Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)

★ 6.1 1h 23m IMDb

Action Sci-Fi

Test space rockets exploding at liftoff and increased reporting of UFO sightings culminate in a direct attempt by alien survivors of a dead, extra-galactic civilization to invade Earth from impervious flying saucers, using ray-weapons of mass destruction.

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Cast

Hugh Marlowe as Dr. Russell A. Marvin Died 1982 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Hugh Marlowe (January 30, 1911 – May 2, 1982) was an American film, television, stage and radio actor. Marlowe was born Hugh Herbert Hipple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began his stage career i...

Joan Taylor as Carol Marvin Died 2012 · Geneva, Illinois, USA

Donald Curtis as Maj. Huglin Died 1997 · Cheney, Washington, USA

Morris Ankrum as Brig. Gen. John Hanley Died 1964 · Danville, Illinois, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum, August 28, 1896 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television and film character actor. Before signing with Paramo...

Thomas Browne Henry as Vice Adm. Enright Died 1980 · Los Angeles, California, USA

Grandon Rhodes as Gen. Edmunds Died 1987 · Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Director Fred F. Sears

Cast Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, Thomas Browne Henry, Grandon Rhodes, John Zaremba, Paul Frees, Frank Wilcox, Sydney Mason

John Chard 6/10 Sep 06, 2014

Restrained but still an effective piece of sci-fi pie.

Reports of flying saucers start coming in thick and fast until sure enough alien invaders begin to attack the Earth. Focal point of their attack is the U.S. Space Programe, can hero in waiting Russel Marvin conjure up a defence weapon to save the day?

Obviously a template for many an alien invader film since its release, Earth Vs The Flying Saucers never quite reaches the heights that perhaps it should have. Bogged down by maudlin scripting and restricted by its budget, it often hints at what a great picture it could have been. The lead cast are poor and this hurts the film even more, Hugh Marlowe as Russell Marvin bores us with the scientific speak when really he should be fascinating us, whilst scream queen duties fall to poor Joan Greenwood who forgets that she is actually supposed to emit some sort of terror when the alien hordes attack! However, on the plus side the aliens themselves are certainly creepy enough to grab your notice, Ray Harryhausen's flying saucers animation is of course top dollar for its time, whilst the final battle across Washington DC is classic gold, an all buzzing assault with splurges of death rays at every turn.

An important film in the pantheon of the genre for sure, but it's just a tad too restrained for its own good. 6/10

CinemaSerf 7/10 Jun 14, 2024

This is another enjoyable little 1950s sci-fi movie with scientist Hugh Marlowe ("Dr.Marvin") and Joan Taylor, his wife "Carol", having to use all their wits guile to save the planet from an alien race who want to invade the Earth and enslave us all. Despite their vastly superior technology our resourceful team work frantically to come up with a very effectively portable, if almost as destructive, solution. The visual effects are quite remarkable for the time, with some input from Ray Harryhausen, and the action is well shot and paced. The end is never in doubt (we are all still here!) but it's a fun ride for eighty minutes of ray guns and competent acting.