ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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An Amarican city Invaded by huge Vensian robots!

New York, attacked by a prehistoric beast!

A California town, threatened by human copies who replace the citicizens!

America is under attack from strange forces. How can we survice? (Click on the linksk below to learn the answers.)

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Target Earth (1954)

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Here's an almost seminal sci-fi alien invasion tale from THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCI-FI, a successor to War of the Worlds (1953) and a precursor to Independence Day (1996).

OK, well . . . not quite.

This one is, shall we say, somewhat lower scale — think Five, the small scale end-of-the-world film from . Or even The World, The Flesh and the Devil (1959).

The plot of TARGET EARTH eventually involves hundreds of invading killer robots in a big city. However, the audience never sees more than one robot. That's because there... was only ONE robot.

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The plot is intriguing enough. The film begins with a lone female (Kathleen Crowley) waking up in her apartment.

The pace is a bit slow, but there is ample suspense in these early. The woman soon realizes that the city in which she lives has been emptied of people. She then comes across another female — but this one is lifeless.

Then enter our hero, played by Richard Denning. He startles her and she flees. (Actually both actors nearly had a bad slip in the alley they run through.) But they quickly decide to team up and find out what's going on.

They find another couple (Virginia Grey & Richard Reeves), living it up in a bar.



Earlier the authorities evacuated the city due to an invading army of killer robots. The quartet (as well as another hapless citizen who joins them briefly) soon encounter one of these marauding robots.

The robot looks dopey, but fires a deadly beam of light . . . humans do not survive this light if targeted.

The scene abruptly switches to the army and a scientist (Whit Bissell) at some other location, making strategy to combat the invading force.

The quartet, meanwhile, encounter yet another citizen, this one less-than-civilized. In case you haven't seen this before, it is in black-and-white, so don't be misled by the color stills/lobby cards above. The film is watchable, resembling some of Roger Corman's better efforts.


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This film is available on DVD, but I employ a laserdisc edition which I bought about a dozen years ago. The LD has audio commentary by the producer, Herman Cohen, then 25 when he produced this picture. He also pulled a “Hitchcock” by appearing in one scene as Bissell's assistant.

The film was made for under $100 grand. Cohen mentions a figure of $87,000 for the negative cost — very low even for those years. But, it was a success.

Somehow it gives the impression of a bigger-budgeted invasion tale, and it makes good use of the empty city streets (a feat not possible today without digital FX). Cohen even mentions how he used a cop friend of his to keep people away for certain scenes.



A decade later, the Brits copied this scenario for THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING (1964). We need a big-budget remake of this one, or at least a superior SyFy Channel version.

Click here for a blurry but effective trailer:

_________________ Target Earth Trailer 1954


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BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus ____________________________________________________________________

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

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Godzilla was introduced a year after this Beast, yet Godzilla reaped all the rewards, becoming a superstar of monsters.

Why? Could it be as simple as 'what's in a name?'

Maybe they should have called this Rhedosaurus — Gigantic Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.

I learned that some famed analyst of such monstrous films (Bill Warren, to be exact) felt that the Beast was poorly designed. Perhaps it was the large head. Nope, that makes no sense. This Beast should have been a star.

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ABOVE:THE POSTER AND DVD COVER, NEXT TO THE (VERY SIMILAR) MEXICAN POSTER

In the 1998 Godzilla version from the USA, we were treated to the latest computer FX of that time. The monster was more detailed, it moved more fluidly. Was it more realistic? Yes!

So, why do I prefer the Beast to this new Godzilla?

I'll tell you why: style.


When the Beast moves — as only a Harryhausen creature can — it catches our eye and it commands our attention!

We're spellbound by the artistry . . . especially by the iconic nature of the Beast. It is one of a kind — there nothing else like it, and Harryhausen improved on his formula. We all know what creatures I'm thinking of.

I can never forget the scene of the Beast grabbing that gutsy, crazy cop.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10




BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus ____________________________________________________________________

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

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___ Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) trailer


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This alien invasion is quiet. It's subtle. It happens in a small California town.

The aliens — which are some form of plant life from another world — replace people with emotionless duplicates. This is an attack on the notion of individuality. In this proposed new world, each 'person' is the same as the next one, except in outward appearance.

From the p.o.v. of the aliens, there are much less problems without pesky emotion. But for humans, this is like the ultimate nightmare — you lose your personal identity, all that you are as a unique being.

The main character is the local doctor (Kevin McCarthy) who gradually learns of this hideous incursion, first by the mere rumor and paranoia that people are not behaving as they used to. He slowly loses all his friends and acquaintances to the new order.

At one point, the doctor makes the observation of how most humans steadily and voluntarily discard their emotions during their lifetimes — "We harden our hearts". So, this invasion may merely be an escalation of what we all normally do.

But as the only 'survivor' of his community, will his warnings to the rest of the world be heeded?



The tone of the first half of the film is that of a strange mystery. McCarthy as the doctor begins to kindle a romance with local beauty and former sweetheart, Dana Wynter.

He receives a phone call from a friend who's found an odd, featureless body on his property. The friend (King Donovan) and his wife (Carolyn Jones) are understandably nervous, but they don't know what to make of this.

The mystery deepens, because the body eventually disappears, and there's no proof that it ever happened. The crucial scene in the film (see pic above) and the abrupt shocking turn of events occurs, around the midpoint.

Things seem to return to normal the next day and the two couples resume routine activities during a backyard barbecue. But the doctor suddenly sees new pod bodies being born in the greenhouse!

With this sudden shift which occurs in the best sci-fi/horror stories, everything changes in a matter of seconds. Now the two couples are on the run, and things close in on them rapidly. The full horror of the situation is impressed on the audience near the end, when the blossoming romance between McCarthy and Wynter ends suddenly.

The 1st remake, shifting to San Francisco, was in 1978.

BoG's Score: 8 out of 10



Trivia of the Body Snatchers: Based on Jack Finney's 1954 novel, The Body Snatchers.

~ Besides the 1978 follow-up, other remakes were in 1993 & 2007 (The Invasion).

~ Watch for a small role for future director Sam Peckinpah as the gas meter man.

~ McCarthy would pop up in cameo in the 1978 remake, perhaps as the same character.

~ There's at least one colorized version released on VHS.


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