Dr. Paul Nelson (Peter Graves- KILLERS FROM SPACE, BEGINNING OF THE END) heads a team that has just launched the latest satellite. His friend, Dr. Tom Anderson (Lee Van Cleef- ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK) has tried in vain to get the project scrapped. Why? He says he's been in contact w/ a life-form from Venus. Seconds later, the satellite disappears! Is Tom crazy, or is he actually communicating w/ an alien intelligence?His wife, Claire (Beverly Garland- NOT OF THIS EARTH) hopes neither is true! Nearby, something has arrived from space. causing a mass power failure. Cars stop dead! Watches and clocks won't work! Airplanes fall from the sky! Rubber, bat-like creatures grab onto people's necks! Has the apocalypse begun? No, it's just another Roger Corman film. Taking up residence in a cave, the titular creature wreaks havoc. Due to the comical appearance of the monster, it's only fully seen toward the -abrupt- end. This jiggling, flailing mountain of Limburger could be the most preposterous prop ever conceived! Alas, this leaves it up to the humans to fill in the gaps, blathering endlessly about the implications of what has occurred. A must for the true lover of cinematic agony! EXTRA POINTS FOR: Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze as a pair of bumbling soldiers! Peter Graves on a bicycle! Beverly Garland's encounter w/ bendy, rubber claws!...

Roger Corman directed this cult classic that stars Lee Van Cleef(!) as Dr. Tom Anderson, a disgruntled scientist who aids a creature from Venus in its plans to conquer the world. It uses bat-like creatures to brainwash and control the population to minimize resistance, but Dr. Paul Nelson(played by Peter Graves) successfully overcomes the creatures, and leads the authorities to the cave where it is hidden, though Tom's wife(played by Beverly Garland) gets there first, since she plans to shoot it dead. It is revealed to be a bizarre cucumber-like alien that can only wobble around! Good cast and memorable(though laughable) looking alien can't save this ridiculous film. Not yet on DVD, though has been on YouTube.

This 1956 "Roger Corman" cheese flick is about an alien from Venus trying to take control of people with by little bat-like pizza puppets. The alien also shuts down all stuff from clocks, telephones, cars and trains somehow. In the end the thing is killed by a blow torch to the eye. What I think: The alien looks like a goofy traffic cone with lobster claws and devil horns. How anyone can not laugh at is is near to impossible. However the movie is pretty decent. These idea's of loosing ones emotions and thing stopping for a while have been used before, most notably in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956), "The Day the Earth Stood Still"(1951) and Invaders from Mars(1953). How Corman is able to get away with this stuff is beyond me. But this does not mean I hate all of his films. despite all the movies problems, it is good for a late night watch.

It Conquered the World seems to be trapped in a sort of sci-fi Twilight Zone. Though it has a sizable cult following that appreciates its quirky genius, there are many genre fans who dismiss it as b-grade schlock. Rarely mentioned on lists of science fiction greats from the fertile 50s, the movie nonetheless survives and continues to entertain genre fans today. That It Conquered the World is a b-movie is undeniable--indeed, it is a near-perfect example of the type--but its b-movie status doesn't mean it can't be good. And it is actually quite good.The story of an alien intelligence that takes advantage of a disillusioned scientist to plot a takeover of Earth, It Conquered the World is incredibly ambitious. The globe-spanning plot was typical of science fiction from the period, but director Roger Corman didn't have the budget of War of the Worlds or Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers. Corman had to rely on imagination, and his audience's willing suspension of disbelief. Yes, the limited sets and small cast at Corman's disposal don't always do the story justice--crowd scenes are not particularly crowded, the military response to the emergency is about 1/100th what it should be, etc.--but as a result the more intimate drama becomes a fascinating character study, and the multi-layered plot works as both Cold War paranoia thriller and introspective morality play. Corman and writer Lous Rusoff (and an uncredited Charles B. Griffith) are working with a complex, thoughtful plot that belies the movie's b-level reputation.And the cast does wonders with the story. Headliners Lee Van Cleef and Robert Graves are solid as the scientists whose friendship turns bitter once it becomes clear that Van Cleef has sold his soul to the devil in exchange for revenge upon a cruel world. The beautiful Beverly Garland is often singled out for her outstanding performance as Van Cleef's desperate wife, and her nuanced portrayal of a woman trying in vain to pull her husband out of the pit is indeed excellent, and with her gorgeous looks, charm, and a killer scream Garland is one sci-fi's earliest great scream queens. Often overshadowed by Garland's performance, Sally Fraser's role as Graves's benighted wife is nearly as important to the plot, and Fraser's transformation from a caring, decent woman to alien-possessed temptress is highly convincing. Dick Miller, a genre stalwart, plays an army sergeant whose platoon is hunting the alien down...but what can they hope to do to "It" if they find it? Critics often blast this movie's special effects, and there's no denying they really aren't that special. But the script doesn't demand a lot of dazzling pyrotechnics, except for the climax, and the lack of high-end spectacle doesn't really take anything away from the drama. The creature design for "It" is much-maligned, but there is something wonderfully malevolent about "It" that overcomes any shortcomings. In any event, "It" spends most of the film lurking in the shadows, where many cinematic monsters are more frightening anyway. Despite the lack of sophisticated FX, even by 50s standards, the story itself draws you inexorably in, and the effects, limited as they are, nonetheless work within the context of the overall plot.Beyond the natural problems generated by the miniscule budget--most of which Corman manages to overcome--the film's biggest problem is pacing. The script, character driven as it is, is necessarily rather talky. Much of the dialog is vital to the surprisingly philosophical plot, but the relative dearth of action is a genuine weakness, and the film does feel rather longer than it really is. While there are moments of humor, the script generally takes itself quite seriously, and the performers do a good job of avoiding the temptation to surrender to parody.It Conquered the World is hard to find these days, but if you can locate a used tape or catch it on late-night TV there are few sci-fi gems from the great 50s that can equal its ambition and creativity. Well-written, competently acted and imaginatively directed, It Coqnuered the World is one of the best b-movies ever made.