Sci-Fi Film Fiesta Volume 5: Alien Contact by Chris Christopoulos - HTML preview

While the Kellys are trapped in the house by the Hitchcock birds, and are trying to get on with a birthday celebration, Deputy Larry receives part of the message from Alan. As he drives out to the ranch in his squad car, he comes across “Him” and so he stops and offers him a ride. As they are driving along, “Him” who is sitting in the back seat, knocks Larry over the head causing the car to run off the road and stop. “Him” then makes his way back to the ranch on foot. When he arrives at the ranch, he sets about letting down the car's tyres. Soon after, “Him” heads back out into the desert.

 

After the bird attack has stopped, the Kellys run out to the car only to discover….Yes, you guessed it!

 

Deputy Larry eventually wakes up and behaves in an irrational un-cop like manner. Instead of starting his car, he proceeds on foot and arrives at the alien craft’s landing site at the same time as “Him.” A punch-up ensues with Larry bopping “Him” on the head and walking away, leaving “Him” unconscious. “Him,” however soon gets up after Larry leaves.

 

Sandy meanwhile dashes out of the ranch house and calls out for Larry, but instead runs into “Him.” Sandy attempts to talk “Him” into going back to the house, but he grabs hold of her and carries her off. At that point Larry enters the house and informs Alan that “Him” has gone crazy. After noticing that Sandy is missing, Alan grabs a rifle, and he and Larry rush off to find her.

 

“Him” carries the unconvincingly unconscious Sandy into the desert until they arrive at the alien craft. Alan and Larry are following “Him’s” tracks until they hear the sound of Hitchcock birds. They think they can protect themselves from the birds by seeking the shelter of ankle-high rocks! It seems though that the birds have other more important business elsewhere. “Him” then drags Sandy to the alien craft just as Alan and Larry arrive. Alan can’t shoot, for fear of hitting Sandy. In response to Alan’s calls, “Him” who is now suddenly Carl begins taking Sandy to Alan. However, Carl suddenly writhes in agony and falls down dead.

 

During this time it turns out that Carol had been forced out of the house by the birds. Oddly enough Larry has now taken off to distract the birds. Some authority figure he turned out to be!

After Sandy wakes up, Alan informs her about the alien presence that has been controlling minds, but that “its power is limited” and that it can be defeated if they stick together. This echoes Carol’s earlier statement, “that’s our strength….being together. Alone, we’re nothing.” Alan concludes that the alien presence preys on minds, especially weak minds.

 

A telepathic message from the alien confirms Alan’s conclusions and offers to exchange their lives for Sandy. It informs them that life on its world is dying out. Also as they possess no material form, they resort to using the physical forms of other creatures while feeding on their brains. The alien entity realizes it had somehow lost control of Carl. It wants to know the reason why.

 

Alan tells Carol that he and Carl had served together in the military. As Carl’s unit commander, Alan made a bad snap judgment-call in the field, with disastrous consequences for Carl. Alan has been looking out for him ever since. Carl’s mental weakness, as well as Carol's mental and emotional turmoil made them both easy prey for the entity.

 

The alien entity does not accept Alan’s explanations and intends to take Sandy back to its own world in order to determine why humans are so hard to control and dominate. “You have a secret…..some power I don’t understand.”

 

Alan tells it that their strength is “the simplest thing in the world. It’s called love.” The entity recollects its own species once had love, but that they got rid of it. It then informs Alan and Carol that it will leave at first hour of light and demands that they "bring the girl.”

 

Alan believes that the alien’s race had over the course of time lost their souls and that “I think he remembered he lost his soul.” (Ah yes, that good old chestnut in films – the soul! Clears up everything!)

 

Alan and Carol decide to walk into the crater with Sandy to confront the alien. Alan then informs it that they can't have the girl and that they're not afraid. Suddenly, a hatch opens, and an increasing superimposed eye-ball manifests itself. Alan tells Carol they can beat it together and they then proceed to have a face-off (staring contest?) with a very unconvincing looking alien monster. Alan and Carol (together of course) manage to out stare it and it falls over dead. The alien craft then takes off in what must have been a marvel of special effects with no expense spared! (Not!)

 

The incompetent lawman, Larry reappears. (Oh, piss off Larry, you useless fool!) Alan who somehow seems to know everything states that the alien entity was using the creature’s body to control the ship. Which begs the question: Where did the entity go? As if on cue, they spot a mouse and realize where the alien mind has taken up residence.

 

As Alan takes aim with his rifle, an eagle, that symbol of everything American (truth, justice, freedom, democracy, one nation under one God, NRA, We The People, and so on and so on…) swoops down and carries off the mouse, (that symbol of everything……un-American & Commie.) Alan takes aim again, but Carol stops him. Carol wonders where the eagle came from as they don't often see eagles in these

parts. She also wonders what killed the creature in the ship. Now it really gets all mystical, spiritual and metaphysical. "Why do men have souls?....If I could answer that I’d be…….” (Oh, shut up woman about souls, will you!)

 

[A lesson that could be taken from all of this is the importance of the power of people to recognize and reject internal and external forces that serve their own interests by seeking to manipulate, control and possess the consciousness of individuals and whole populations. Any government, any ideology, any doctrine, any theology, any media, corporate or military entity, and any extremist terrorist organization that seeks to divide people and set people against each other must be rejected and resisted by each of us who make up the majority of the billions of people on this planet staying united and sharing our strength and who indeed have hearts and…..(ok, ok) souls.]

 

 

Points Of Interest

 

“The Beast” originally entitled “The Unseen” was the third of a three-picture deal Roger Corman had with the American Releasing Company. The other two being, “The Fast and the Furious” and “Five Guns West”. He was given the princely sum of roughly $30.000 to make the movie. That probably accounts for the flash-looking alien craft!

 

The music, credited to "John Bickford," consists of a collection of public-domain record cues by classical composers such as Richard Wagner, Dimitri Shostakovich, Giuseppe Verdi, Sergei Prokofiev.

 

Filming took place in Indio and the Coachella Valley, California.

 

Sam Arkoff of ARC was unhappy that the film did not initially feature a Beast, which was suggested by the title so with $200 Paul Blaisdell was hired to create a space ship and alien. His monster creations featured in such films as, “She-Creature” (1956), “It Conquered the World” (featured in this book) (1956), “From Hell it Came” (1957). “Invasion of the Saucermen” (featured in this book) (1957).

 

We can understand why a low budget B grade horror and science fiction film would opt for having an invisible monster and relying on long stretches of dialogue and character development.

 

The Kellys are everyday people that an audience can relate to instead of being conventional movie heroes. The actors who play the Kellys and other cast members give competent and credible performances in their portrayal of common country people. In fact they are often used effectively to convey to the audience what is not shown such as the death of Duke.

 

Paul Birch who plays Alan appeared in several other science fiction films such as “The Day the World Ended” (1956), “Not of this Earth” (1957) (both featured in this eBook series) and “The Queen of Outer Space” (1958).

 

The film does contain some very confusing sequences that must raise a lot questions in the audience’s mind. For instance, Larry gets out of the car and runs off after Carl knocks him on the head and leaves. Why? Why doesn’t he drive? Also how did Larry know Carl was at the crater? Why did Sandy suddenly climb through the window and run off?

 

An even more interesting question is why would an alien entity bent on world domination pick on a date farm populated by four people in the middle of nowhere?

 

When the union found out about the production it threatened to shut it down unless everyone joined and were paid accordingly. Corman responded by dismissing most of his crew and finishing the film himself, except for one tiny detail as expressed by Joseph E. Levene: “Where’s the monster?”

 

 

Perhaps he didn't look hard enough or in the right places?

 

 

**********

 

The 27th Day (1957)

 

A thoughtful contemplative small budget film that deals with big ideas and concepts

 

 

Directed by William Asher

Produced by Helen Ainsworth

Written by Robert M. Fresco

Based on The 27th Day 1956 novel by John Mantley

Music by Mischa Bakaleinikoff

Cinematography Henry Freulich

Edited by Jerome Thoms

Distributed by Columbia Pictures

Running time: 75 minutes

 

 

Cast

 

Gene Barry as Jonathan Clark

Valerie French as Evelyn "Eve" Wingate

George Voskovec as Professor Klaus Bechner

Azemat Janti as Ivan Godofsky

Arnold Moss as The Alien

Stefan Schnabel as The Soviet General

Paul Frees as Ward Mason, Newscaster

Marie Tsien as Su Tan

 

 

Five individuals from five nations suddenly find themselves aboard an alien spacecraft!

 

Each person is given a container holding capsules!

 

Only a mental command from the person to whom the container is given can open it!

 

Each individual has now been provided with the power of life and death!

 

The fate of the entire planet is in their hands!

 

What will they do with the power they have been given?

 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

 

 

(Spoilers follow below….) 

 

 

Five disparate individuals separated by geography, artificial boundaries and a combination of somewhat dissimilar cultures, languages, political and ideological belief systems and values, are about to be forcibly united in a shared purpose by forces beyond their control.

 

On the coast of Cornwall, a shadow silently slithers over the body of British bathing-suited beauty, Evelyn Wingate. As if of divine origin, a voice insists, “Miss Wingate, come with me please.”

 

At 4.30pm at the Los Angeles Record Telegram, American reporter Jonathan Clark sits in his office. This purveyor of a certain brand of “truth” has the kind of face that belongs to a man who could just as easily find himself in the role of the scientist hero bravely trying to save the earth from alien invaders. Today, however, he is just Mr Clark sitting in a shadow cast by something “alien” who summons him with the words, “I must ask you to come with me.”

 

Amidst the renting internal turmoil of a crazed Cultural Revolution, Chinese peasant Su Tan is drawn away from its cruel consequences by the commanding voice from above: “Come with me, Su Tan.”

 

Soviet soldier, Ivan Godofsky stands guard outside an edifice constructed of state tyranny, power, control, fear and paranoia. This time however, Ivan’s obedience is to be given only to the voice as it informs him that his gun “will not help.”

