Invisible Invaders

Invisible Invaders
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Produced by Robert E. Kent
Written by Samuel Newman
Starring
Music by Paul Dunlap
Cinematography Maury Gertsman
Production
company
Premium Pictures
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • May 15, 1959 (1959-05-15) (US)
Running time
 67 min.
Country United States
Language English

Invisible Invaders is a 1959 science fiction film starring John Agar and John Carradine.[1] It was produced by Robert E. Kent, directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by Samuel Newman.

Plot

Dr. Karol Noymann, an atomic scientist, is killed in a laboratory explosion. His colleague, Dr. Adam Penner, is disturbed by the accident and resigns his position and calls for changes.

At Dr. Noymann's funeral, an invisible alien takes over Noymann's dead body. The alien, in Noymann's body, visits Dr. Penner and tells him the earth must surrender or an alien force will invade and take over the earth by inhabiting the dead and causing chaos. The alien demonstrates to Penner that they are able to make things invisible. Penner tells his daughter Phyllis and Dr. John Lamont about the experience and asks Dr. Lamont to relay the message to the government in Washington, D.C.. The government ignores the warning and Dr. Penner is labeled a crank by the media.

Dr. Penner takes his daughter and Dr. Lamont to Dr. Noymann's grave, where they are visited by an invisible alien. Later, at the site of a plane crash, another alien takes over a dead pilot's body, goes to a hockey game, chokes the announcer, and issues an ultimatum for the earth to surrender. Another alien take over a dead body from a car crash and issues the same ultimatum at a different sporting event. The media announce the threat and the governments of the world decide to resist the invasion. Aliens take over more dead bodies and blow up dams, cause fires and destroy buildings.

Maj. Bruce Jay arrives to take Dr. Penner, Phyllis and Dr. Lamont to a secret bunker. On the way, they are confronted by a scared farmer who tries to take their vehicle. Maj. Jay kills the farmer and they proceed to the bunker while an alien takes over the dead farmer's body.

At the bunker, they are contacted by the government and tasked with stopping the alien invasion. They determine that the aliens are radioactive, and decide to capture an alien to conduct tests on. They attempt to spray an alien with acrylic to seal it in plastic, but this fails. They then fill a hole with the acrylic liquid and lure an alien into it. Once captured, the alien is taken to the bunker.

Back at the bunker, they confine the alien in a pressure chamber and break the acrylic using high pressure to set it free. They try several experiments, but nothing affects the alien. Frustrated and hopeless, Dr. Lamont wants to surrender, but Maj. Jay does not. The two men fight and inadvertently damage some electronic equipment, setting off a loud alarm. They notice that the alien reacts violently to the noise.

They make a sound gun and test it on the alien, causing it to become visible and killing it in the process. They try to inform the government, but their radio broadcast is jammed by the aliens, who are apparently nearby. Using a radio direction finder they follow the jamming signal to the alien ship, killing several aliens along the way. Maj. Jay walks through the woods to get to the ship and is confronted by several aliens. He kills them with the sound gun but is shot in the process. Despite being wounded, he finds the alien ship and shoots it with the sound gun, causing the ship to explode. With the jamming signal silenced, Dr. Penner is then able to contact the government and tell them how to stop the aliens while Phyllis tends to Maj. Jay's wound.

Later, at the United Nations, Dr. Penner, Dr. Lamont, Phyllis Penner and Maj. Jay receive thanks for saving the world from the alien invasion.

Cast

Production

Production of Invisible Invaders began in December 1958.[2] The film was made as part of a package deal with The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake. It was the fourth science fiction film made by Premium Pictures.[3]

Release

Invisible Invaders was released to theaters in June 1959.[2]

Reception

The movie had only a short run but became a minor cult film on television.[4]

Critical response

Film critic Emanuel Levy rated the film 3 out of 5 stars.[5] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle said, "Though clearly a product of its own time and a low budget, Invisible Invaders is engaging and fast-paced, riddled with genuinely inspired twists alongside breathtaking implausibilities."[6]

Home media

Invisible Invaders was first released to the home video market on VHS videotape in 1996 by MGM/UA Home Video.[7] The film was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment in 2003, packaged with Journey to the Seventh Planet as part of their Midnite Movies series.[8] The Blu-ray edition, released in July 2016 by Kino Lorber, featured a full-length audio commentary by film historians Tom Weaver and Dr. Robert J. Kiss.

Soundtrack

Paul Dunlap composed the music for Invisible Invaders. Dunlap would later use much of the same music in three other science fiction movies: The Angry Red Planet later in 1959, The Three Stooges in Orbit in 1962, and Destination Inner Space in 1966.

References

  1. ↑ McGee, Scott; Stafford, Jeff (2013). "Invisible Invaders (1959)". Turner Classic Movies. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  2. 1 2 AFI staff (2013). "Invisible Invaders". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California, USA: American Film Institute. OCLC 772904208. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ LA Times staff (December 30, 1958). "FILMLAND EVENTS: MGM Purchases New Novel of Chamales". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, US: Eddy Hartenstein. p. B9. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237.
  4. ↑ Joe Dante on The Invisible Invaders at Trailers from Hell accessed 2 June 2013
  5. ↑ Levy, Emanuel (August 30, 2005). "Invisible Invaders Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Dendle, Peter (2001). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 89–90. ISBN 978-0-7864-9288-6.
  7. ↑ Invisible Invaders (VHS). Santa Monica, California, US: MGM/UA Home Video. 1996. ISBN 9780792829843. OCLC 35071276.
  8. ↑ Invisible Invaders / (DVD). Santa Monica, California, US: MGM Home Entertainment. 2003. ISBN 9780792855286. OCLC 52900002.

Bibliography

External links

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