User Reviews

Made at Shepperton Studios in England, this very talky black-and-white sci-fi horror effort (originally released to US theaters as BLOOD BEAST FROM OUTER SPACE) seems at times like two different films combined together, but is a passable time killer nonetheless. The agreeable trio of good-looking, middle-aged scientist Jack Costain (John Saxon), bespeckled, head-scratching vet Dr. Morley (Maurice Denham) and analysis expert Ann Barlow (Patricia Haines) pick up something big and weird and "invisible to the naked eye" on the radar... and it's heading straight for greater London! Initially assuming "it" is a twenty-foot meteor, they (and the military) track it down to a rural area and discover only a small white sphere where they expected to find a giant crater. Research into the mysterious ball discovers it is made from an undetermined silicone material, has a temperature of 25 degrees below zero and it didn't actually fall to Earth, but was somehow guided there.

Spending a late night at the lab alone doing a report, Ann suddenly comes down with a headache, blurred vision and profuse sweating, hears heavy breathing coming from the room containing the (now-glowing) sphere and barely escapes with her life when a scaly, rubbery-looking monster claw reaches out and grabs her. She makes it to the alarm, but the military men who come to her air find nothing. The army major (John Carson) naturally scoffs at Ann's claim (saying it is a practical joke), but Jack discovers mud in the lab and a monstrous footprint outside that backs up her claim. So Morley decides to go in alone with the sphere; hooked up to a microphone to call in his co-workers to help in case things get out of hand. He suffers the same physical pains Ann did the night before and encounters the same creature (which is blurred out), but he ends up dying of fright (or, keeling over with a heart attack; it's hard to tell). The sphere (which is actually a portal for matter to be transferred from place to place) disappears into thin air and the evil alien then escapes, steals a car and escapes the military base, running over and killing the major in the process.

Three weeks later, over twenty young women have mysteriously disappeared and Scotland Yard (led by Alfred Burke as Det. Hartley) is investigating. It turns out that the alien, named Medra (Robert Crewdson) has set up a bogus modeling agency called Orion Enterprises and is luring ladies there with an ad placed in 'Bikini Girl' magazine. Medra (who now has something of a personality) is tall (6'5"), speaks with a cultured-sounding British voice, disguises himself with a black mask with the eyes cut out and leather gloves and is usually seen only in shadow. The women he calls in to his office are hypnotized with a light and sent back through the portal to his home planet Ganymede (the third moon of Jupiter), where they are used to help repopulate (and help phase out their more inhuman aesthetic qualities!). Haines and Saxon also return to aid the police; she in an ill-fated attempt to go undercover to catch the creature and he to listen to the alien's snooty final commentary ("We from Ganymede knew that we were superior beings and had nothing to learn from you!") before it blazes back to his home planet.

Aubrey Morris (THE WICKER MAN) livens things up briefly as a creepy, grinning, effete bookstore owner where the alien retrieves his mail. He makes some hilarious facial expressions while eying Det. Hartley, says "I like men with nice eyes, don't you?," and blown him a kiss as he exits the store! There are some minor attempts at comedy, involving a pair of goofy soldiers and Marianne Stone (who has a flashback) and Warren Mitchell as the bickering parents of a missing girl. Also in the cast is 'guest star' Jack Watson as Sergeant Hawkes.

When compared to some of the more visionary, intelligent and thought-provoking science fiction films and TV shows coming out of England at the time (Quatermass, Doctor Who, etc.), this seems pretty minor and forgettable, not to mention talky and slow-moving. However, it is still an entertaining film, with some care and imagination put into the storyline, plausible dialog (Jim O'Connolly scripted from the novel by Frank Crisp), OK special effects and good acting. The appearance of the alien, when finally fully revealed at the very end, is something of a surprise; a good or bad one, depending on the viewer.

The version I saw opens with a copy of the British Board of Censors certificate ('This is to certify that 'The Night Caller' has been passed for exhibition when no child under 16 is present") giving it an "X" rating. And don't forget the theme song performed by some unknown chap named Mark Richardson, which is a laugh riot. It (sung with hilarious deep, dramatic vocals) goes "The Night Caller has a hypnotizing spell... Those who fight it never live to tell..." The Image DVD is a pristine, very good-looking print, but the only extras on the disc are scene selection and filmographies for Gilling and Saxon. Originally released to American theaters as BLOOD BEAST FROM OUTER SPACE.