 

German physicist Klaus Bechner, is informed by the voice that it will be necessary to interrupt his departure for America where he is scheduled to be a key-note speaker and witness the launching of a satellite. Somewhat ironically, this event was supposed to herald in an era of “communication between the planets.”

 

All five individuals now find themselves aboard an alien spacecraft in Earth orbit. But how and why? In answer to this question, Professor Bechner declares to his fellow passengers, “the how we will never understand. What interests me is the why!”

 

Suddenly a voice announces, “People of earth, permit me to explain. “The voice belongs to a humanoid known only as "The Alien." This alien host explains to his human ‘guests’ that he is the representative of a world orbiting a sun in a “nearby universe” and that the sun is about to go nova.

 

In an apparent vindication of Einstein’s special theory of relativity, the five humans are informed by the alien that his craft has been traveling at close to the speed of light whereby, “time as you know it doesn’t exist.”

 

The alien goes on to explain that the five humans have been selected as being “representatives of the human race” and that his mission is to help them save their “beautiful planet” from destruction by the “ultimate weapon: The H-Bomb.”

 

 

BUT WHY?

 

The alien informs the five humans that his race of beings need a new world to inhabit within the next 35 days, but that they are prohibited by their moral code from killing intelligent life.

 

 

THE PLAN

 

“To lend you a weapon” that “affects only human life.”

 

That there is “no obligation to use the weapon.”

 

And….

 

“The weapons are yours to do with as you wish.”

 

 

Each of the five people are provided with clear containers consisting of three capsules. Each capsule is capable of destroying all human life within a 3,000-mile diameter.

 

It is expected that humanity will wind up using all the capsules, thereby obliterating itself from the face of the Earth and leaving the way clear for alien colonization of the planet.

 

Each container is “tuned to the electrical impulse of its owner.” In other words, it can only be opened by the thought waves of the person originally in possession of it. However, once the container is opened, the capsules can then be used by anyone, but only for the next 27 days, after which they become inactive.

 

THE TASK

 

To keep the peace for 27 days.

 

Or in other words,

 

To learn “what has escaped the world for thousands of years.”

 

 

THE STAKES

 

“Each of you hold in your hand the power of life and death”

 

And …..

 

“More than enough power to wipe out human life.”

 

Therefore, humanity must,

 

“Practice peace or die”

 

And if successful;

 

“Your race will live, mine will die.”

 

**********

 

The Game

 

The gods have spoken;

The game is afoot;

The rules are set;

The outcome determined

By the choices made

As the game is played…

 

**********

 

Back on Earth, Eve casts her capsules into the choppy waters of the English Channel. Her decision: To have nothing to do with such awesome power and responsibility.

 

Meanwhile in China, amid the smoldering ruins of her home, Su Tan chooses to commit suicide before a statue of the Buddha, thereby causing her capsules to be destroyed. Her decision: To escape further suffering in this life by choosing what for a Buddhist would be, a negative act that will ultimately block the path to enlightenment.

 

Professor Bechner succumbs to scientific curiosity and opens his container by using his own thought waves. His decision: Despite possible consequences, to gather data, test hypotheses and approach the problem rationally instead of reacting emotionally.

 

Back behind the Iron Curtain, Private Ivan Godofsky decides to conceal the truth from his political and military masters who he knows will make use of the capsules and any information about the alien to their own advantage. When questioned, he tells his comrades that he thought he saw something but was mistaken. The system under which he lives encourages either mindless obedience or concealment of the truth and subterfuge.

 

The next day, the Alien takes control of all electronic communications and informs the world that there is to be an “announcement of vital importance” that will contain “information of vital concern to the people of Earth.” The alien then reveals to the world the existence and nature of the capsules.

 

Meanwhile, just after hearing the broadcast while on a trip to the U. S., Professor Bechner is struck by a car while crossing the street and is taken to the hospital. At about the same time in the USSR, Ivan Godofsky is pursued and detained by the authorities.

 

Having earlier booked a flight to Los Angeles, Eve soon arrives at LA International Airport and is met by Clark who is now disguised. His missing mustache is a clue to his decision: To run, hide away incognito and seek safety in cynical seclusion. But why? Perhaps it has something to do with the media and public reaction to the Alien’s broadcast:

 

Excerpt from Ward Mason’s news broadcast

 

“….As to the question: Was it real? The answer must be held to be, yes!

…..The alien spoke from a point somewhere beyond and outside of the earth’s atmosphere…..

And where are the five people…….?”

 

(names read and repeated)

 

**********

 

As a result of the growing panic and with the “whole town locked up,” Clark takes Eva to a closed race track where they can hide.

 

Godofsky, now honoured as being the “first Russian in space,” is meanwhile being interviewed by a Soviet general who appears to be suspicious and dissatisfied with his information;

 

“They just gave me that box.”

“I don’t know.” (The purpose of the box)

 

Suspecting that the box “contains a secret of great power” which he must obtain before the Americans do, the general orders Ivan to be subjected to interrogation in order for him to reveal the truth.

 

Back at the race track, Clark and Eva are ensconced in their “home for the next 25 days” where “not even the horses are here out of season.” Of course there is a lot of bantering innuendo between the two:

 

Eva: “I trust that you’re a sound sleeper.”

Clark: “I don’t walk in my sleep, if that’s what you mean.”

 

Quite a recipe for growing sexual tension to develop between Eva and Jonathan!

 

After hearing reports on the radio about sporadic acts of rioting, Clark declares that people are “so full of hate, they’d lynch us if they could get their hands on us.”

 

Eva, on the other hand, observes that “people hate because they fear and they fear what they don’t understand.” This is one of those eternal truths about people no matter what era they live in. It certainly goes some way towards explaining how people fleeing across national borders may be viewed or how people of certain racial, ethnic, religious, political and other minority groups are often treated.

Back in the USSR, (apologies to the Beatles) the sense of urgency over the secret of the capsules is mounting and there is fear of “other nations discovering the answers” before they do. As for Ivan, “even torture cannot break him.” His interrogators try to break him by referring to him as a “filthy traitorous liar” who “will go down as the greatest traitor this country has ever known.”

 

Meanwhile in the US, panic continues to mount as a recuperating Bechner refuses to reveal the details of The Alien's plan. The withholding of information is leading to increased concern and apprehension. The professor does reveal that “the box and its contents cannot in themselves be harmful to anyone.” As with most technological developments, it is often the uses to which they are put and the intent behind their application that will determine the likelihood of their causing harm to people.

 

After two Communist agents almost succeed in assassinating Bechner, and an innocent man who resembles Clark is killed by a mob, Clark becomes a lot more introspective and arrives at a crucial decision. He declares to Eva, “maybe for the first time in my life I’m thinking of the next guy to do the right thing by him.” He and Eve then decide to voluntarily surrender themselves and be placed in government custody.

 

Clark’s decision: “Both nations have the ultimate weapon. I tried to stay out of it by hiding.” He is now involved.

 

We now find Godofsky in a state of shock after the beatings he received during torture. It is then decided to use sodium pentothal to get Godofsky to reveal the Alien's plan and gain access to his capsules. They succeed in doing so by a combination of chemical and emotional manipulation, the latter in the form of appeals to his love for his parents and for his country: “The Imperialists have pooled their atomic weapons and we find ourselves defenseless unless you help us, Ivan!”

 

The world is sent into a spin with the Soviet announcement that they have cracked the secret of the capsules:

 

IRON CURTAIN BREAKS SECRET OF ALIEN BOX!

 

WORLD CONTROL CLAIMED BY IRON CURTAIN

 

ALIEN PLAN TO TAKE OVER WORLD IS REVEALED

 

ALIEN “CAPSULES” ANNIHILATION WEAPON!

 

IRON CURTAIN LIFTS LID OFF “SECRET BOX!”

 

The scene shifts to Washington DC where Johnathan Clark and Bechner discuss the situation the world finds itself in. The dilemma is as follows;

 

John: “They give us a weapon and expect us to use it and yet they give the impression they hope we won’t!”

 

“How come they happen to have five nice shiny human exterminators lying around?”

 

Bechner: “They could have simply used their capsules and taken the planet.”

 

(It is obvious that they know) “…. the human race has spent more time destroying itself than in any other human endeavor.”

 

“They have merely intensified our choice – a choice that has faced us since the atomic bomb.”

 

John: If we had been a mature civilization “we would have promptly tossed them (the capsules) into the nearest sewer…. or the nearest ocean.”

 

It appears that the whole matter of humanity being faced with a crucial choice is really one that has been staring it in the face since the mid-20th century to the present day. Throughout that time, the human race has possessed the capacity to destroy itself but has lacked the will to choose (like Eva did) to completely and utterly do away with the means of doing so.

 

And so the next move in the game is made with the Soviet general declaring that he is “prepared to destroy all life on the North American continent” if the US does not withdraw from Europe and Asia and limit itself to the continental US.

 

A first strike policy is settled upon as a course of action as it is believed that “democracies are appeasers” and that the US needs to be bombed into war if it is not provoked.

 

Global anxiety increases, prompting Clark and Bechner to cooperate with U. S. authorities. A decision is then made to test one of Bechner's capsules to determine the veracity of the Soviet threat and ultimatum. A dying professor “born in Germany but resides in Missouri” has exposed himself on purpose to a lethal dose of radiation and volunteers himself to be left on a raft in the middle of the ocean as part of a test of the capsules’ capabilities. For the volunteer it is a question of “one life against millions” After a capsule is opened, his exact coordinates are read out loud and he is instantly vaporized. The truth is now known.

 

On board a US destroyer, Bechner begins to study the remaining capsules and considers that the whole matter is not just a question of ‘life or death’ but is instead a question of “life AND death.” He also discovers some kind of a message or imprinted code on the capsules.

 

Over in the USSR the Soviet general prepares to use the capsules when suddenly Godofsky makes a dash for him causing the capsules to fall to the ground below the balcony on which the general was standing. Just then on the ship Bechner, safe from outside intervention in a cabin, launches all the remaining capsules. He had managed to discover that the capsules can be programmed in the sense that they can indeed bring life and death. The resulting “invisible rays from outer space” and ultra-sonic wave kills all "confirmed enemies of freedom," including of course the Soviet general!

