User Reviews

A few minutes of well-shot footage of parachute jumps and aerobatic flying seem the real impetus for this British science fiction picture. When there are no bodies hurtling towards the ground or planes shooting past each other, what's left is a bad script with far too many scenes of men in suits talking in offices and not nearly enough science or action. Since it was made for a family audience, there isn't even much in the way of female flesh.

Patrick Allen and his improbably large chin take the lead. His character, a NATO troubleshooter, is big on the sub-James Bond womanising and tough posturing. Yet for all his smooth lines and fetching cardigans, he does curiously little to actually solve the mystery of disappearing military parachutists. Plot development consists of supporting characters waving a Geiger counter over a few things while Allen chases the girls.

George Sanders is normally a reliable figure (see the far superior Psychomania, for instance), but he is wasted here as a personality-deficient general. Hilary Dwyer has the requisite qualities for a female star, being very pretty and a great screamer. Lorna Wilde is quite fetching as a mysterious blonde, but the rest of the cast do little.

This is a competently-made film from people who understood the limitations of their budget, limitations which mean rare special effects and few action sequences. The real problem is an absence of ideas or any ambition beyond filling the screen for 90 minutes. Once all the aerial footage has been used up, what is left is a very unoriginal story with little imagination or characterisation and lots of dialogue of a "The minister isn't going to like this" type. Nonetheless, Reg Tilsley's jazz score deserves a mention, ratcheting the tension even when the most mundane action is unfolding on screen.

It's hard to recommend this film when there are so many better British exploitation films from the era; it lacks even any Austin Powers-ish campness and shows nothing of 1960s Britain. As an attempt at family-friendly science fiction from Tigon, a studio better known for its sexually-frank horror, it's a slight curio of film history. For entertainment, you're better off jumping out of a plane, or even watching an in-flight movie.

This is a fairly typical low-budget British sci-fi from the late 60's, and has as its 'stars' George Sanders and Patrick Allen, themselves quite common in such films. Things kick off to a fairly intriguing start, when parachutists start disappearing mid-jump. It's serious enough to make even the Army put down their cups of tea and investigate - or rather to call in top-whack investigator and philanderer Bob Megan (Allen) to see if he can get to the bottom of it. He sets about his task by doing a good deal of leering at various secretaries and pretty young scientists before waving a Geiger counter around and meeting a mysterious lady on the beach at midnight. She's no raving beauty but Bob has a go anyway, before wandering back to his digs and looking like he might manage a quick one with his over-the-hill landlady. But no, he's got a busy day ahead. Quite what happens next is spoiler territory, and I can't remember anyway. Worth a go if you like wondering how much the actors got paid and why.

The 1960s was the era of the brash, misogynistic hero who uses his fists first and asks questions later. He assumes that all women want to sleep with him, no matter what the age gap, and wears a variety of chunky knitwear a Cornish fisherman would feel comfortable in. This behaviour can all be blamed on James Bond. The mega-success of the Bond franchise lead to every other TV and movie producer falling over themselves trying to get a piece of the action. There were spies, espionage and action heroes everywhere. Now The Body Stealers is not a spy film as such, but it is Bond that it most closely resembles, despite its extra-terrestrial enemy. And unfortunately our Neil does not take the lead role, the honour falling to Patrick Allen. Allen was a great character actor in the 1960s, making many appearances in Hammer films, including the fan favourite Captain Clegg aka Night Creatures, along with assorted low-budget science fiction efforts. Here he plays a no-nonsense, womanising private detective called in by the military to solve the mystery of parachutists disappearing in mid-drop. Neil Connery is relegated to standing in the background in most of the scenes, playing an old friend of Allen's.