A strange orb is found in the outskirts of London. The orb is soon determined to be a matter transference device sent to Earth from one of Jupiter's moons. It seems this alien civilization is bent on sending one of their own to Earth, but for what purpose? When a string of 20+ young women goes missing, the orbs monstrous purpose becomes much clearer.

Night Caller from Outer Space is a rather talky, but enjoyable little B&W sci-fi thriller. Highlights for me include the mystery elements of the story from the first ¾ of the film's runtime, seeing John Saxon in such a decidedly British production, the unknown creature lurking in the shadows, and some outstanding cinematography (in fact, the film looks far better than it has any right to given it's obviously modest budget). The biggest weakness, unfortunately, comes in the final moments of the movie. The ending of Night Caller from Outer Space is such a let-down and non-event that it really takes away from everything that came before. As the movie ended, I sat in amazement and said to myself, "That's it? You've got to be kidding." It's a very lame payoff. Night Caller from Outer Space deserved better than that.

Finally, Night Caller from Outer Space includes some really cool period shots of London at night from the mid-60s. I always get a kick out of that sort of thing.

One of a handful of low-budget, British science fiction thrillers which came out at the same time (INVASION was another) and effectively portraying man's encounter with the first of an invading alien force. THE NIGHT CALLER is a low-key chiller, short on action but high on suspense. An adept cast work their hardest to bring life to their lines, which are unfortunately mired in scientific jargon, yet the film works because the plot shift from a Quatermass-style military investigation to a mildly sleazy "missing girl" mystery comes as a welcome surprise.

This is an undeniably British film, what with its stiff, impeccable accents and stuffy police investigation, yet the American influence is clear. John Saxon is the charismatic and imported American lead, who brings what life he can to his stuffy lines. Despite being a thriller more mature than its American counterparts, the producers of this still couldn't resist throwing in a tacky, "monster" claw-hand which is seen briefly coming through some doorways, to mixed effect.

THE NIGHT CALLER does threaten to become occasionally boring due to the lack of action, but the short running time thankfully dispels this. Things pick up for a police "stake-out" at the film's finale, which results in the unexpected death of one of the leading protagonists. Along with this, the conclusion is also unusually downbeat, with the alien visitor getting away with his crimes and returning to his home planet.

There is much to enjoy in this film, not least the efforts of a sterling cast. Patricia Haines is good value as the sturdy female lead and makes an interesting team with Saxon. Also around are Maurice Denham (as a scientist) and John Carson (shortly before his success as the evil squire in THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES) as a military major who helps out. The familiar faces of Jack Watson and Warren Mitchell pad out the cast, the latter appearing in a clever comic scene where he is interviewed, with his wife, by the police.

The alien in this film is kept in the shadows for much of the running time, which is a good thing because the final revelation of his appearance is a disappointingly human one. To keep things moving, a few staples are thrown in - a car chase, a sleazy interview with a homosexual porn shop worker - as well as a load of unused scientific equipment in the background of some scenes to give them a realistic look. The film is shot in stark black and white, and good use is made of shadows and lighting. I've also watched the colourised version which doesn't have quite the same impact. John Gilling's assured direction serves up a few chills and a sense of real urgency in places but the low budget means that this is no classic. It is, however, an intriguing oddity, and well worth watching for fans of the period.

In a way, in spite of John Saxon turning up in the cast, this is a very British sort of sci-fi picture. That is to say there are no slavering, overly thyroid insects googling about, in search of prey, and there's no widescale destruction by oozing aliens. Instead, the title creature is content to work behind the scenes to restore his devastated planet. Being shot in black and white, and making carefully planned use of light and shadow, the film possesses a unique feeling and a distinct touch of menace in the proceedings.

The film opens to a long shot of London at twilight. As the title song is sung (yes, it's a vocal piece with a rather heavy orchestration and a '60s Pop feel), a small, bright light crosses the sky above the unsuspecting city.

This speck is tracked by a research establishment, and by the military, who send out patrols to locate whatever may have fallen in the countryside.

The center sends Jack Costain (John Saxon). Costain encounters the military force seeking the object and, after a brief exchange of notes, the mysterious object is located, It is a while ball, about the size of a basketball, and supercool. This intrigues Costain, as a fallen bit of space debris should logically take hours to cool to the point where it could be safely handled.

Relocated to the center, the object is left in an abandoned room while the personnel attend to other duties. It begins to emit an intense light, and this gives Ann Barlow (Patricia Haines), who's stayed on at night to transcribe notes, a massive headache.

