Earth VS the Flying Saucers (1956)

It’s been a while since I reviewed a 1950’s scifi movie, and what better way to get back to it than with a classic like Earth VS the Flying Saucers?

The first thing you might think of when you hear the title is how generic this movie must be. Well, it is pretty standard. There’s no denying that. But the only reason it seems so cliche’d is because it sort of was the first of its kind. Not in the alien invasion category, but the specific ‘flying saucer’ subgenre. It set a lot of standards that most movies of the same kind that followed stuck to. In fact, one of the only things that separates Independance Day from this Earth VS the Flying Saucers is the fact that in Earth VS the Flying Saucers, the military doesn’t send jets to fight the ships.

As you can guess, the film is about Earth retaliating against the invasion of an alien race that flies around in saucers. The aliens are the last of their race, and want to take over Earth as their new home. It’s no wonder they’re almost extinct- they’re horribly ugly and their bodies are not very articulate. If it weren’t for their “solidified electricity” armor and their ships, they wouldn’t be much of a threat. The real danger is the death rays that each of the saucers has on them, and they primarily use such a weapon on stock footage of World War 2. Human scientists get the idea to make some techno-sonic-disruptor-thingy that screws up the saucers and makes them crash.

Only in the 1950’s will you find this kind of classic scifi gold, where science and physics are thrown out the window as if they were diseased. None of what they explain makes much sense unless you really just go with it. There’s cheesy acting, cheap sets, convenient plot points, an overall story that’s simple, yet ridiculous, and a lot of fun to be had. Most of the enjoyment comes from making fun of the entire movie. I still wouldn’t say this movie is too bad, though. It has a special charm that has been lost from cinema over the decades.

That, and the special effects, for the most part, are pretty good. That’s probably because the saucers and the large scale destruction sequences in DC were all done by none other than Ray Harryhausen. I’ve already reviewed another of his works, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. He used his stop motion technique on the saucers and the crumbling masonry when the ships crash into the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building, and so on. Each of the pieces of those buildings was suspended by string, and animated frame by frame, as the alien ships, also hung by strings, were crashing into them frame by frame. While he doesn’t animate anything as alive or energetic as the Rhedosaurus from The Beast of 20,000 Fathoms, the stop motion in Earth VS the Flying Saucers is still impressive. The strings are never visible, thanks to careful lighting and camera work. As fun as it may be to rip on the bad effects of old scifi movies, it is nice to see a film that tried to look good in at least one area.

While not too deep in its plot, I’d still say that Earth VS the Flying Saucers is a good choice if you ever want to watch a classic 50’s scifi movie, and possibly do your own little MST3K with friends or something. It’s genuinely fun, and I think others can find a lot of enjoyment in the cheesiness of it all. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s not gripping, it’s not boring, it’s right near the middle.

FINAL RATING: 28 / 50

STORY: 3 / 5

ACTING: 3 / 5

CHARACTERS: 2 / 5

SPECIAL EFFECTS: 4 / 5

ACTION: 3 / 5

SOUNDTRACK: 2 / 5

TONE: 2 / 5

ENJOYABILITY: 4 / 5

REWATCH VALUE: 3 / 5

OWNING VALUE: 2 / 5