So, the plot goes something like this: The British Air Force are testing a new kind of parachute, but their jumpers (not the knitted kind) are vanishing into thin air before they hit the ground (incidentally Thin Air was the original title of the film, but exploitation master Tony Tenser, producer and head of Tigon, thought it wasn't catchy enough). It IS all a mystery. Allen, who used to be a parachutist himself, leaves a women he was enjoying an intimate picnic with at the order of George Sanders and moves into a seedy looking B&B by the airbase. After clumsily trying to chat up a female scientist, and meeting the chief scientist Maurice Evans (better known for his appearances under heavy makeup in the Planet of the Apes series), he starts to make his moves on a mysterious, bikini-clad blonde he meets on the beach. Meanwhile, for no given reason other than he may be a pervert of some kind, Neil Connery takes secret photos of his old mate Allen making love to this woman right there on the sand. But when he develops the photos, possibly for publication in a seedy magazine (everything was seedy in sixties low budget science fiction), he discovers that she doesn't appear in the photos! That's because she is an alien!

Are you following this? I won't continue, as I'm confusing myself as much as I'm probably confusing you, and I've seen the film. It's no wonder George Sanders spends most of his scenes looking mistily into the distance, no doubt reminiscing on his earlier days working with the likes of Visconti. Even Allen admits on the DVD commentary that he had no real idea of what was going on. Now depending on your view point, this confusing plot, and the lack of a satisfying conclusion, could lead you to believe that you have just wasted the last ninety minutes of your life. Or, if like me you have a certain fondness for sixties British science fiction then there is still plenty of enjoyment to be had from The Body Stealers. You can wonder how Neil Connery didn't do more to cash in on his brother's celebrity status (his only other film appearance of note is the notorious Italian Bond rip-off Operation Kid Brother), or whether this film was the tipping point for Sanders, resulting in his suicide just a couple of years later. You can admire how Allen's heroic chin can win over even the most resistant of women, and even speculate whether there couldn't have been an easier, lower-profile way for the alien race to abduct men to take back to their home planet.

This film is worth seeing just for the opening sequence alone. A surprise from the outset leading into a thunderous Sixties-style score, before the rot sets in. There is curiosity value for a performance from Patrick Allen (The Jaw, in what nearly amounts to a leading role) and a very rare appearance of Sean Connery's brother Neil in one of only two film roles that he made that I am aware off. Mid-way the love interest on a moonlit beach really sags and does not help the film much, while the ending is a let down and even stranger to see a prop stolen from the Doctor Who film Daleks: Invasion Earth. I almost expected Peter Cushing to materialise out of.....THIN AIR!!! Still, overall I found it...quite enjoyable!!

The tale of paratroopers who disappear, literally, into thin air, this film is an odd watch forty years later. It's primary interest lies more in what it says about the time, than the film itself.

Released in 1969 three influences loom large.The year that Man first landed on the moon it reflects a fascination with, and fear of, what might lie in outer space. Militarily we were also in the midst of the Cold War when anything unexplained, and potentially evil, automatically raised the question of Communist involvement. And finally James Bond was the dominant screen character, and his shadow falls long here in more senses than one.

Veteran, square jawed character Patrck Allen, bulldozes his way through the role of an expert,Bob Megan, called in to solve the awkward problem of disappearing parachutists. One extraordinary scene speaks volumes for the Bond "character" and perceptions of women at the time. Megan chances upon a scantily clad beauty enjoying enjoying a solitary moment taking in the evening and then makes advances on her which vacillate between sexual assault and rape. No sooner is he introduced to a shapely scientist in a pencil skirt than she too is subjected to his clumsy male machismo which in the 21st century looks appalling.Of course both women come back for more. When he IS offered sex on a plate by the blousey, but ageing, hotel owner he rebuffs her to reinforce yet another sexual stereotype, the ageing temptress who can't get it because she has had it.

The Bond theme is further explored by the presence of Sean Connery's brother Neil, as Megans sidekick John Radford, in one of only two screen performances. Bearing a strong resemblance to Sean, his acting talents are strait jacketed by a preposterous script.