While she watches, a far door in the room opens slightly, and a grotesque claw tries to force through the crack. She manages to sound an alarm and the hand is quickly withdrawn. The unseen intruder is seemingly trapped in the room here the space object is being stored.

A security investigation turns up nothing pointing to an intruder, aside from a few generic footprints outside. However, the researchers formulate a few quick conclusions on the mystery sphere -- speculating that it might be capable of transporting matter from one place to another. Doctor Morley (Maurice Denham) decides to spend time alone with the object, in a darkened room.

Something does appear but, with his glasses broken, Morley doesn't see it before he dies (evidently of a stroke or heart attack).

Shortly thereafter, ads begin appearing in newspapers for girls to work as models. The contact is Medra (Robert Crewdson), who is either masked or stays just out of the light. The only clear lead is that replies are sent to a postal box which can be traced, and the authorities begin work on that project at once.

The parents of a girl who had answered one of these ads and had then visited Medra speak of his coming to their house. They had gotten an odd feeling during his brief visitation (the flashback sequence is very unnerving through Medra's soft, even voice and the way he keeps in the shadow). They also mention an almost 3D picture he had produced of their daughter, which had later vanished (Medra evidently uses these photos to call his victims to him, and he makes sure they bring the photos with them).

Working with the authorities, Costain and Ann learn that Medra also can be reached through a questionable bookshop, and Ann goes there, posing as a would-be model. By now, they've realized Medra must be an alien, and they want to establish contact.

Medra arrives and, realizing that Ann knows too much, kills her (another disquieting and offbeat touch -- heroines generally don't die in these sorts of films). There's an attempt to chase him down (the latest victim -- the girl whose parents had spoken to Costain -- is now with Medra), but he escapes with fresh a batch of kidnapped girls -- briefly showing a scarred, androgynous face as he explains he's trying to repair the damaged gene pools of his world -- a moon on Jupiter.

One of the few sci-fi films in which the "monster" wins. Very careful in its use of light and its handling of the elusive Medra. There are also some odd camera angles used in the scenes featuring the alien, which strongly add to the air of menace his appearances evoke. Worth at least a single screening.

A 7 out of 10.

The Night Caller starts at 'Falsley Park, Government Radio & Electronic Research Establishment' where two scientists named Dr. Morley (Maurice Denham) & an American named Dr. Jack Costin (John Saxon) plus their assistant Ann Barlow (Patricia Haines) have detected an unidentified object in space heading for London at 10,000 mph. They assume that it is a meteorite but soon work out that this object is being guided down & has landed somewhere nearby, cue opening credits over Big Ben & the Houses of Parliment just to further prove that we are in fact in London! In no time whatsoever Doctors Costin & Morley are at the calculated crash site, however the army have beaten them to it. But Costin & Morley aren't going to let a little thing like the army stop them so after waving their ID's all over the place they're both giving out orders like they own the place. They speak to the Major (John Carson) in charge & establish the whereabouts of the object. Upon arrival they find a white sphere that appears to be slightly larger than a football, they load it into a jeep & head back to Falsley Park to examine it. Costin & Morley quickly discover that the sphere is alien to our planet & they theorise that it might be a transmitter for sending & receiving matter. Soon after Morley is killed while conducting an experiment on his own & the sphere is stolen, the only clue Costin has is a description by Ann who claims she was attacked by something with a claw for a hand & that 21 girls in under 3 weeks have disappeared & a man fitting the description Ann & some soldiers gave was seen by each girls house shortly before they went missing. Costin visits Scotland Yard & talks to Super Intendant Hartley (Alfred Burke) who is heading the investigation, together they quickly learn that the common factor between the missing girls is a magazine called 'Bikini Girls' which carried an advert to which they all replied. As more girls go missing Costin is convinced that it is connected to the sphere & the mysterious man with the claw, but how exactly...?