 

At a later date at a meeting of the United Nations, a united world broadcasts an invitation of “hospitality and sanctuary” to The Alien and his people. On behalf of 30.000 inhabited worlds, the invitation to coexist peacefully is accepted with “gratitude and love.”

 

In this scenario mankind has been judged and found not to be wanting. Should the gods set us a similar test in this, the second decade of the 21st Century, how would we fare?

 

Points of Interest

 

“The 27th Day” is based on the successful first novel by Canadian-born writer John Mantley. The novel was chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection.

 

We have seen the film’s leading man, Gene Barry in another science fiction film that is featured in Volume 6: Alien Invasion of the “Sci-Fi Film Fiesta” eBook series, George Pal's classic 1953 film The War of the Worlds.

 

Another face we are familiar with belongs to actor Paul Birch, who had roles in sci-fi cult favorites such as The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), Day the World Ended (1955), and Not of This Earth (1957), all of which are featured in other volumes in the SFFF eBook series.

 

You might also recognize the face of Arnold Moss who played the alien leader in “The 27th Day.” He also later played the Shakespearean actor and once former murderous tyrant, Anton Karidian in the original Star Trek episode, “The Conscience of the King.”

 

“The 27th Day” is certainly a film of its time that played on the rising interest in science fiction and unidentified flying objects, as well as on the fears of people during the Cold War period. But it also held up a mirror to those times and forced people to think about the danger and folly associated with the Cold War.

 

Its relevance over 60 years later?

 

North Korea…. China….South China Sea…. Iraq…. Religious fundamentalism…. Syria…. Refugee crisis…. South Sudan….US racial tensions…. Russia & NATO…. a nine member nuclear weapons club……. Brexit…. Trump….Global Pandemic tensions and fears, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -  It seems that humanity still has a long way to go until it can rise beyond its destructive, infantile and petty conflicts and not succumb so easily to fear.

 

**********

 

The Lost Missile (1958) 

 

An over-ambitious very low-budget film with a Cold War-era message and an over-reliance on Air Force and Civil Defense stock footage

 

 

 

Directed by Lester Wm. Berke

Produced by William A. Berke, Lee Gordon

Screenplay by John McPartland, Jerome Bixby

Story by Lester Wm. Berke

Music by Gerald Fried

Cinematography: Kenneth Peach

Edited by Everett Sutherland

Production company: William Berke Productions, Inc.

Distributed by United Artists

Running time: 70 minutes

 

Cast

 

Robert Loggia as Dr. David Loring

Ellen Parker as Joan Woods

Phillip Pine as Dr. Joe Freed

Larry Kerr as General Barr

Marilee Earle as Ella Freed

Kitty Kelly as Mama

Lawrence Dobkin as Narrator (voice)

 

I would recommend that you watch The Lost Missile and follow it up with two classic films with similar themes, Dr. Strangelove [1964] and Fail-Safe [1964]. However, before you begin watching The Lost Missile, I would suggest by way of introduction that you check out the following chilling information concerning “Project Pluto.”

 

Reality Catches Up With Fiction

 

Project Pluto was a US government program to develop nuclear powered ramjet engines for use in cruise missiles. Two experimental engines were tested at the United States Department of Energy Nevada Test Site in 1961 and 1964. Project Pluto seemed to operate much like "The Lost Missile": a cruise missile (supersonic low altitude missile) that would fly at Mach 3 at 1000 feet, dropping multiple nuclear weapons and destroying everything it passed over by means of a sonic boom and the radiation from its atomic ramjet.

 

(Spoilers follow below.…) 

 

The Lost Missile is yet another example of how the Power Elite in society might come to view the bulk of the citizenry as being little more than a collection of easily manipulated slack-jawed schmucks who exist just to accept whatever world-view or version of reality happens to be laid out for them to consume.

 

The first warning red light in this piece of propaganda comes when the film begins with an acknowledgment of assistance from the Departments of Defense and the Army, Navy and Air Force, which suggests that the film received official blessing and sanction. In much the same way as the power elite in regimes around the world clamor for credibility via the presence of generals and military top brass in photo ops, this Cold War cheapie flick slaps on a layer of “official” respectability and validation.

 

At least in other Cold War sci-fi films like Invasion USA (1952), there was a clearly identifiable enemy whereas in The Lost Missile, no-one seems to want to even name the potential enemy. All we know is that an unknown missile suddenly appears in space causing an unnamed nation (obviously Soviets / Iron Curtain) to fire a rocket at it when it enters the atmosphere over Russia. The rocket intercepts the unknown intruder and explodes causing it to shift into an orbit around the earth.

 

The missile now races around the Earth at five miles above the surface causing widespread devastation below it due to some kind of a heat field that can melt anything it comes into contact with.

 

The intruder is on a course heading southeast over Alaska, on a line that will take it through Ottawa and New York City and then out to sea. It's traveling at an incredible speed of over 4,000mph!

 

This first contact gone wrong scenario involving a technological artifact from a supposedly alien civilization just serves as a reminder to the audience to keep watching the skies as our enemies (you know who) could bring death crashing on to our heads at any moment.

 

Are you paying attention America? Keep watching the skies for Russia’s, or China’s or North Korea’s or someone’s new invincible hyper-sonic missiles. Unfortunately at the time of writing, it appeared that Ukraine would become the testing ground for this new kind of obscene weaponry that is designed to evade detection and interception by defensive systems. 

 

Meanwhile, at the Havenbrook Atomic Laboratory (standing for the actual Brookhaven National Laboratory) on Long Island, NYC, Dr. David Loring and his assistant Joan Woods are preparing for their wedding later that day. David is a scientist committed to working on the nuclear warhead for the "Jove rocket", the fastest and most powerful solid-fuel intercontinental rocket ever constructed. His devotion to his work has interfered with previous wedding plans. This occasion might prove to be no different as while they go ring shopping, David shows his frustration over how much time is being spent on this task. This causes Joan to accuse David of prioritizing his work over their relationship. Voila! The marriage is consequently called off.

 

So, audience, the lesson to be learned is that national preparedness often needs to take precedence over matters personal. There are those who find that personal sacrifices sometimes have to be made when the security needs of the nation are at stake. As for you ladies, it’s no use crying and carrying on emotionally, especially if you are “also a scientist.” Just suck it up and play your subordinate part. After all, you’re damn lucky to even be a scientist and besides your contribution to the nation will come when you inevitably wind up getting married and become a mother!

 

A radar station on the DEW Line in Alaska detects the missile’s approach toward the North American continent. A patrol jet is then diverted to intercept the missile and confirm its course and speed. The pilot manages to capture a picture of it which is then transmitted to "Conad", Continental Air Defense Command. The patrol jet is destroyed by the intense heat of the missile’s drive when it approaches too closely but the pilot manages to capture a picture of it that is then transmitted to "Conad".

 

An alert from Conad mobilizes jets from the Royal Canadian Air Force to intercept the missile. A potpourri of Hawker Hunters and F-86 Sabre Jets, and CF-100s meet the intruder and open fire but are unable to shoot it down. The missile simply slices past them, “burning them out of the sky.”

 

At this stage a message is being given to potential enemies (you know who) that the USA is quite capable of detecting threats coming from you know where and that defensive measures can quickly be put into place to deal with these threats – short of an invincible alien super missile.

 

A message is also being given to domestic audiences to be rest assured that the authorities have the matter of external threats to the country well in hand. Don’t worry folks, the political and military institutions of the Power Elite are all over it!

 

Manufacture one or two potential threats to national security, convey the need and ability to deal with such threats and you wind up having a very happy military and industrial sector. Great for business!

 

Meanwhile back at Havenbrook, alarms are going off and scientists are running around helter-skelter. Not to worry, let’s have a meeting to sort things out! No hurry, we’ve got over an hour before New York is char-grilled.

 

At the staff meeting the attendees are informed of the total lack of information as to the missile’s origins and purpose. Known unknowns? Unknown knowns? Known Knowns? What is known is that the missile is traveling at 4,078mph at 24,200 feet high and is producing a heat field at over a million degrees as a result of its "hydrogen drive." It is also presumed that "a high-order magnetic field can be projected from this missile without any damage to itself." It is then decided that the staff will have to be evacuated as they cannot afford to be lost.

 

We at last feel fully vindicated as to why such a large proportion of the national budget is devoted to military expenditure when we see our tax dollars at work with a procession of B-52s and B-47s trundling down runways and lumbering high into the air to the accompaniment of military style music. Real American steel and aluuuminum / aluminum when America was GREAT!

 

 

"They are soldiers and officers of Civil Defense. Theirs is the most important job of any right now."

 

Lest we become complacent with this orgy of chest-swelling pride, we are reminded of the urgency and need to be vigilant and alert for danger. With the East Coast on high alert and Ottowa and New York in the firing line, the comforting voice of the narrator reminds us to heed the instructions of our Civil Defense Wardens in times of crisis. Such civilian warriors are just like any of us citizens who quickly take on their assigned roles to help their fellow citizens survive. Not a smashed window or looted store in sight!

 

"The people of the city know what to do."

 

Take note potential adversaries: We’ve been busily ducking and covering for ages so we’re ready for whatever you throw at us.

 

With the missile steadfastly on course and with a full mobilization and civil defense procedures being implemented, Havenbrook continues with its evacuation. Suddenly, David hits on the idea that he can use the Jove rocket to penetrate the missile's intense heat to destroy it as it is the "only missile that can get through that heat fast enough." This would involve the use of the fission bomb "trigger" from an incomplete hydrogen warhead. As David doesn't have sufficient time to construct a full-size atomic warhead, he could in 20 minutes "assemble a baby warhead" using only the atomic trigger fuse, and in another 20 minutes he could get it to the Jove launch site and install it in the rocket. Easy-peasy.

Now this is how life and death matters get dealt with US style. Just get in there, whip together something or other using spit and duck-tape, righty-tighty a few nuts, blow something up and in a few minutes…..problem solved! Works every time…..in the movies…..in international relations…..war….you name it!