A dreadful ending combines the worst of "Dr Who" and "The Champions", suggesting that a 30 minute running time, rather than three times that, would have suited all concerned somewhat better. A hopeless film, but a fascinating sixties curiosity.

Abysmal sci-fi (an unwise change of pace for Tigon) which, up to this point, had been the low point of Anchor Bay UK's "The Tigon Collection" - not that there were any particular highs! Michael Armstrong, director of THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR (1969) - and who was eventually replaced by Levy - compared it to Ed Wood in his Audio Commentary for that film, and I can't say that he was too far off the mark!

A competent cast flounders in the face of an inane premise and lackluster handling: veterans George Sanders, Maurice Evans (as the chief villain/alien) and Robert Flemyng; heroes Patrick Allen and Neil Connery (yes, Sean's younger sibling!); starlets Hilary Dwyer (better suited to period pieces like her three films with Vincent Price - WITCHFINDER GENERAL [1968], THE OBLONG BOX [1969] and CRY OF THE BANSHEE [1970]) and Sally Faulkner (I was impressed by her in VAMPYRES [1974] and PREY [1977], and here looks lovely if nothing else!). However, Lorna Wilde is terrible as an alien temptress(!) - and the (mercifully brief) contribution of Shelagh Fraser as Mrs. Thatcher(!), an ageing nymphomaniac barmaid with a shrill voice, is positively embarrassing!!

One of its most hilarious - and dated - aspects is the way it presents Allen and Minister's aide Allan Cuthbertson(!) as a couple of would-be studs, in obvious imitation of the James Bond extravaganzas; the cheesy score (by Reg Tilsley, who fared better with THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR) doesn't help, either. A measure of the film's sloppiness is the fact that Hilary Dwyer's name has been mysteriously omitted from the cast list at the end of the picture, though I doubt she voiced her complaint about it to the production company! Patrick Allen's Audio Commentary is actually quite engaging though, understandably, he offers little insight into the film itself - given also that he doesn't remember much at all about its making, and had never even watched the damn thing until now!

A bunch of military paratroopers descend on a freefall flight and as a group from NATO wait for them to land they disappear in to thin air

A good opening hook and as the film continues you get the impression that the production have no idea to develop the film outside of the opening hook . In fact despite being a science fiction B movie you get the feeling the production crew are wanting to make a James Bond film and the premise does feel Bond like in many ways . Patrick Allen as Bob Megan is basically channeling Bond as he lights up a cigarette and eyes up every piece of skirt in sight . George Sander is a surrogate M while Neil Connery could easily be a surrogate Q How pathetic is that ? They couldn't get Sean Connery to star in THE BOY STEALERS as Bond but as a way of compensating for this they got Sean's brother !

One genuinely does wonder if at early draft stage THE BODY STEALERS may have been conceived as a straight forward esponaige thriller and rather late in the day became a science fiction genre movie ? Certainly there are scenes that remain confusing such as the culmination of a scene where Jim Radford pursues the mysterious Lorna and the rushed explanation of the ending . Quite often THE BODY STEALERS makes the top ten worst science fiction lists of people who have seen it . It's possibly not that bad and for a B movie the production values aren't all that bad simply because it is very talkative and therefore isn't reliant on special effects , but the problem is the screenplay is painfully under developed and its only al highpoint after the effective opening scene is a government minister being worried about Scotish nationalists repopulating the Highlands

An investigator is called in to look into a strange scenario where parachutists seem to be disappearing mid-air during military training exercises. Their bodies do turn up later, but are infected with large doses of radiation. A mysterious and beautiful woman who cannot be photographed seems to be connected to the bizarre case.