Directed by John Gilling I thought The Night Caller was an OK Sci-Fi horror that's a decent enough way to spend 80 odd minutes. The script by Jim O'Connolly based on the novel 'The Night Callers' by Frank Crisp is not quite as predictable as I expected without the cliché of any monsters hiding out in nearby woods occasionally popping up to kill the odd disposable character & is basically split into two half's. The first half of The Night Caller is standard 60's Sci-Fi with the alien object falling form the sky, the army & scientist characters at odds with each other because the scientists see it as a possible way to learn & want to examine it while the army see it as a possible threat & want to destroy it & the monster which is only shown by it's rubbery claw to start with. But for the second half of it's running time The Night Caller switches to police thriller as the investigation into the missing girls come to the fore & the film concentrates on this aspect. Like a lot of other Sci-Fi from this period The Night Caller tries to end on a message as it asks who are the real aggressors & what are we doing to our world... It moves along at a reasonable pace & never becomes boring & I thought the dialogue wasn't quite as stiff & wooden as in most 50's/60's Sci-Fi films. It does seem a little strange that a highly intelligent being from another world capable of space flight & the transmitting of matter has to take an ad out in the back of a magazine called Bikini Girls to attract girls though! The Night Caller is a fairly modest effort & doesn't try to do too much, there is only one monster so don't expect a entire invasion & it's mostly only shown by it's claw hand while when it's face is eventually revealed it looks just like an ordinary man with a few lines on one side of his face. The special effects are kept to an absolute minimum as well, there are just a couple of optical effects throughout the entire film without a flying saucer in sight. There is no blood or gore & only two people die as our alien is revealed to be mostly peaceful at the end & basically means us no harm. The acting wasn't as bad as I had expected either but at the same time it ain't great & Saxon gives a very one dimensional performance. Technically the film is fine with the surprisingly nice sharp free flowing black & white photography being better than I expected, I mean I've seen a lot worse in films such as this. Overall I liked The Night Caller as far as 60' Sci-Fi goes, it didn't knock my socks off or change my life but it's an entertaining way to pass 80 odd minutes. Worth a watch especially if your a fan of this sort of thing.

The Night Caller is one of several low budget British sci-fi movies that were made around the mid-1960's and is one of the best. Others include Invasion and Unearthly Stranger. I found this one quite good.

A strange sphere from outer space lands on some moorland and the Army recover it and take it to the local research station. During the night, it starts to glow and making a strange bleeping noise at the same time. Just after, a woman who works there sees a figure dressed in black and nobody believes her at first. They do when a strange footprint is found and a car makes off from the research station at high speed. Despite a lot of shooting, they fail to capture the driver, who is the alien. In London, women start to disappear, all after applying for a job advertised in the Bikina Girl magazine. The woman who works at the research station applies but she is killed. The police eventually close in on Medra (the alien) and we get to know he is from one of Jupiter's moons, Ganyemede and wants these women to take back with him, which he does. The sphere then takes off in a ball of fire. The alien the winner in this one.

The Night Caller is very atmospheric at times and is shot well in black and white. One interesting point is how the alien knew how to drive when escaping from the research station.

The cast includes American actor John Saxon (Planet of Blood, A Nightmare On Elm Street) and several well known British stars: Maurice Denham (Curse of the Demon, The Nanny), Warren Mitchell (The Crawling Eye, Till Death Us Do Part), Patricia Haines, Ballard Berkeley (Fawlty Towers), Alfred Burke (Children of the Damned) and Aubrey Morris.

The Night Caller is worth checking out, especially for fans of 1950's/60's science fiction. Excellent.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

"The Night Caller (from outer space)" is another clever British Sci-Fi gem from the sixties that incomprehensibly got neglected over the years. What are you waiting for, horror fans? This puppy is up for an urgent re-discovery as it is a rather intelligent, atmospheric and involving film. The premise is silly, sure, and can be summarized in one phrase: Medra is an alien from Jupiter's 3rd moon, capable of transporting matter through space, and he comes to earth to abduct young girls in order to repopulate his planet. I realize the plot sounds like a textbook example of cheap and cheesy 60's trash, but it really is worth watching! The script is filled with minor but ingenious little aspects and there's this constant haze of mysteriousness that keeps you fascinated at all times. The movie opens with three scientists (Denham, Saxon and Patricia Haines) investigating a strange alien cocoon that landed on the earth but it abruptly turns into an action-packed detective story in which cool cop-characters (like Stanley Meadows) and the remaining scientists try to solve the disappearing of over twenty girls, unquestionably linked to the arrival of the outer space visitor... The editing is a little rough at times, but the dialogues are wit and imaginative. There's some nice B-movie flavored acting as well, especially coming from the great John Saxon. Especially his 60's and 70's movies are terrific since it looks like he was still figuring out himself which type of roles fit him best.