 

Next, it’s the turn of the US Air Force to scramble its own menagerie of flying machines to take on the ever-approaching missile of death. Enemies take note and citizens feel comforted at the sight of Sabres, Thunderchiefs and any other jet you can name zipping off to engage the “missile from Hell.”

 

It’s not long before an air battle ensues with a maelstrom of rocket and cannon fire but all to no avail. The invincible missile almost mockingly and contemptuously continues on its course toward Ottawa where the city is put on Red Alert. As the plucky citizenry fill the subways and shelters they can at least take comfort in the knowledge that Canada is no longer subject to Trump-era US tariffs on their steel and aluuuminum / ALUMINIUM! 

 

As Ottawa is reduced to the consistency of grilled cheese, it has been determined that should the missile maintain its current speed and course, it will circle the planet and incinerate populated areas.

 

With New York in the missile’s sights, the city’s Governor appears on TV where he declares martial law and "Situation Red." Time for reassuring platitudes from the authorities with an appeal not to panic, to proceed to a bomb shelter and that "as long as you have faith you will be alive and well." So, just how exactly are people going to behave when faced with total annihilation in less than an hour? And during such a catastrophe, where will those in authority (the Power Elite) be? Certainly not with the rest of us schmucks!

 

How should people behave? Well, here’s the answer: at an electricity generation plant the stalwart employees decide to remain at their posts to continue providing the city with electricity despite the imminent danger. So audience, be self-sacrificing like them – true patriots and real Americans who stand their ground in the face of adversity!

 

Oh, by the way just in passing, it’s been decided to include black Americans in this lesson in patriotism and correct moral fiber and just to prove it we are given a brief shot of a black couple listening to jazz music! If you blink you might just miss it.

 

Remember David? The one who’d rather be married to his work than to his fiance? Well, he’s at Havenbrook fiddling around with robotic manipulator arms hoping to construct his mini-bomb which he claims will generate an explosion equal to "100,000 tons of TNT."

 

Just in case we’re beginning to forget that this is supposed to be a science fiction film, David encounters his co-worker buddy, Joe in the hallway. Joe has learned that David is planning on destroying the missile and wants him to stop. Joe believes that the missile is not an errant or lost intercontinental terrestrial missile but is in fact a lost interplanetary missile originating from outer space! If so, it might therefore have aliens in it. Shut up! Joe tries to convey the wonder of this possibility but David in true unimaginative orthodox conservative mind-think refuses to entertain such a possibility. It’s gotta be the damn Ruskies!

 

As for the kinds of personal sacrifices being made by the brave boys charged with upholding the nation’s security, we’ve already learned that impending marriages don’t rate as an excuse to opt out. Now, what about the impending birth of a baby? Could we make an exception in Joe’s case whose wife Ella is about to drop her bundle any second, but he can’t be with her due to the lab’s lock-down? Surely, the authorities are not all that heartless? Anyway, poor old Joe is probably just overwrought due to worry over his wife and is just jabbering nonsense about aliens. So, don’t worry audience, those in charge only deal with “reality” so you’re in safe hands by golly!

 

Now the only thing that’s missing from this propaganda piece is an internal threat involving an identifiable group that can be stigmatized, stereotyped and blamed for much of the moral degradation and turpitude of society. In the fifties, next to the threat posed by commies, that often meant playing on people’s fears of youth and juvenile delinquents.

 

So, we now have David and Joan transporting the nuke trigger from the lab to the rocket base in a Jeep. As they speed through the deserted streets of Long Island, Joan expresses the wish that they hadn't told anyone about the lost missile in the belief that it would be better that they died quickly and had been spared the panic. Ah yes, so much better to suppress the truth and strip people of the right to know!

 

Suddenly, not far from the Jove rocket base, the pair are waylaid by a group of leather jacket-wearing juvenile delinquents who steal their jeep to replace their broken-down hot rod. Just to reinforce any prejudices the audience may have; the young hoods beat the shizenhowzer out of David as one of the punks attempts to have a go at sticking his tongue down Joan’s throat. What is wrong with the youth of today? Ah yes….no moral fiber….no sense of civic and patriotic duty……and so on….and so on…….for sixty plus more years.

 

After hitching a ride with a fortuitously passing driver, David and Joan soon come across the Jeep along with the dead bodies of the young hoods. It appears that they died from plutonium radiation soon after opening the box in the back of the Jeep.

 

In a supreme act of self-sacrifice, David acts quickly to get hold of the trigger in order to get it to the rocket and hopefully save the world. This self-sacrificial act of David’s causes his earlier marriage-planning sacrifice to pale into insignificance and highlights the selfish un-American nature of the actions of the juvenile delinquents. David, while protecting his eyes, grabs the trigger and places it back in the box. He knows full well that he is a dead man walking and so does Joan who screams in futile anguish while standing alone in the road as David drives off towards his final destination.

 

Jove is on final countdown to launch and David needs to get the warhead to the Jove rocket launch site in time.

 

With just four minutes until the launch of Jove, David speeds through the front gate.

 

With just three minutes to spare, he gets to the launch site where makes use of a lift to ascend to the rocket’s nosecone.

 

With just two minutes remaining, David reaches the nosecone, opens the hatch and places the box containing the trigger inside. The plutonium core is extracted and placed on an upper level.

 

As David succumbs to the radiation poisoning on the lift, the Jove rocket launches and magically morphs into a V-2, then a Redstone rocket and then into something straight from science fiction!

 

Close to the interception point, the rocket’s warhead launches towards its target. The impact is indicated by the use of atomic test stock footage accompanied by the swelling stirring sounds of organ music.

 

A final clear message to would-be enemies: Watch out! We have technology that can match and exceed anything you care to throw at us. Hang on! It sounds a lot like the kind of impression the Russians were trying to convey a few years ago with their announcement of a new hyper-sonic missile that was then said to be able to evade detection and be a match for anything in the US arsenal. Their widespread use has now become a reality. Power Elites from different eras and in different countries with similar world views and speaking the same language all vying to gain support of and influence over the majority of us schmucks.

 

The film ends as Joan screams in anguish and the question as to whether David's ultimate sacrifice was worth it is answered in neat ribbon bow fashion with people emerging from shelters and life able to continue as normal.

 

 

Points of Interest

 

 

The Lost Missile was originally intended to be directed by William A. Berke, who was also executive producer of the film. When William Berke died of a sudden heart attack on the first day of shooting, his son Lester Wm. Berke (creator of the original story) took over the direction.

 

The Lost Missile is certainly a propaganda film of its time with a patriotic theme highlighting to domestic and international audiences how the nation’s military protects the country’s borders and how its citizens are prepared to endure and sacrifice anything in the face of adversity. Even in more modern times, political leaders will play on such sentiments for political advantage.

 

Such messages are certainly not confined to western democracies like the US. Political and military Power Elites around the world will espouse such sentiments and propaganda through various forms of media. The world view and perception of reality is similar whether it emanates from the Power Elite of democracies warped by powerful vested interest groups, corporations and paid for by wealth; from the Power Elite of sham democracies maintained by powerful oligarchs, criminals and brutality; from the Power Elite of one party dictatorships enforced by repression and fear and from the Power Elite who depend on the largess of self-appointed leaders for life for whom the word “democracy” is just another word to use to distract the ruled.

 

Of course, The Lost Missile ought to be viewed in the context of the Cold War, where such films served to influence and control domestic public opinion, as well as send a clear message to overseas adversaries. At the time there would have been concern over Soviet development of nuclear weapons and their advancements in space technology. The use of film as propaganda would have been an effective Cold War weapon to help counter some the fears being felt about being overtaken by the enemy.

 

The Lost Missile is at least relatively fast-paced, with all the action taking place in apparent real time – over the course of about one day in a 70-minute film. It is also delivered in a kind of effective pseudo-documentary style which provides a genuine sense of tension throughout the film as the minutes click by. Unfortunately, important aspects of character and dialogue are sacrificed in favor of an inundation of "stock footage” shots of bombers and jet fighters.

 

The film certainly has a blatant Cold War era propaganda message, but how many films and TV series these days could we name that seem to tow the official line, that one could swear have been given CIA & FBI support and approval and that strive to present an officially endorsed world-view featuring whatever view of reality is favored by our political elite and often featuring whatever enemy flavor of the month happens to be in vogue?

 

Unlike what was portrayed in the film, far from fearing young hoodlums and despairing over the youth of today, we should take heart in the fact that more young people around the world are prepared to take direct action and take to the streets armed with new media to confront and change the kind of world view or version of reality they see being forced on them by an increasingly irrelevant Power Elite. All of us young and old are all in danger of being caught and trapped within the demented psyche of the planet’s Power Elite…..

 

 

**********  

 

The Space Children (1958)

 

An intelligent underrated low budget science fiction film with a strong message

 

 

 

Directed by Jack Arnold

Produced by William Alland

Screenplay by Bernard C. Schoenfeld

Story by Tom Filer & based on The Egg by Tom Filer

Music by Van Cleave

Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo

Edited by Terry O. Morse

Production company: Paramount Pictures, William Alland Productions

Distributed by Paramount Pictures

Running time: 69 minutes

 

Cast

 

Michel Ray: Bud Brewster

Adam Williams: Dave Brewster

Peggy Webber: Anne Brewster

Johnny Washbrook: Tim Gamble

Jackie Coogan: Hank Johnson

Richard Shannon: Lieutenant Colonel Alan Manley

Raymond Bailey: Dr. Wahrman

Sandy Descher: Eadie Johnson

Larry Pennell: Major Thomas

Peter Baldwin: Security Officer James

Ty Hardin: Sentry

Russell Johnson: Joe Gamble

David Bair: Saul Wahrman

Johnny Crawford: Ken Brewster

Eilene Janssen: Phyllis Manley

 

 

A father takes up new job at a top-secret Air Force base in California.

A family apprehensive about this sudden upheaval in their lives.

What’s this - a strange light in the sky aimed at the beach?

Strange powerful telepathic communications from an unknown source!

An alien presence in the form of a growing brain within the cave near the beach!

A missile project, designed to place a hydrogen bomb in orbit, capable of being used on any target in the event the United States is threatened!