This bit of low-budget British sci-fi was improbably made by the production company Tigon, who have become rightfully famous for their impressive 17th century set horror films Witchfinder General (1968) and Blood on Satan's Claw (1971). The Body Stealers is quite a bit away from those both in terms of genre and overall quality. It is a pretty obviously cheap production all round, which is hardly surprising to be fair but it is really a quite limited feature in all departments. The story does have some potential in the early stages but it doesn't really pan out too excitingly and the resolution wasn't all that good. It has something to do with aliens, but it would only be fair to say that it is bargain basement extra-terrestrial activity we have here. I would still say this is pretty watchable, however, and does have a certain British 60's charm to it. Despite the lacking nature of the screen-play, it was an okay watch. Also, look out for a rare acting performance from Neil Connery (Sean's brother) as one of the military types - you can see the resemblance from some angles. Another notable presence was Hilary Dwyer who made a very good impression in the earlier aforementioned Tigon classic Witchfinder General (1968) - she was not as memorable here but it was still nice to see her all the same.

An extremely lacklustre and slow-moving British alien invasion film of the 1960s. There were quite a few of these low-budget movies coming out around this time – stuff like INVASION, THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING, THE NIGHT CALLER – but THE BODY STEALERS is by far the worst I've seen. The budget is so poor on this one that literally nothing happens for 90% of the running time.

For the most part we're stuck with jut-jawed wooden leading man Patrick Allen, following him around as he romances blonde women and barks gruff lines of dialogue at anybody who'll listen. Neil Connery pops up to support him, George Sanders is the cameoing veteran, and Robert Flemyng (THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR) lurks around in a natty uniform.

The story, when you see it down on paper, actually sounds fairly interesting: parachutists are disappearing mid-air, zapped away by aliens, with only their suits and chutes arriving on the ground. Other than some footage of skydiving, this doesn't actually equate to much, and Allen's investigation into the disappearances goes absolutely nowhere.

Of course, the women of the era are lovely and the film is fairly well shot given the paucity of its production budget. But there's no action, a real dearth of imagination, and rarely any special effects, and all of these are musts for a good science fiction movie. This boring outing is the worst Tigon film I've seen yet.

It is Patrick Allen, not George Sanders, who is the playboy.

Actors on the way down (George Sanders, Maurice Evans), an actor who never really had much of a career (Neil Connery--Sean's brother), and working actors treading water (Patrick Allen, Robert Flemyng).

The film is indeed a big snooze, with meager science-fiction trappings and a disinterested cast going through the motions.

Aliens kidnap skydivers to repopulate their plague-stricken planet. Theater owners probably had to kidnap patrons! Originally on a double bill with THE BLOOD ROSE, a French production advertised as 'the first sex- horror film.'

Shelagh Fraser ("Mrs. Thatcher") appears as Aunt Beru in STAR WARS.

The Body Stealers (a.k.a Thin Air) is truly one of the most dreadful movies you'll ever have the misfortune to see. Simply because there are some notable names on the cast list, you mustn't think that it is remotely good. Everyone in this movie must have needed some fast cash to clear their debts. How else can you explain such a strong cast being lured into such an obvious bomb? OK, that's a bit cynical - nobody actually sets out to make a bad film - but whatever the original intentions were, the resulting film is an utter loss.

It's a science fiction story in which the military investigates several cases of parachutists vanishing in mid-air. For the first ten minutes, the peculiar mystery promises to build up to an intriguing resolution, but the promise rapidly evaporates as it becomes apparent that the answers are going to be childish rather than ingenious.

This is hilariously bad, to such an extent that it makes even the worst episode of Doctor Who look like it had high production values! You'd have to be a disturbed eight year old to figure out what the hell is going on as the solution draws close. Still, why worry about it when clearly the actors involved don't look interested either? One interesting thing about the film is the inclusion of Neil Connery (Sean's brother) in a significant role... believe me when I say this guy is no actor!

Playboy aviator George Sanders is called into service by the British Government to solve the mystery of why some highly qualified British military is disappearing into thin air.About 90 minutes later there's about a minutes worth of some half-way decent special effects:that is,if you're still awake.