If you're familiar with the Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee episodes of the BBC series "Doctor Who" that were set on Earth you will almost certainly enjoy this film from 1965. In fact, The Night Caller appears to have had a substantial impact on the British series, with the opening scene of the film with the radar screen almost exactly duplicated five years later for the opening scene of Jon Pertwee's first Dr Who adventure. The film also has that fine actor Maurice Denham playing a Dr Who type and the frequent involvement of the army in that era of the TV series is mirrored by the brief involvement of the army in this movie. One of Denham's assistants, played by Patricia Haines, also reminds me of Pertwee's scientist companion Liz Shaw in Dr Who.

The theme tune at the beginning is wonderfully reminiscent of the 60's and sounds classic. The film is nearly spoilt by the terribly bland, square-jawed John Saxon playing an American whose presence in the film doesn't make much sense. The black and white picture is a major asset, helping the atmosphere superbly. There are supporting actors worthy of mention, including Warren (Till Death Us Do Part) Mitchell, Ballard Berkeley (the Major from Fawlty Towers) and the creepy character actor Aubrey Morris, all of whom are sadly underused.

The plot is satisfactory but rather thin (at least it's not convoluted) and the film proves to be fairly enjoyable sci-fi but not frightening by any means (except perhaps for the part at the end when you see a brief image of the alien's face). There is a definite lack of chemistry between the characters and not enough time to develop any (unfortunately Denham's character gets killed long before the film's conclusion). In its favour, the movie doesn't try anything too ambitious for its budget and consequently still looks good today. In short, The Night Caller is worth watching for fans of old British sci-fi.

Stubbornly boring from beginning to end, this seems to be a metaphorical science fiction film that expresses far too many themes for viewers to agree on. Scientifically talky and tediously boring, this is trying far too hard to be artsy while sticking to modern trends. It mixes the lust over beach party movies with a moral outrage that has so-called bikini beauties being attacked by a rather effete male creature who may be from outer space. Is this creature some modern Jack the Ripper with an eye for blondes he considers amoral or an alien with judgment issues acting as if he was God, brought down to earth to pass on a warning of some kind. Certain elements of this character makes him seem like a strong but prissy woman hater, and of course some might constrew that as an attack on the visibly rising gay population. Whatever it's theme is, it's dreary as all get out and badly acted and photographed. There's not one bit of comedy, and the only name going for it is John Saxon whose career wasn't finding any great shakes after a few early hits.

A pretty nifty Sci-Fi flick from the United Kingdom featuring a token yank John Saxon. Inhabitants of Soho live in fear as a fast falling object falls from the sky. A glowing sphere is means of transportation for an alien assumed to be from Jupiter. The "night caller" is suspected of stalking young nubile women who read the magazine Bikini Girl. The creature's purpose is to replenish his dying race. All we see of the monster is a claw-like hand, otherwise the mystery visitor stays in the shadows. Taut suspense and decent special effects in Black & White. The cast also features: Patricia Haines, Maurice Denham, Alfred Burke, John Carson and Barbara Stevens.

"The Mummy's Shroud" director John Gilling helmed this low-key,black & white, science fiction horror chiller about an alien invasion of Earth epic that displays enough subtlety to win it points. Scenarist Jim O'Connolly of "Horror on Snape Island" adapted Frank Crisp's novel. O'Connolly and Gilling win points for emphasizing subtlety in what constitutes a latter day "X-Files" outing. The only audacious departure from the norm is a huge claw of a hand that metaphorically implies the alien's savage barbarism. The surprise ending is what sets this tale of terror aside. An all British cast headed by John Saxon never let on that a monster lurks in the closet. Indeed, the restraint that all display in his above-average, 84-minute epic is admirable.