Children being used to persuade parents of the danger posed by the project!

 

Will the parents be prepared to listen?

What will the alien brain do if the children’s appeals are ignored?

 

 

(Spoilers follow..…) 

 

The Space Children opens with background shots of space containing stars and nebulae on which the faces of the “space children” are super-imposed. A connection between the children and an extra-terrestrial element is established with an implied suggestion of a broadening of perceptions beyond the restrictive confines of petty earth-bound concerns. The youngsters are looking upward, beyond and outward.

 

“Is it much further?”

 

A station wagon races along a deserted road near the beach along the California coast. Inside the car we have electronics expert, Dave Brewster, his wife Anne and their two sons, Bud and Ken. It’s apparent from each family member’s demeanour that they've been driving for hours since leaving San Francisco for the military base where Dave has been transferred to continue his company's work on “The Thunderer”- a six stage intercontinental missile at the Eagle Point Missile Project.

 

“Hey, Mom, listen” - “Listen to what?”

“Dad, don't you hear it?” - “Hear what, son?”

 

Anne appears to be apprehensive about the move when she ominously declares, “I feel as if I were in another world.” Suddenly the boys hear a strange sound and then see a peculiar beam of light slashing a luminous path from high in the sky and down to the ground. At that moment the car stalls and then just as suddenly starts back up again. Notice that it is the children who perceive the unusual phenomena while the parents seem to be oblivious with Dave resorting to a reassuring ‘rational’ explanation, “It's just a jet, Bud.” Too blind to see, too deaf to hear.

 

“Try to make the best of it.”

 

After checking in at the guard post the Brewster family is directed to their new home, a trailer. It appears that all the contractor families’ residences are trailers. Ah, no expense spared by the government for its employees! Dave and Anne move their belongings into trailer Unit 3 while the kids head off to explore the beach.

 

Anne is particularly disconcerted and disillusioned about their new abode with the prospect of “living on the beach,” of having sand drifting in and ruining everything and having to leave friends and family in San Francisco. Dave tries to placate his wife by telling her that it’s only temporary and that he’s too tired to discuss it having “driven over 500 miles today.”

 

“It's much more complicated than just an intercontinental missile.”

 

The conversation next turns to the project. What Dave doesn’t know about the project is more illuminating than what he does know. He doesn’t know when the first test will be conducted, whether or not it will be accurate, that he “worked on one part out of 35,000 parts,” and that he doesn’t “know any answers.” It seems that expertise and work on this potentially dangerous project has been so fragmented and compartmentalised, that no single person has a complete unified understanding of its performance and capabilities. Knowledge and understanding has become narrowed, focused and specialized leaving little room for grasping the full implications of the work being undertaken.

 

Dave is merely a cog keeping the accepted world view wheel turning. For Dave, the missile project has “gotta do a job better than theirs so if they start anything...” Here we have the kind of security-oriented mindset imposed on the world by the Power Elite which has given us concepts such as ‘mutually assured destruction’, the fostering of paranoia and unreasoning nationalism by manufacturing potential enemies and ensuring the diversion of valuable human, financial and material resources toward insane military projects of mass destruction.

 

After Dave and Anne go outside to find the children, the security officer, Mr. James arrives and asks Dave to accompany him to a briefing on the Project.

 

“It's the feeling of living so close to the end of the world.”

 

When Anne arrives back at the trailer she is greeted by her new next-door neighbour, Frieda Johnson. They talk about the area and Frieda empathises with Anne who feels that “everything certainly is strange and different here” and how it feels like “living so close to the end of the world.” An ironic comment considering the nature of her husband’s work and the purpose of the missile project. Frieda then invites Anne to “a weenie roast!” planned for that evening.

 

“First that thing in the sky and now this place.” 

 

Bud and Ken are seen running along the cliffs playing ball. They then make their way down to the beach where they discover a cave. Bud explores further inside, while Ken remains behind only to have the bejesus scared out him by Eadie Johnson who suddenly pops in from off screen. Other children then appear: Buster, Tim, George and Helen. It turns out that these kids “have secret club meetings here.”

 

The other children invite Bud and Ken to see “The Thunderer” but are soon shooed away by a guard. The mere existence of the missile is a wonder to the kids:

“It's the biggest one in the world! It's a six-stage rocket. It takes a satellite with a hydrogen warhead and the satellite will be hundreds of miles up in the air, and when it gets above any city you want all you gotta do is press a button and bang!”

 

Here we have a basic general grasp of what the missile technology can do wrapped up in a child-like "Wow! Gee!” fascination. This follows on from the ever-present adult expression of uncertainty and concentration on the perceived necessity of possessing such technology. Sound familiar? But what of the technology’s nature and its implications? That will require additional information, a different perspective, a change of consciousness and a new world view….

 

“With pinpoint accuracy...”

 

Lt. Col. Alan Manley is giving a briefing on the project in which they have all “been charged with a heavy responsibility in this technological race.” He then goes on to explain that they have worked hard on this project but that they can be proud “because of this weapon we're prepared 24 hours a day to retaliate instantly in case of enemy attack.” Manley follows this up with an explanation of what “The Thunderer” can do:

 

“Send a satellite equipped with a hydrogen warhead into the ocean of space, where for years, if you wish, it can circle on a path known only to us. A satellite containing the means to bring retaliation by the pressing of a button.”

 

Yes, well some might say we certainly can be “proud” since over the last sixty years reality has caught up with fiction in terms of nuclear warfare capabilities. Despite treaties and international agreements to the contrary, it is also probably only a matter of time before such capabilities are extended into “the ocean of space” to become another accepted and normalized theater of war.

 

While the briefing continues, the kids head back to the beach when suddenly they see the same strange light in the sky as before. This time, however, a strange object can be seen travelling down the light beam and entering the cave.

 

Meanwhile back at the briefing the lights and power suddenly go off. When it is restored, Col. Manley remarks somewhat ironically, “it's nice to know we're no longer in the dark.” It appears that the strange object is responsible for the power outage and resumption at the briefing.

 

“The sky looks so innocent”

 

Later Dr. Wahrman comes across Col. Manley who is surf fishing. They discuss the next day’s scheduled test of the missile in which it suggested that “people will get used to the Thunderer, its implications” and that their hope is that they can preserve life for their children. The implications they talk about involve the potential destruction of life on earth and the life they wish to preserve is one in which mutually assured destruction looms large as an accepted part of that life. As it was then so it remains now……If only more people went fishing instead of dreaming up ways to wipe out their fellow man!

 

“Plenty more where these came from”

 

At the weenie roast that evening, we meet Freida’s husband, Hank Johnson. The conversation turns toward the project and the nation’s defence where some interesting questions from the school parent-teacher meeting are raised such as "When is it gonna end? Year after year of racing, racing, trying to find something bigger and better to blow ourselves off the planet." In answer to such questions it is suggested that “you just say to them that down there stands the Thunderer, and what are we waiting for?”

 

A perfectly reasonable question to ask and all that can be offered by way of answer is the logical conclusion or outcome of such an insane state of affairs – to trust and have faith in such destructive technology (”The Thunderer is to prevent war”) to strike pre-emptively (“And what are we waiting for?”) and risk blowing ourselves off the planet!

 

These days we often hear the old chestnut offered to us from the Power Elite that the presence of nuclear weapons has prevented the occurrence of another world war for the last 70 years. Gosh, I feel safer already! Just as safe as when I hear that ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people!’ More nukes and more guns for a safer world! The lunatics are indeed in charge…..

 

“I think I had too many hot dogs, Daddy.”

 

Like many people, Frieda prefers not to discuss controversial subjects. When Hank and Dave invite the kids to go swimming, they initially appear to be excited at the prospect. However, the voice that only the kids can hear tells them to decline the offer of a swim. They quickly make their excuses and head off for the beach.

 

“If I were that kid's real father”

 

 

When Dave and Hank head off for a swim Peg Gamble enters the scene accompanied by her grumbling alcoholic second husband, Joe Gamble. Not exactly a good role model for his stepson, Tim.

 

Meanwhile, the children discover a pulsating blob (son of The Blob?) in the sand of the cave. It appears to communicate directly with Bud and selects him as the leader. Tim panics and attempts to destroy the blob with a rock but is paralysed by the alien entity which causes the rock he holds overhead to explode into small fragments. Bud then instructs the others, “from now on when I ask you to do something, we'll do it together.” The children all agree to follow Bud's directives.

 

“Dad, you've gotta believe me!”

“Believe what? Some crazy story you made up for an excuse!”

 

Back in the trailer Bud and Ken finally arrive back to the trailer to be confronted by their worried parents. The boys try to explain their encounter in the cave on the beach, (“We found something that fell out of the sky this afternoon”) but their parents don't believe them (“How long did it take you to dream up that yarn?”) When Dave grabs hold of Bud's arm, his own arm becomes paralysed. Not exactly Village of the Damned creepiness but creepy enough nonetheless.

 

At this point we could assume that the film will follow the old Cold War line of young minds being brainwashed and influenced by evil Commie bastards with their alien notions and desire to take over the world. If only people would listen and believe the truth that’s in front of them!!! But wait – maybe there’s more to it!

 

Notice that Anne is worried about the kids being out till 9 o’clock! Noticed too how much the kids are allowed to roam around freely. It was a different world back then when kids could go off and play by themselves and explore without being tracked by apps or ferried off to organised activities by helicopter parents. On holidays my own mum would tell me to go off and play after breakfast when I would disappear all day with some neighbourhood friends and magically re-appear for dinner followed by time in front of the only screen in the house– the TV screen.

 

“I'll break your neck!

Come back here, you!

 Come back here!

I'll teach you to run away from me!”

 

The boys lead Dave back to the beach, accompanied by young Eadie. Tim spots them and tries to sneak out of the trailer to join them but an inebriated Joe catches him in the act. Tim manages to escape, but Joe pursues him and eventually nabs the young absconder. Before Joe can lay a finger on Tim, he is prevented by the power of the alien blob. When Joe recovers he has no option but to return to the trailer with his tail between his legs. Dave picks up the alien blob and conceals it inside his jacket before returning to the trailer park.