A film of contradictions, dull but not entirely inept, featuring a number of reputable actors who had appeared in far better films and attractively photographed mainly on location by John Coquillon, who also worked on far better films.

I've never seen the credit "revised screenplay" (attributed to the director) anywhere else. But it suggests that director Gerry Levy just binned the original script - which seems to be the usual nonsense about aliens attempting to repopulate their own doomed world - shot what he could and then handed it over to his brother Howard Lanning to cut it into some sort of order.

The title of this review encapsulates my entire feelings towards this piece of crap. The worst part of this movie is the so-called leading man, played by Patrick Allen. Other reviewers have called him "lascivious" but i'll go a step further and call him nothing short of creepy and predatory. He's pretty pathetic as a leading man: He has a paunch, a stoop, and smokes like a chimney (smoking is absurdly abundant in this movie for some reason).

The movie is extremely dated in the way that it treats both women & men; it's pretty embarrassing to be honest, e.g. the cringe-inducing line by the minister being worried about "Scottish nationalists repopulating the Highlands".

Made by Tigon who were much at the budget end of horror. Everything about this sci fi thriller is second rate. Acting is abysmal. Patrick Allen is wooden and George Sanders looks like he couldn't care less. The special effects make Ed Woods effects look state of the art. Allens character has a touch of the Bond and has dated badly.

In my reassessment process for my early movies watched in the past, I found at Youtube a fine print of The Body Stealers totally restored no subtitles at all, this weak minor Sci-Fi bring the weird plot about missing in air twelve NATO paratroopers thru red-beam without explanation, suspecting about foreign countries on even Alien snatchers, due it they call the hard smoking Bob Megan (Patrick Allen) with that big chin to check out what's going on under orders of Gen. Armstrong (George Sanders), by this task he requires 25.000 pounds as reward, due it a top secret state matter.

As womanizer playboy Bob starts looking on landing field finding a clue a piece of parachute high level of radioactive, according the gorgeous scientist Julie Slade (Hilary Heath), the lab is leading by the old Dr. Matthews (Maurice Evans), the case is faraway to be solved, however Bob used to be walking by night at beach where he meets an eye-candy Lorna (Pamela Conway) whom starting woo her at first meeting, later his friend Jim Radford (Neil Connery) takes many photos over them at beach, however in revealing the girl didn't appear on photos just Bob, letting him know all about, after a pre schedule parachute jumping to check out what really happen during that, he received a bright red beam on the body, out of the blue Jim was found death on the base, but at night Bob has a meeting with Lorna at beach many blanc spaces must be fulfilled.

In the conclusion of the weirdo story the viewers will be baffled over so far-fetched reason of Aliens get those paratroopers, worst how Bob settles this matter, aside a superb casting the lame storyline falls apart the whole thing, some stock footage is used in the movie, a lousy FX is another low point, also a massive beauty girls on the picture improves hardly, on political cabinet, on lab, on field have many young girls driven for male audience, anyway let it see easily to less demanding.

Thanks for reading

Resume:

First watch: 1985 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 5.

Short-lived British company Tigon Pictures produced some impressive horror films -- such as WITCHFINDER GENERAL and BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW. Unfortunately, they also made THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR and this talky science-fiction turkey. But what a cast! European buffs may recognize Robert Flemyng, the HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK, and Allan Cuthbertson, the star of Hammer Films' gruesome STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, in cameo roles as military men; and Neil Connery, Sean's brother, puts in a rare screen appearance. Hilary Dwyer, who made four films in 1969, is as beautiful as ever.

The best of the British Air Force disappear out of the sky during parachute training, and super sleuth Bob Megan (Patrick Allen) gets the call to find them. He can't figure it out either, but gets a chance to have sex with an alien in human form (Lorna Wilde). It's the old "aliens need virile men to repopulate their dying planet" hooha, with a bit of nudity thrown in to give the movie an R rating.