Scientists Jack Costain, Ann Barlow, and Professor Morley monitor what they initially believe is a meteor traveling at 10-thousand miles-per-hour until it penetrates the Earth's atmosphere, doesn't burn up and lands outside London. The military are waiting for our protagonists at the UFO landing site when they arrive to investigate. They present their clearance passes and find what appears to be a harmless sphere about the size of a kick-ball. Professor Morley (Maurice Denham of "Countess Dracula") and company have the army transport the sphere to their Falsley Park, Government Radio & Electronic Research Establishment laboratory. The Major-in-Charge (Jack Carson of "Doomsday") deploys his soldiers around the laboratory, with the help of Sergeant Hawkins (Jack Watson of "The Wild Geese") delivering their orders with his usual gruff pugnacity. After Professor Morley and Dr. Costain (John Saxon of "The Unforgiven") leave for the evening, Ann (Patricia Haines of "Virgin Witch") sticks around to type up her notes. She notices a light in the room where the sphere is stored. Indeed, the sphere is glowering. She opens the door and is shocked when a huge scaly-clawed hand seizes her wrist. Not surprisingly, the Major refuses to believe that a monster could have frightened Ann. Costain spots a suspicious looking foot-print from the window in the ground outside the store room. Not even an plaster model of the foot-print can jar the Major's belief that his men played a practical joke on Ann. Meanwhile, Morley suggests that the sphere acts as a receiver for the transmission of matter from another planet. Cue Dr. Who. When he tries to observe this phenomenon, Morley meets his fate. The sphere vanishes, and the Major tries to stop the automobile barreling out of the complex with an intruder at the wheel. He fires several shots at the car but is struck and dies.

"Blood Beast from Outer Space" lurches off into another genre with news that some twenty-one young women have disappeared in three weeks without a trace. Costain approaches the newspapers with his space creature story, much to the chagrin of Scotland Yard. Initially, they suspect Costain is vainly trying to drum up publicity for himself. Superintendent Hartley of Scotland Yard (Alfred Burke of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets") discovers all the women responded to a classified magazine advertisement in a publication called Bikini Girl. They contacted a tall, mysterious, imposing figure named Medra at a Soho bookshop. Ann decides to offer herself as a guinea pig against Costain's protests. At this point, the heroes know that the alien is named Medra. The sordid bookseller Thorburn (Aubrey Morris of "A Clockwork Orange") fronting for the beast is murdered before Ann enters his shop. When Ann confronts the being, it wastes no time and murders her moments before Costain and Hartley burst with a squad of policemen fast on their heels. The alien literally saw the fear in Ann's eyes and realized she had not come to him with any intention of fulfilling the advertisement. The alien kills her without a qualm.

Hartley clutches a straw of hope when a woman tells him about her encounter with Medra. She explains that Medra behaved in a nice manner when he interviewed her and she felt no fear in his presence. Scotland Yard stakes out her apartment. The alien pulls up in the car that it used to escape from the research laboratory and Scotland Yard chases it to a remote urban location where the monster--a tall fellow who appears to be half-human and half-beast reveals that it came--as the scientists suspected--from Jupiter's third moon, Ganymede. Basically, it He put in plain words that he arrived on Earth to assemble women for genetic experiments to help Ganymede's population, a mutant race of mutants that survived atomic warfare long ago. As our heroes watch, the tall, mysterious thing leaves Earth in the sphere and heads home to Ganymede.

"Blood Beast from Outer Space" is pretty gripping stuff. Not even the ridiculous looking claw straight out of a really bad drive-in B-movie makes the film look phony. The business-like performances contribute an air of credibility that bolsters the suspense and tension in this minute thriller. The most interesting and offbeat character is the low-life magazine dealer that Audrey Morris plays with obvious gay proclivities. The plot about aliens abducting women to procreate with them seems a bit outlandish. However, in 1965, this plot was still fairly new for science fiction. Interestingly, the Image DVD release comes with the British Board of Censors certificate. "Night Caller from Outer Space" could not be exhibited to children under age sixteen! Presumably, this rating arose from the scene where Saxon makes a pass at Haines and the cloaked allusions to sex as the reason for kidnapping the women. Nevertheless, the ending with the alien getting away with its abductions makes this an atmospheric and above-average sci-fi film.

This is a very weird little film crammed with many familiar names e.g. Maurice Denham, Ballard Berkeley, Aubrey Morris. The first two were in the superb NIGHT OF THE DEMON and the latter in THE WICKER MAN.

The plot revolves around an alien from the planet (?) Ganymede who travels to earth in a tiny silicone ball which glows and swells in size to release him. The alien then assumes the name of Medra and takes a flat in London, keeping himself well hidden because he is, after all, very tall, possessed of insect-like claws, and a hideously deformed face. (When I say 'hideously', I also mean 'amusingly').

Medra then places adverts on a glossy Loaded / FHM style magazine called 'Bikini Girls', inviting young attractive would-be models to a private photo-shoot in a sleazy Soho sex shop, owned by the sinister and greasy Aubrey Morris. The girls are then hypnotised by him, and he takes their picture, which he sends to them in the post the next morning. Then on the following evening, he calls at their homes, and, mesmerised by the picture and his presence, they go off with him..... to who knows where!