 

When Tim arrives back at the trailer he discovers Joe sitting upright in a chair - dead. Peg then enters and sees Joe and eventually the fact of Joe’s death reaches Hank who has been demanding to know what had been going on.

 

At the Brewsters’ trailer Anne expresses her horror toward the presence of the blob creature: “I don't want this thing here. Take it back. Get rid of it, do you understand? Get rid of it this minute!”

 

“Why did it come here?”

 

The next morning, Anne and Dave demand answers from the boys about the alien blob: “What is this thing that's come into our lives? ….. What does it intend to do? What have you kids got to do with it?.....” All they get in reply to their answers is the response that they would not understand. This is the kind of response one might expect coming from an adult when confronted with a tricky question from a child!

 

The phone rings and Dave is informed by the major that the The Thunderer will launch that night. He then follows the boys who are carrying the alien creature over the embankment and back to the cave. Dave informs the boys about the missile launch but quickly realises they knew all along (“You knew before I did, didn't you?”) and that it was the creature that told them.

 

“A matter for security.”

 

At a meeting between Dr. Wahrman and Col. Manley a discussion is taking place concerning the launch of The Thunderer at which it is declared, “Tonight, we push this button. The most powerful sky horse of all joins the celestial merry-go-round. Let's hope we get that brass ring.” Suddenly they are informed that Dave Brewster insists on speaking to them about something urgent.

 

Dave’s meeting with Manley is interrupted by the colonel’s information session with the representatives of the media, “Wicks from the News, and Lloyd of the Sentinel.” Of course, they are on first name terms as if often the case with members of the Power Elite across various fields who like to rub shoulders with one another in some kind of symbiotic co-dependent relationship. Will the colonel’s mates in the media, Dan and Richard simply be conduits for the dissemination of a particular world view complete with authorized and official information and opinion?

 

“Will the new type of warhead be inside the satellite when it's launched?

 

“Yes. You see without such a specialized kind of warhead, we'd be merely launching one more satellite in space. There are already a dozen, as you know.”

 

“How high will the orbit be?”

 

“Approximately 1000 miles.”

 

“Can you tell us how many stages the rocket will have?”

 

“Yeah. Six. As it nears the orbit, the last stage will be the dropping off the nose cone.”

 

“Dr. Wahrman, do you believe that another country has already launched a satellite containing a warhead?”

“Well, we don't know. You see, in this race, we may be only a few hours ahead of another country.”

 

“What if the test is a dud?”

 

“Heh, we're not planning on it.”

 

"What if any enemy launches its own satellite with a warhead and it isn't a test?”

 

“Well, let us hope no country in the world would be paranoid enough to do what you suggest.”

 

“There are constant rumors. Not a newspaper in the country this week that hasn't had dozens of telephone calls. After all, you can understand, Colonel, years and years of cold war nerves.”

 

“Of course, I understand. But isn't it your job, gentlemen, to quiet rumours of that kind? “

 

“It isn't easy. Not when every hour is a zero hour.”

 

“Let us hope that the Thunderer will be launched in time to discourage anyone from attacking our country or our allies.”

 

It is amazing that a level of technology can be achieved to construct a multi-staged rocket (quite a concept for that time!) and have it launched into orbit at the height of 1000 miles and yet have as its purpose the potential destruction of the species that created it.

 

The development of such technology as “The Thunderer” is seen as being part of a race – a race toward possible destruction with an enemy who may or may not but most likely has developed an equivalent method of mass destruction. As the line of thinking goes, the possession of such a weapon is supposed to deter a potential enemy from launching a first strike.

 

Has the world view of the Power Elites in relation to such matters and our seeming acceptance of it really progressed all that much over the course of sixty or more years? Is it the media’s role just to quiet rumors and speculation, or should it strive to investigate, reveal, inform and encourage critical debate?

 

In 1962 with the Cuban Missile Crisis we came awfully close to the snapping of “Cold War nerves” and “zero hour.” Even now we can hear the clock ticking and feel the tension as opposing forces strain on the already taut elastic band that holds our world in place. Consider the talk of the possible use of nuclear weaponry during the crisis involving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

 

With the press conference over, Dave tells Dr. Wahrman and Col. Manley that the project is in danger. He declares his belief that “the Thunderer will never get off the ground” and that whatever they are thinking “it's beyond understanding.” Just as he is about to elaborate, Bud appears and Dave suddenly finds himself unable to speak. He is also unable to write out his warning as his hand is paralysed and then he collapses. By the time he recovers in the infirmary, Anne and the boys have come to see him.

 

“What's the matter?”

 “There's something wrong with the steering wheel!”

 

The “space children” begin to carry out acts of sabotage against the missile project. Bud causes a fuel delivery truck’s steering rod to split wide open after it loses control and almost crashes due to malfunctioning brakes. Meanwhile, young Buster and Helen happily enjoy their ice creams while interfering with communications at a guard post.

 

“What were you doing in there

all alone?”

“Just playing, Daddy.”

 

Hank makes his way to the beach in search of his daughter, Eadie. He locates her jacket and a towel outside the cave. Eadie then comes out of the cave and Hank tells her, “you had me scared, honey. I didn't know where you were.” Eadie insists that they go for a swim but keeps nervously looking back toward the cave. Hank questions her as to what she was doing there all alone. Eadie pleads with her father for them to leave immediately but he responds to her entreaties by saying to her, “I will, honey. As soon as I find out what this is all about.”

 

As Hank enters the cave, Eadie screams out, “Don't Daddy! Please! Please! Daddy!” Inside the cave he sees the alien blob which fires a beam of light at him. Hank exits the cave and collapses on the sand. The blob’s mass has now increased while Hank, zombie-like, his vitality seeming to have been stripped from him, heads back to his trailer.

 

That evening the children head down to the beach to see the by now enormous alien blob who will issue the final instructions to them.

 

“As you say, this may all be coincidence.”

 

Wahrman and Manley discuss the day’s strange events. Wahrman concedes that there “seems to be no connection between any of these events.” However, “there's one brightly-coloured thread that runs throughout the day, tying all these events together…….A child or children was present at each of these events today……..That's all here in black and white: Children! Children! Children!”

 

“Like pebbles dropping one by one, ruffling the surface.”

 

The children by-pass a guard and enter the base by opening a locked gate. Dr. Wahrman spots them and confronts the guard about his inattentiveness. Wahrman then meets with Dave and informs him of his suspicions. For him being, “a man of science is like a deep-sea diver. He mustn't be afraid to walk down where it's dark and frightening, in the hopes of scooping up a handful of truth.” Wahrman is aware of the truth about the children and their strange powers: “But what I saw a group of children do a few minutes ago is something for which there is no name.”

 

In order to test a hypothesis he asks Dave, “Now, I wonder what would happen if I would try to tell someone else?” When Wahrman attempts to call someone, the phone malfunctions.

 

Wahrman demands to know where the alien creature is and what it looks like. Dave tells him that the creature is in the cave but that he can’t describe it. All that they can be sure of is that “it's making the children obey its every command, “that the children are completely in its power” and that they themselves are “in the power of the children.”

 

“Is there no man on this Earth, who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?”

 

Wahrman and Dave go to the cave to confront the enormous alien blob. Wahrman tells it that he has “spent a lifetime in the search for truth and knowledge, trying to make this world a better place. A world where the very children you're controlling can live in peace instead of fear.” There is no response from the creature. Could it be that it has the same aims as those expressed by Wahrman and that Wahrman has merely given voice to the alien’s ultimate intention.

 

“Number 1 stage.

Primary fuel valve is locked.

Number 2 stage.

Primary fuel valve is locked.

Number 3 stage.

Primary fuel valve, locked.”

 

As preparations for the launch continue, the children exit the base and return to the cave. Dave and Wahrman arrive back at the base just in time for the launch.

 

“Sixty seconds to firing.

Standby to fire. Standby.

Fifty.

Forty.

Thirty.

Twenty.

Ten, nine, eight, seven.

Six, five.

Four, three, two, one.

Fire!”

 

When the missile is launched, the warhead on the top suddenly and dramatically explodes on the pad as the children watch on from the beach.

 

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew, Ch.18, v.3)

 

It is very much apparent that “the children have won.” After the launch failure, the military heads for the cave with the aim of destroying the alien blob. Close behind are the children's parents. The children block the cave entrance while their parents plead for them to come away from the cave and the creature inside. The alien blob then exits the cave and ascends into the sky on the beam of light.

 

The children explain to the adults that “the children all over the world…did what we did in every country” as directed by the alien blob “because the world wasn't ready to do it.” Because of their actions, the world is having a second chance.

 

 

 

 

Points of Interest

 

The Space Children was producer William Alland's first picture with Paramount. The film was based on The Egg, an unpublished story by Tom Filer.

 

Daughter of a wildcat oil driller, Peggy Webber is the founder and executive director/producer of the California Artists Radio Theater. She has worked with the likes of Basil Rathbone, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Henry Fonda, Lionel Barrymore, Kirk Douglas, Vincent Price, John Garfield, Mickey Rooney, Raymond Massey, Charles Laughton, Joseph Cotten, and Glen Ford.

 

We have seen Sandy Descher as the little girl who wanders out of the desert screaming in the film Them!  We also know Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester in The Adam’s Family series. And of course there’s Russell Johnson who played the Professor in the TV series, Gilligan’s Island as well as roles in It Came from Outer Space (1953) and This Island Earth (1955)

 

The interior of the Brewster trailer - Unit #3 - is the set that had been built for the MGM movie The Long, Long Trailer (1954).

 

The alien brain was created by special effects artist Ivyl Burks using $3,300 of neon lights to create the glowing effect.

 

Along with The Space Children, Jack Arnold’s other classic sci-fi films include, It Came From Outer Space, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Tarantula, and The Incredible Shrinking Man, all of which are featured in this Ebook series.