George Sanders spends the whole movie in an officer's suit that doesn't fit, and Maurice Evans (who had just finished PLANET OF THE APES) wears the pained expression he had when he played Endora's husband in BEWITCHED. Despite mock serious lines such as, "I am Martis from the planet Mygon," and a tacky spaceship that looks like a cruise liner, this film really dull.

Not a great movie low budget somewhat dated however have seen a lot worse e.g. The Avengers movie. Patrick Allen is business like in the lead. Passable if not particularly memorable film.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Body Stealers; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 6.25 out of 10.00.

Back in the days when men were men and women were lucky, a mysterious force starts to pluck the women's luck right out of the skies.

While three army testers are trying out a new and improved parachute, they uncannily evanesce into thin air. Only their chutes and harnesses glide to earth. Remarkably they land on target; now that's an enhanced homing chute, and the army should've kept them. Unable to deduce the reason for the disappearance, the military brings in a third party, investigator Bob Megan. As more men disappear in midair, will Megan be able to solve the riddle of the vanished in time to save more sky-diving blokes from an unearthly fate? And will he be able to rematerialize the evanescent? Now there are a lot of holes in the story, for one, the parachutists. The resolution would be to stop people from jumping out of planes. You'd think it wouldn't be a big deal. But it is. Because if the government grounded the jumpers, there would be chaos. Would there? Really? Secondly, why have they chosen Megan? What credentials does he possess for a mission like this? Well, it would appear none. The guy is a womaniser who doesn't have a girl in every port but has every girl in every port, and they appear thankful because of it. In fact, Megan makes Bond look like a prude. But whereas Bond has skills, Megan has circumstances on his side. It would've been nice if the writer Michael St Clair gave the guy a better backstory to embellish the grounds for employing him to solve the mystery. Also, a little less machismo around the ladies would've been great. It would've diminished the unintentional humour. Given his philandering, I was surprised to see a woman in a prominent position as a doctor-come-medical-researcher. The shame is that St Clair slides her in as more of a doctor's assistant rather than a medical practitioner in her own right. But this is down more to the era than the writer. Should there be a remake, I believe these issues would get resolved. Bearing all that in mind, the story is a joyful pleasure and entertaining to boot.

The one thing that director Gerry Levy did well, especially for 1969, was to capture the free-falling skydivers. Though recorded on different cameras and, therefore, different film stock, they don't look too dissimilar. Sometimes these small things can ruin a film. Luckily with The Body Stealers, it doesn't. It works superbly to add power to the story. The rest of the movie is well composed, lighted, and filmed. And though the cinematography isn't extraordinary, it's well above average. There were a few scenes where more dread and fright were required, as in the discovery at the story's climax. It needed more of a horror movie eerie atmosphere to empower the scene better. But these are just personal irks because the picture is fine as is.

A decent cast suffuses The Body Stealers, and that's an all-around bonus. Womanising Bob Megan is played brilliantly by Patrick Allen. This sort of character requires a definite class of actor: One at ease with his self-confidence and enigmaticness. Allan and his rugged chin were ideal for the role. I always thought that Allan possessed a certain smugness, even in the Barrett Homes adverts. George Sanders, Maurice Evans, Allan Cuthbertson, and Robert Flemyng are as good as ever in portraying a General, A Doctor, A Government Official, and a Wing Commander. Even the lesser-known cast members bring their characters to life in an agreeably pleasant manner.

The Body Stealers is a well-filmed and well-acted story full of holes. Luckily, the performances and cinematography help to hide the inconsistencies of the narrative. But if you don't like your sci-fi's full of testosterone and silver-age viewpoints, I'd stay away from this picture. However, if that's not the case, give it a look-see; it's an entertaining way to waste an hour and a half, particularly on wet autumnal afternoons.

I don't care what your name is, but before we get into the lip-locks and ugly-bumping, check out my IMDb lists - The Final Frontier and The Game Is Afoot to see where I ranked The Body Stealers.

Take Care & Stay Well.