Plot
A horde of macrocephalic aliens invades a typical American small town. They decide to land their flying saucer on an old codger’s property, in a wooded grove where young couples go to make out. The first “diplomatic incident” occurs when one couple’s car, which is obviously making its way to the “lover’s lone” with its headlights off, hits one of the little green men. Frightened by the alien’s grotesque features, the teens race to the nearby farmhouse for help.
Meanwhile, a drunken deadbeat who saw the flying saucer gets the bright idea to head to the crash site where he tries to remove the alien body. He wants to take it home and stick it in the refrigerator, imagining all the money he could make off it. Unfortunately for him, his clever plan goes belly up due to circumstances beyond his control.
It doesn’t take long before the authorities arrive, their boisterous involvement further enlivening the long night.
The first and only truly authentic flying saucer!
Critique
3Dreadful piece of trash directed by Edward L. Cahn, based on Paul W. Fairman’s short story “The Cosmic Frame”. Painfully short on both budget and ideas, the film attempts a haphazard comic tone parodying the stylistic features of invasion sci-fi, but the result is incredibly depressing, although not totally lacking some potentially amusing notions (the massive doses of alcohol given to the aliens, the questionable tactics adopted by the obtuse soldiers in response to the flying saucer, etc.).
Once it’s established that pulling off humor isn’t as easy as it looks, there’s little more to say beyond recognizing the amateurism and vacuity of this poorly executed farce: an AWOL screenplay, actors chosen randomly off the street, plenty of abysmal dialogue (lines such as: “Colonel, this top-secret security business is like scratching: once you get started, it’s hard to stop“).
The unwarranted cult status this film seems to have garnered over the years is mainly due to its depiction of the little extraterrestrials with big heads, whose grotesque features have been a frequent source of inspiration (the contemporary Topps trading cards and 40 years later, Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks!” are two examples).
From a modern point of view, “Invasion of the Saucer Men” is striking primarily for its depiction – mainly unintentional – of a morally depressing era: a small-town America populated by deadbeats and moronic teenagers whose only goal in life is to have fun and pollute the environment with impunity. Luckily, drive-in movie theaters put out product far more well-made than this pointless mess.
More Info
- Based on the short story "The Cosmic Frame" (1955) by Paul W. Fairman
Quotes
- The first and only truly authentic flying saucer! [...] I told you it was big, didn't I ? Well I seen one!
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