 

Although the film contains a strong anti-nuclear proliferation message which is still very relevant today, it also has relevance for us in terms of how generational change can come about should the current order of things show no signs of improvement. For instance, see how recent events have transpired in which many young people no longer feel safe in a society saturated with guns and violence, or a future threatened by human induced climate change. If they feel that the adult world isn’t ready to change the current state of affairs, then they may feel it is in their power to act by taking to the streets to voice their concerns and apply political pressure to achieve change, however that may seem to be a dangerously alien concept in the Power Elite’s world view. Perhaps there is cause for optimism if young people feel motivated enough to try and “make this world a better place. A world where…. Children…. can live in peace instead of fear.”

 

**********

 

The Strange World of Planet X /

(Cosmic Monsters) (1958)

 

Overall, an interesting but somewhat pedestrian and routine

sci-fi film with special effects failings

 

 

Directed by Gilbert Gunn

Produced by George Maynard, John Bash

Written by Paul Ryder, Joe Ambor

Music by Robert Sharples

Cinematography: Josef Ambor

Edited by Francis Bieber

Distributed by Eros Films (UK)

Distributors Corporation of America (US)

Running time: 75 minutes

 

Cast

 

Forrest Tucker as Gil Graham

Gaby André as Michele Dupont

Martin Benson as Smith

Alec Mango as Dr. Laird

Wyndham Goldie as Brigadier Cartwright

Hugh Latimer as Jimmy Murray

Dandy Nichols as Mrs. Tucker

Richard Warner as Inspector Burns

Patricia Sinclair as Helen Forsyth

Geoffrey Chater as Gerard Wilson

Hilda Fenemore as Mrs. Hale

 

 

Strange happenings in rural Britain!

Disruptive magnetic fields affecting distant objects!

A freak storm and blasts of cosmic radiation!

Giant mutant insects and spiders!

Unidentified flying objects from outer space!

A strange visitor from “a long way off!”

Impending disaster descending from on high!

 

What can all this mean????

 

(Spoilers follow below…..) 

 

The Strange World of Planet X opens with a highly melodramatic and cliche-ridden narration:

 

“Since the world began, ever inventive man has constantly pushed forward into the unknown. One by one the frontiers of science have fallen before him. The science of speed, travel, radium. Now he stands on the threshold of a new age. A terrifying age. Man goes forward into the unknown, but how does the unknown react? The unknown planet…” Yudda, yudda, yudda and so on.  

 

Titles and credits then appear over a star field background and away we go….”forward into the unknown”…..

 

In the south of England, at an isolated rural laboratory, physicist Dr. Laird and his assistant, American scientist Gilbert Graham perform a series of dangerous experiments involving the use of magnetic fields that require enormous amounts of power. Unfortunately, the equipment is not up to handling such power loads.

 

It’s pretty clear from the outset that Forrest Tucker who plays Gil Graham, would feel more comfortable wearing chaps, spurs, a pair of six guns and riding a horse than wearing a white lab coat and being deferential to a poncy British Brainiac. As it was then so it is often the case now in film making – if you want money in the bank, chuck in a well-known Yank!

 

An accident causes another assistant computer operator, by the name of Singers to be electrocuted when he gets too close to a piece of electrical equipment. After the singeing of Singers, the Ministry of Defense sends Brigadier Cartwright to investigate. He brings with him a female computer expert, French Canadian- Ho! Ho! Ho! Hooooh! - Michele Dupont as Singer’s replacement.

 

Brigadier Cartwright had earlier met with Deputy Controller, Gerald Wilson to discuss Dr. Laird's experiments. Cartwright wants the project terminated, but Wilson believes it may have military potential. The project involves the use of strong magnetic fields and their effect on metallic alloys. So, armed with a couple of samples of new aircraft alloys, and Michele Dupont, Cartwright heads off to Dr. Laird’s lab.

 

Of course, there’s the then obligatory skepticism expressed by Laird and Graham concerning Michele’s suitability for the job of being a computer operator: "But a . . .woman? This is preposterous. This is highly skilled work!" I’ll try and not project my supposedly enlightened 21st Century views of gender equality on a 60+year-old film. So, no cheap shots here except to say we have a marvelous window open to us concerning mid-20th century values and attitudes to gender that were perhaps just beginning to shift ever so slightly.

 

To the film maker’s credit, they didn’t go on and on and labour the point about Michele being female. She quickly establishes her competence for the job and gains the respect of her male colleagues by showing her understanding of the concept of the machinery and by proposing a solution to the power problem. And yes, there’s the usual love-interest angle to settle things down into comfortable and familiar normalcy. Can’t be having women being too uppity just yet!

 

Laird shows Cartwright two pieces of copper, with one of them possessing the characteristics of a flexible form of steel that springs back into place when bent. Cartwright is interested in the military applications of the research. Gil explains that their research may carry with it the ability to destroy enemy aircraft by altering the molecular structure of the metal by means of magnetism.

 

Isn’t it just wonderful how humanity can arrive at a ground-breaking discovery and the first thought is to apply it to warfare so that people can be more effectively killed!

 

After Cartwright gives Gil the metal sample he brought with him, an experiment is planned for that evening. In the lab the equipment is prepared, and Laird places a sample of the aircraft alloy in the chamber while the magnetic field generator is started. Suddenly Gil notices Cartwright's briefcase, hanging on a hook on the wall start to move. He then quickly shuts down the power and just in time moves Michele out of the way of the briefcase which flies across the room striking a piece of equipment.

 

Meanwhile, a homeless man in the nearby woods is burned as a result of a severe electrical storm which also causes damage in the local village.

 

It turns out that Cartwright had left his keys in his briefcase and had forgotten about the second metal sample he was carrying. Dr. Laird takes the sample out of the chamber which he hands to Cartwright. The molecular structure of the metal has been altered, demonstrated by its crumbling to powder in his hands.

 

Did you know? Embrittlement agents have been developed which can in fact alter the molecular structure of metals. Reality catches up with science fiction!

 

Later on, a couple in the woods spot something in the sky which is then followed by an explosion on the ground nearby. What on earth could it be?

 

The next day Cartwright meets with Deputy Controller Gerald Wilson where he explains to Wilson that the second sample he had forgotten about in his briefcase had suffered the same kind of molecular transformation as the one placed in the chamber. Not only that, but a piece of antenna situated thirty feet away from the lab had also been altered.

 

Instead of considering the likely scientific implications for the world as a result of discovering the process of molecular transformation of objects, the only thought to be expressed is a gleeful observation concerning, "action at a distance, the military's dream."

 

The next morning Gil meets with Michele where they ponder the anomaly of the experiment in which the power was shut off and yet the circuits continued to operate. Why so, indeed!

 

With Laird's project now being made a top priority, Wilson calls in a counter-espionage security officer, Jimmy Murray. (What kind of name is “Jimmy” for a counter intelligence security officer?) The project will receive a tighter level of security while its mission will be to weaponize the transformation process by causing the force to be directional.

 

While gorging on thoughts and visions of enemy planes dropping out of the sky after being molecularly mangled, little thought is given to the consequences of the experiment.

 

It seems that the hyper-magnetic fields that were generated have affected the ionosphere, causing unnatural weather patterns, impacting ships at sea hundreds of miles distant, and weakening the magnetic shield that protects the surface of the Earth from cosmic rays.

 

 

Ionosphere Fact File

 

• Consists of invisible layers of ions and electrons suspended in the Earth's atmosphere above 60 kilometers in altitude.

• The Sun's ultraviolet light is the main source of these layers which ionizes atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere.

• Solar flares and other energetic events on the Sun produce increased ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma-ray photons that reach the Earth just 8 minutes later and dramatically increase the density of the ionosphere on the day-side.

• Auroras, the bright, beautiful bands of light that we sometimes see near Earth’s poles, result from charged particles in the ionosphere being affected by the magnetic fields of both Earth and the sun.

 

Another unintended consequence of the increasingly insane and paranoid Dr. laird’s experiments is a sudden burst of cosmic radiation which causes brain damage in one local man, turning him into a homicidal maniac. It has also resulted in the local insect life mutating and growing to giant proportions. Ah, haven’t we been down this road before?

 

Did you know? The High Frequency Active Auroral Project (HAARP) run by the US air force and navy makes use of an array to heat up portions of the ionosphere with powerful radio beams. Great quantities of energy could be harnessed and controlled by manipulating the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere. This can then be directed at an enemy or moving target and can even disrupt global communications. "Action at a distance, the military's dream." Reality catches up with science fiction yet again!

 

Later, a young budding entomologist is seen wandering around the woods near the village in search of bugs. Yes, different times! Who would let their young daughter these days traipse around the local woodlands all by herself? Jane suddenly comes across a strange man with the unusual name of…. Smith. As a way of conjuring up a slightly sinister and other-worldly aura, his face sports a beatnik goatee beard and his eyes have that 1000-mile stare. Breaking the golden rule of not talking to strangers, Jane helps the enigmatic Mr. Smith find his way to Dr. Laird's house.

 

The next time we see Smith is when he enters the pub and orders a drink, the taste of which he’s less than impressed with – definitely not of this earth!

 

Meanwhile, the new school teacher, Helen Forsyth is at the bus stop where she notices the headlines in the local newspaper:

 

"Has Britain Been Invaded:

More Flying Saucer Reports."

 

Suddenly the hobo who was earlier burned in the woods attacks her, but just in the nick of time Jimmy Murray pulls up in his car and saves her. He takes her to the local police station to report the crime.

 

Back at the pub, it is quite obvious that Gil and Michele are romantically drawn to each other, but the other pointy corner of the triangle is occupied by Wilson! How will this dilemma be resolved?

 

Jimmy arrives at the pub with Helen and informs the others about a maniac who is roaming the woods attaching and killing people.

 

As a band plays upstairs, feedback from the microphone and speakers gives Gil the idea that perhaps the same process is responsible for the problem with the experiment.

 

Gil rushes off to the lab to discuss his theory with Dr. Laird. Laird simply dismisses Gil's concern, telling him "we've accidentally stumbled upon the secret of producing an enormously more powerful magnetic field than we had ever hoped for. We've saved ourselves years of work, and you want to throw those years away?" Gil warns Laird about conducting any further experiments until the consequences are fully understood.

