainly don't think it was "a fraction of what it could have been".

It inspired kids like me to gaze up at the stars and think, "Hark, who goes there? Friend or foe?" Shocked

Your last statement in the quote above ("It ignores intelligence so that it can go to the visual effects of the battle") says it all, Pow. This was a movie about an interplanetary conflict — like War of the Worlds — not a somber drama about an alien who comes to Earth with a dire warning for mankind — like The Day the Earth Stood Still

Compare: How much about the Martians did we find out about in the Pal classic? Not much at all, other than their ruthless intentions and the terrifying technology they used against us!

So, think of this movie more like Midway (where we battled the Japanese) rather than the miniseries Shogun (where we studied the Japanese culture in depth).

May I refer you, sir, to the recent (and very enjoyable) discussion about The 27th Day, during which the members had a ball debating far-reaching ideas based solely on the clues that movie gives us. And yet that low budget film is about an interstellar civilization which can build deadly weapons the size of AA batteries . . . and they're capable of wiping out the human race!






So, I urge you not to look at what Earth vs the Flying Saucers did NOT tell us, and expound instead on what we might surmise from what it DOES. Very Happy
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like we'll have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one, Bud.

I still maintain that the scripting took---overall---the easy way out.

Intelligent writing & astonishing visual effects need not be mutually exclusive to one another.

Star Trek:TOS, among others, proved that point over & over again.

Someone posted that the movie was aimed at the kids. So was Star Trek: The Animated series, yet they managed to create terrific episodes that did not talk down to the kids either.

It's a shame that some producers back in the 50s seemed to regard sci-fi as only something meant to entertain but not burden audiences with substance or depth.
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Maurice
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Looks like we'll have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one, Bud.

I still maintain that the scripting took---overall---the easy way out.

Intelligent writing & astonishing visual effects need not be mutually exclusive to one another.

Star Trek:TOS, among others, proved that point over & over again.

Someone posted that the movie was aimed at the kids.
So was Star Trek:The Animated series, yet they managed to create terrific episodes that did not talk down to the kids either.

It's a shame that some producers back in the 50s seemed to regard sci-fi as only something meant to entertain but not burden audiences with substance or depth.

I'm with you, Pow. The stories in these things are often little more than bland sketches to tie together visual effects sequences. This movie could have had some real tension and explored some interesting ideas without losing any of the action quotient. In fact, better drama makes the action sequences have more heft.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Ray was also unhappy with the alien exoskeleton design in this film.

He was pleased with the saucer force field effect though.

I've always loved the "lumpy glass" force field FX! I wonder how he did it. (Hmmm . . . with lumpy glass?) Shocked

Maurice wrote:
Pow wrote:
I still maintain that the scripting took---overall---the easy way out.

It's a shame that some producers back in the 50s seemed to regard sci-fi as only something meant to entertain but not burden audiences with substance or depth.

I'm with you, Pow. The stories in these things are often little more than bland sketches to tie together visual effects sequences. This movie could have had some real tension and explored some interesting ideas without losing any of the action quotient. In fact, better drama makes the action sequences have more heft.

Gentlemen, I agree with you that Earth vs the Flying Saucers doesn't present us with the kind of "interesting ideas" that the some of the more complex film plots have given us over the years — the best example of which is Forbidden Planet, which we're still debating and decoding after 62 years!

However, even though Earth vs the Flying Saucers doesn't give us mind-boggling concepts through dialog and complex characters, it does inspire a great deal of thought . . . through the visuals!

After seeing scenes like these, who could watch this movie and not be completely convinced that an alien race had invaded Earth and threaten to enslave us? Shocked







]


When I saw this movie as a kid (and again repeatedly in the years afterwards), my brain was electrified with speculations about the aliens — where they came from, what their civilization was like, would more of them return, what caused the destruction of their home plane?

Look at this this way, guys. We all love The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Thing from Another World, right? But both of those great movies do little more than tantalize us with suggestions about their alien visitors! We don't know any more about Klaatu's civilization and The Thing's home planet than we do about the aliens in Earth vs the Flying Saucers!

What makes those two classics so enjoyable are the speculations we can make, based on the juicy clues we are given — few as those clues may be!

So, I submit that the plot of Earth vs the Flying Saucers is rich with subtle suggestions about the true nature of these alien invaders. They're presented in a few key scenes and the dialog they contain, along with those spectacular shots that offer strong evidence that these invaders are as real as Klaatu and as dangerous as the The Thing!

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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A couple of EvsFS advertising goodies!




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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

You guys have GOT to watch this amazing video by Steve Johnson, aka SciFiSteve, in which he displays his amazing ideas for the interior of the saucers!

Be patient during the first eight minutes as Steve delivers his narration without the image changing very often. His great ideas about how the saucers work are well worth listening to.

At about the 8:00 mark we go inside the saucer, and that's when the video really becomes fascinating. I have a much greater appreciation for this movie now because of the way Steve has shown me such a fascinating version of what the internal mechanisms of the saucers might look like.

Enjoy the video! Cool
________________________________



___ 3D tour of Earth vs Flying Saucers * Scifisteve


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 2:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

____________________________________

"The moment Ray saw the first draft of the poster, he realized the artist had completely misunderstood the title!" Shocked






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Morbius
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 8:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great Movie
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 8:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Morbius wrote:
Great Movie

Well, hey there, Morbius!

Two posts in four years! With a great screen name like that, we certainly wouldn't mind hearing from you more often. Laughing

Anyway, welcome back.
Very Happy
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Morbius
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you have a great site and I continually enjoy the content even though I may not comment.

As a child I saw many of the sci-fi movies of the 50s with my parents who knew that I enjoyed these movies and I suspect they did as well. I can remember sneaking down the stairwell to watch the TV as they were showing segments of the upcoming Forbidden Planet on one of the TV shows of the era (Jack Parr, Johnny Carson?). I came down and watched it on TV and asked my parents to take me to this movie, which they did.

At the time I could not understand all of the concepts, but could follow enough to be mesmerized by the movie. I also saw many other movies with my parents. The second time I saw 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was with a rental VCR tape (80s) and it was a lousy copy. I have many favorites from that era and after.

And again, appreciate the effort you’ve put into the site.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 3:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Morbius, your upbeat post was just what I need to hear!

Please share any-and-all such anecdotal stories of your sci-fit memories with us. Those are the kinds I frequently post, and I love those sorts of stories from our other members.

Your memories of watching the late shows in the 50s and being taken to great movies by your loving parents is exactly the kind of childhood I had.

You are a valued member of this board, and want to hear any other personal memories you can share with us! Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Nov 18, 2022 11:31 am; edited 1 time in total
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Morbius
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is one, a confession of sorts.

Many years ago when I was a child, the local theater had a double billing of “I Married a Monster from Outer Space” and “The Blob”.

So naturally I wanted to go, and my mother took me. We walked in halfway into I Married a Monster from Outer Space, which I watched till the end. As I recall it had a happy ending with the defeat of the aliens.

The blob began, and this was a unique monster. It was shapeless and could squeeze through any opening. When it got to the scene where the old man was lying in the doctor’s office and you can see the blanket move as the rest of his body was enveloped and consumed like a jelly fish — well, that was just too much for me, I was so frightened I had to ask my mother to leave.

To this day I never told anyone about this. of course, fearing that I'd be called chicken. It wasn’t until many years later that I was able to see both movies in their entirety. And I enjoyed them both — slthough even as a child I thought the teenagers looked kind of old for teenagers. I trust this revelation will be kept confidential.
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