Sheer madness of course, but it is handled well, and the scenes involving the girls - including the sets too - bear strong comparison to Michael Powell's bizarre PEEPING TOM which appeared five years earlier.

Of course, the army and the country's top scientists join forces to try and hunt down this rogue alien. The conversations about scientific theory are hilarious. One scientist looks at a very basic radar screen at a blip which is approaching another blip she tells us is earth, and then she informs her colleagues that it has suddenly slowed down from 20,000 miles per hour to exactly twenty.

Another amusing scene involves Warren 'Alf Garnett' Mitchell. The Police call to ask him and his wife about the mysterious disappearance of their daughter. They ask, have either of them heard of the magazine Bikini Girls? Mitchell instantly retrieves a copy from the cushion under the sofa, and then looks sheepishly at his wife and the Police, realising that he has owned up to being a secret reader. But perhaps this scene possesses greater resonance: perhaps the knowledge that an alien has abducted his daughter leads Mitchell into the prejudices for which Alf Garnett is famous for?

A detective leading the investigation informs his superiors that he *might* have stumbled upon a clue. He tells them all 21 girls who have disappeared replied to adverts in Bikini Girl, and that they all disappeared the day after attending photo-shoots. Ballard Berkeley gruffly tells him that it might be worth following up.

In another scene, the police are holding a brainstorming session, trying to work out who might be committing these crimes. "There's no pattern to it," one of them laments. "21 girls in three weeks. What does it all mean?"

Erm, I may only have O level maths, but doesn't that mean one girl per night, seven girls per week?

Anyway, they finally run the alien to ground after he savagely murders a female scientist who allowed herself to be used as bait (quite a disturbing PEEPING TOM style murder, that one). Although the alien has giant insect claws and has only been on Earth a short while, he can drive a human car very well. The pursue him to a disused building where he stands in front of a glowing egg aka spaceship. He removes his costume and shows them that he is fact.....wearing another silver 'David Prowse' suit underneath. But he waves an insect claw at them menacingly, and tells them to come no nearer.

"Why are you murdering our Bikini Girl models?' they ask him. (Not literally, something like that.) He then embarks upon a lofty Gort-type speech - 'space is really, really big' and that sort of stuff - before reassuring them that he hasn't killed them, he is just going to take them back to his home planet for some weird, unspecified purpose. Well, this seems good enough for the British army and scientists, so the alien gets into his burning egg and the spaceship shoots off into the sky. Instantly, the screen goes blank and the legend THE END appears. No film credits, no army reaction.

It's easily one of the funniest and strangest films I've ever seen, and I'm going to procure a DVD as soon as possible. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone who likes quirky old British films.

****SPOILERS**** Right away you know your in for a rare treat in seeing the opening credits backed up by Mark Richardson crooning the theme song "The Night Caller" as we see this spot of light, or what later looked like a light up beach ball, descending to earth outside of London. It's up to scientists Jack Costain, John Saxon, and fellow astrologists Dr. Morley, Murice Denham, and Ann Barlow, Patricia "Pat" Haines, to find and figure out where this glowing and sub-freezing ball comes from and if its a danger to those of us on earth.

As we soon find out the ball has somehow materialized, out of thin air, this six foot five inch alien called Medra, Robert Crewdson, who's on a mission of survival for his almost totally depleted, due to a low birth rate,race on the Jupiter moon of Ganymede. Medra plans to transport young woman back to his home planet to, by breeding with the few males left on it, repopulated the Ganymedean race. Medra does this through advertising in the London girlie magazine "Biini Girl" by offering them modeling jobs.

****SPOILERS***** The film "Night Caller from Outer Space" has to be taken with a grain of salt in it really being a strange and far out combination alien from space and Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello bikini beach ball movie despite the graphic, for 1965, violence in it. This Medra guy, who we see only in shadow until the last few minutes of the film, seems to walk through walls as well as making himself invisible and at the same time invincible to anything that the British military can throw at him. It's only at the end of the movie that the shadowy Medra finally reviles himself, he doesn't look as bad as you would have thought he would, and his secret mission on earth. And just when it looks like it's mission accomplished, with the British military unable to stop him, he just takes off, with the glowing beach ball, back home to Ganymede leaving the some 30 young and well developed women, whom he came to earth for in the first place, behind?