A classic '50s sci-fi B-movie, this early film stands as a template on which later science fiction movies were to be based. Despite working on a low budget, the cast and crew manage to make this one a roaring success. Forget friendly aliens, while these extraterrestrials firstly appear to be nice, they soon reveal their evil plan to colonise earth and destroy mankind! The cast go through the expected motions - there's the typical bunch of tough military guys who just want to blast the aliens away, plus the compassionate scientist hero and his young girlfriend (the age difference is very noticeable between this pair, it always amuses me how middle-aged/old men supposedly appeal to young girls). Marlowe and Taylor may look good as the leads, but they inject little charisma into their roles.
Everybody involved knows that the real stars of the film are the aliens themselves, and pretty good they are too. While looking like 'Greys' inside their costumes, on the outside they have a full suit of protective body armour, which makes them look like wandering automatons. They also shoot a ray from their hands which makes their enemies disappear into thin air, like the Martian rays from WAR OF THE WORLDS (an obvious influence). This effect may be a little cheesy but it's all good fifties fun.
However, the really impressive special effects take the form of the flying saucers, portrayed in wondrous stop-motion animation by that king of the genre, Ray Harryhausen. While this was only Harryhausen's second film, the SFX work of the flying saucers is brilliant, and they steal every moment they're on screen. Your eyes won't leave them. Events in the film climax to an excellent battle between Earth and the flying saucers, with rockets having no effect on the alien technology. Still, aside from the exciting finale, there are plenty of other moments to savour. Aliens mercilessly dropping captives from high up in the air, countless explosions, the hero's trip inside the flying saucer itself, the clever way that the aliens live in-between the seconds of our time. EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS is everything a sci-fi B-movie should be, and it does its job admirably.
Everybody involved knows that the real stars of the film are the aliens themselves, and pretty good they are too. While looking like 'Greys' inside their costumes, on the outside they have a full suit of protective body armour, which makes them look like wandering automatons. They also shoot a ray from their hands which makes their enemies disappear into thin air, like the Martian rays from WAR OF THE WORLDS (an obvious influence). This effect may be a little cheesy but it's all good fifties fun.
However, the really impressive special effects take the form of the flying saucers, portrayed in wondrous stop-motion animation by that king of the genre, Ray Harryhausen. While this was only Harryhausen's second film, the SFX work of the flying saucers is brilliant, and they steal every moment they're on screen. Your eyes won't leave them. Events in the film climax to an excellent battle between Earth and the flying saucers, with rockets having no effect on the alien technology. Still, aside from the exciting finale, there are plenty of other moments to savour. Aliens mercilessly dropping captives from high up in the air, countless explosions, the hero's trip inside the flying saucer itself, the clever way that the aliens live in-between the seconds of our time. EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS is everything a sci-fi B-movie should be, and it does its job admirably.