(Some Spoilers) One of the best Sci-Fi movies coming out of post WWII Hollywood "Earth vs. the Flfying Saucers" still holds up today just like it did back in 1956 some fifty years after it was released. Traveling vast distances in space a fleet of alien spaceships reach earth and plan to take over the planet but want to avoid any conflict with earths inhabitants in order not to destroy it.
With their own planet slowly dying the earth is the perfect place for the aliens to live in and they plan to first use persuasion not force but force if necessary if the earthlings dare to resist them. Trying to get in touch with one of the brightest of those on earth to get his government, the US, as well as the rest of the world community of nations to give up peacefully the aliens chose the brilliant Dr. Russell Marvin,Hugh Marlowe, as the person to give their message to.
It later turns out that Dr. Marvin isn't as bright as the aliens at first thought that he was. Dr. Marvin couldn't figure out that they were trying to contact him even when their space-craft , that was the size of a battleship, was practically on top of his car as he and his newlywed bride Carol, Joan Taylor, were driving in the wide-open California Desert. Marvin finally gets the message from a audio tape-recording that Carol made, by accident, of he incident with the flying saucer.
Trying to get in touch with the earth's governments the aliens who even after destroying the secret US military installation Skyhook, that Dr. Marvin was in charge off,still couldn't convince the US government, and Dr. Marvin, that the earth was under attack from aliens from outer space. Those in charge thought that it, the Skyhook disaster, was some kind of unexplained phenomena.
Dr. Marvin finally realizing at last what was going on, after about a half dozen alien attempts to get his attention, has a secret meeting arranged with the aliens at night by the seashore off Chesapeake Bay. The alien take Dr. Marvin and is wife Carol US Army Maj. Huglin, Donald Curtis as well as motorcycle cop Larry Blake, who just happened to tag along, in their space-craft and give a message to bring back to their leaders: Surrender or Die.
On the space-craft the earth visitors hear and finally meet Carol's father Brig. Gen. John Hanley, Morris Ankrum,who the aliens captured during their attack on Skyhook. It turned out that Gen. Hanley had been lobotomized by the aliens with his brain being stored in the flying saucer as an information data-bank. Hanley just walks around aimlessly with a brainless and zombie-like stare and later together with highway policeman Blake, who also was lobotomized by the aliens, is thrown out the space-craft in mid-flight as if they were yesterday's garbage.
Making their stand in the US capital, Washingtn D.C, against the fleet of alien flying saucers the US military, with the help of Dr. Marvin,found the aliens weak-point. With the use of ultra-high frequency sounds the US military knocked out the entire alien fleet of flying saucers but only after the city of Washington was destroyed by them.
One of special-effect expert Ray Harryhausens best work with the footage of the movie used in dozens of Sci-fi films all throughout the 1950's and 60's. Remade in 1996 as "Inependance Day" but the original is still far better even though it didn't have the spectacular computer generated special effects that it's remake had.
With their own planet slowly dying the earth is the perfect place for the aliens to live in and they plan to first use persuasion not force but force if necessary if the earthlings dare to resist them. Trying to get in touch with one of the brightest of those on earth to get his government, the US, as well as the rest of the world community of nations to give up peacefully the aliens chose the brilliant Dr. Russell Marvin,Hugh Marlowe, as the person to give their message to.
It later turns out that Dr. Marvin isn't as bright as the aliens at first thought that he was. Dr. Marvin couldn't figure out that they were trying to contact him even when their space-craft , that was the size of a battleship, was practically on top of his car as he and his newlywed bride Carol, Joan Taylor, were driving in the wide-open California Desert. Marvin finally gets the message from a audio tape-recording that Carol made, by accident, of he incident with the flying saucer.
Trying to get in touch with the earth's governments the aliens who even after destroying the secret US military installation Skyhook, that Dr. Marvin was in charge off,still couldn't convince the US government, and Dr. Marvin, that the earth was under attack from aliens from outer space. Those in charge thought that it, the Skyhook disaster, was some kind of unexplained phenomena.
Dr. Marvin finally realizing at last what was going on, after about a half dozen alien attempts to get his attention, has a secret meeting arranged with the aliens at night by the seashore off Chesapeake Bay. The alien take Dr. Marvin and is wife Carol US Army Maj. Huglin, Donald Curtis as well as motorcycle cop Larry Blake, who just happened to tag along, in their space-craft and give a message to bring back to their leaders: Surrender or Die.
On the space-craft the earth visitors hear and finally meet Carol's father Brig. Gen. John Hanley, Morris Ankrum,who the aliens captured during their attack on Skyhook. It turned out that Gen. Hanley had been lobotomized by the aliens with his brain being stored in the flying saucer as an information data-bank. Hanley just walks around aimlessly with a brainless and zombie-like stare and later together with highway policeman Blake, who also was lobotomized by the aliens, is thrown out the space-craft in mid-flight as if they were yesterday's garbage.
Making their stand in the US capital, Washingtn D.C, against the fleet of alien flying saucers the US military, with the help of Dr. Marvin,found the aliens weak-point. With the use of ultra-high frequency sounds the US military knocked out the entire alien fleet of flying saucers but only after the city of Washington was destroyed by them.
One of special-effect expert Ray Harryhausens best work with the footage of the movie used in dozens of Sci-fi films all throughout the 1950's and 60's. Remade in 1996 as "Inependance Day" but the original is still far better even though it didn't have the spectacular computer generated special effects that it's remake had.