 

Meanwhile, a man stumbles across his girlfriend, Gillian Betts lying dead in the woods. As he discovers yet another body, a giant insect descends upon him and kills him.

 

Back at the pub, the police arrive and report that Gillian Betts was found dead and that a homicidal maniac is roaming around the nearby woods.

 

Wilson and Michele offer to take Smith with them to the lab. Smith indicates that he knows something about the work being conducted at the lab. He requests that he meet with them the next day. Worried about the security at the lab, Jimmy wants to meet with Gil and Michele before their meeting with Smith.

 

New school teacher, Helen is intent upon preparing her classroom for the start of the new school year and Jane offers to escort her to the school.

 

Meanwhile, Smith meets with Gil and Michele at the pub. So far, all that is known about this mysterious "Mr. Smith" is that he is well-spoken, well-mannered but has little knowledge of commonplace aspects of day-to-day living. He does, however, possess a great deal of knowledge concerning magnetic fields and the dangerous nature of Dr. Laird experiments such as the recent atmospheric disturbances. Smith warns of the danger of disturbing the Earth's magnetic field and the dangers posed by cosmic rays. He goes on to warn that radiation exposure, could result in madness in humans and abnormal growth in size for insects.

 

Obviously deciding that this guy “Smith” (if that’s his real name) doesn’t have the same credentials as that flying saucer character, Klaatu we all know and love, good old Jimmy pegs him as being a spy! Of course! What else?

 

Once again, we see Jane gallivanting in the woods in her quest for bugs, despite the fact that a homicidal maniac is roaming about! She soon comes across what looks like a gigantic insect egg which she eventually carries back home with her.

 

At the pub, Gil asks Smith to accompany him to the authorities to report on the dangers associated with Dr. Laird’s experiments, but he refuses. After wishing Gil and Michele success in their efforts at dealing with the situation, he departs. Gee, thanks a lot!

 

As Michele walks back to Dr. Laird's house she encounters Mrs. Hale, Jane's mother holding the large egg. Not one to give merely culinary advice, Michele suggests that she boil the egg in order to destroy it.

 

While the nearby woods are teaming with gigantic insects and other unspeakable monstrous mutations, a meeting at the local police station is taking place between Inspector Burns, Jimmy, Gil and Cartwright at which it is agreed that Dr. Laird must be prevented from conducting any further experiments.

 

With more reported deaths confirming Smith's warning of insects being affected by cosmic rays, Cartwright orders the involvement of the military to tackle the threat.

 

As Helen prepares to leave the village school after completing her preparations, giant insects emerge to threaten her. She now finds herself trapped in her classroom. Fear not, fair maid for Jimmy rides forth in his metal steed to rescue you! Huzzah!

 

Just at that time Michele approaches the school, but Helen warns her to stay away. Michele takes off but is soon entangled in a giant spider web. Meanwhile, the giant insects force their way into the classroom just as Britain’s finest and bravest appear on the scene. The army boys open fire while Helen is rescued.

 

Gil and Smith (nice of you to join us!) also manage to rescue Michele from the web moments before a spider attacks her. Smith uses a device to dispose of the spider.

 

The army boys go on a killing spree massacring giant insects one would swear had simply been placed under a magnifying glass. But no! no! The threat is clearly real as we witness the gruesome spectacle of one soldier being killed and having half of his face gnawed off! How did that get past the censors?

 

By this stage Dr. Laird is completely bonkers as he pulls a gun on Wilson, threatens him with it and shoots him. Wilson valiantly struggles upstairs where there is a telephone while Dr. Laird has gone mad and locks himself in his lab and plans to continue his dangerous experiments. Wilson manages to phone Cartwright and informs him that Laird has gone mad, has shot him and that he needs help.

 

"Mr. Smith" has now revealed to Gill that he is an alien from another world - that he is in fact THE MAN FROM PLANET X….X….X….X! Smith informs Gill, Michele, Jimmy and Cartwright that his mission is to warn humanity that Earth's orbit will be destabilized should the magnetic experiments continue. They already pose a threat to "Planet X" and that the magnetic experiments have caused one of their spacecraft to crash. Smith, Gil, Michele, Jimmy, and Cartwright head off to the lab. They ask Smith to help stop Dr. Laird but being an emissary, he is reluctant to get personally involved. However, with the continued threat, Smith finally agrees to help.

 

Smith waits for Laird to start up the machine. Using a hand-held device, he summons his spacecraft and positions it directly above the lab. Suddenly, it discharges powerful energy rays that obliterate the whole building.

 

With disaster having been averted, Mr. Smith (not his real name!) the alien bids farewell to the others and approaches the saucer. The film closes with the view of just an oval of light ascending into the night sky.

 

Points of Interest

 

I must admit that I was not familiar with this film, so it was a very fresh viewing for me. I felt that I had already seen much of what the film offered in other far more superior sci-fi films of the era. Still, it was worth a look!

 

The independently made 1957 British sci-fi / horror film, The Strange World of Planet X, was known by the title, Cosmic Monsters in the US where it was released in 1958 by Distributors Corporation of America on a double bill with The Crawling Eye.

 

British actress and author Rene Ray wrote a novel called The World of Planet X which dealt with time travel. The story was also adapted as a 7-part serialized TV drama by the same name. The film's screenplay by Paul Ryder changed the source of the threat to giant mutations that resulted from the effects of powerful magnetic fields.

 

The film’s title, The Strange World of Planet X is really a metaphor for the planet Earth but it is, nevertheless misleading in that we are led to expect a space exploration adventure film. What we do end up with is an unconvincing giant bug film nowhere on a par with the likes of such films as Them! (1954).

 

The mysterious alien stranger seems to have been modelled on the alien visitor in Stranger From Venus (1954) and Klaatu played by Michael Rennie in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) but without Rennie’s impact and screen presence.

 

The special effects are pretty inadequate with optically enlarged insects being used to represent giant attacking monsters. Not very convincing! There is one scene which for the time seems quite shocking and gruesome. That is when we see a bug gnawing the flesh from a dead soldier's face. Some have speculated that it was included in order to ensure that the film would be given the "X" certificate (suitable for those aged 16 and older) from the British Board of Film Censors. We have also seen other sci-fi films such as, The Quatermass Xperiment and X the Unknown make use of the "X" Certificate in their titles to draw audiences. The same accusation apparently could be leveled at The Strange World of Planet X.

 

The whole situation surrounding Dr. Laird's research and its consequences for humanity amounts to a fairly interesting cautionary tale about the dangers of science. It is something which even modern audiences can relate to considering the pace of scientific and technological progress and its effect on society.

 

**********

 

The Cosmic Man (1959)

 

Low budget, derivative and mildly entertaining sci-fi film

 

 

Directed by Herbert S. Greene

Produced by Harry Marsh, Robert A. Terry

Written by Arthur C. Pierce

Music by Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter

Cinematography: John F. Warren

Edited by Helene Turner, Richard C. Currier

Production company: Futura Productions

Distributed by Allied Artists

Running time: 72 minutes.

 

Cast

 

John Carradine: Cosmic Man

Bruce Bennett: Dr. Karl Sorenson

Angela Greene: Kathy Grant

Paul Langton: Col. Matthews

Scotty Morrow: Ken Grant

Lyn Osborn Lyn: Sgt. Gray

Walter Maslow: Dr. 'Rich' Richie

Herbert Lytton: Gen. Knowland

Ken Clayton : Master Sergeant

Alan Wells: Sergeant

Harry Fleer: Bill, the Park Ranger

John Erman : Radar Operator

Dwight Brooks: Major

Hal Torey: Dr. Steinholtz

 

 

TV Broadcast:

 

 

“PROBING THE PAST”

WITH

BILL BANNERMAN

 

Good evening. I’m your host, Bill Bannerman and welcome to tonight’s program, “Probing The Past” where on this occasion we will be examining a 1958 incident involving a spherical UFO that reportedly contained an alien visitor to our planet.

 

This is not the first such instance of spherical objects having been reported landing on earth. If you remember from a previous program in which we covered the case of the troubled Nancy Archer, heir to the Fowler fortune, who one evening while driving her 1958 Chrysler Imperial on Route 66 suddenly encountered a glowing sphere that descended and landed on the road in front of her, causing her to swerve off the road and come to a stop.

 

According to reports, Nancy Archer had been menaced by a gigantic alien occupant of the sphere and had been affected by her contact causing her to grow to an incredible height of 50 feet! Her rampage has been coined as the “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.”

 

Another program dealt with the 1968 United States launching of three astronauts on a mission to land on Mars which occurred around the same time that the Soviet Union launched its own secret Mars mission. While on Mars, an alien sphere appeared and dragged one of the astronauts inside and killed him by means of a mysterious force. The sphere also was said to have emitted a force field which prevented the American spacecraft from taking off. A surviving Russian cosmonaut helped the Americans deactivate the sphere resulting in one surviving American astronaut and the Soviet cosmonaut escaping Mars in the American spacecraft.

 

A third program of ours reported the 1998 OSSA discovery of a spacecraft thought to be at least 300 years old lying at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. It was then decided to assemble and send a team of experts down to the depths of the ocean to study the space craft and learn more about it.

 

The space craft was found not to be of alien origin at all, but was in fact of earthly US origin possessing a level of technology far surpassing any in the present day. It was determined that the ship and its crew had encountered an "unknown event" that sent the vessel back in time.

 

The investigative team eventually stumbled upon a large, perfect sphere with a fluidic surface hovering a few feet above the floor in the ship's cargo bay. They were unable to probe the inside of the sphere, but they realized that while the sphere reflected its surroundings, it did not reflect the humans nearby!

 

From such examples as these, it can be seen that the track record in terms of encounters with spherical UFOs is not a good one. Which leads us to the subject of tonight’s program which we have called,

 

THE COSMIC MAN

 

(Spoilers follow below....) 

 

A mysterious large levitating white globe appears in a California canyon!

The Air Force, assisted by physicist Karl Sorensen investigate!

A strange being emerges from the object!

Who is this being and what does he want?

Is the “Cosmic Man” benevolent?

 

OR…..

 

Does the mysterious stranger pose a danger to Earth?

 

 

Join us after this station break as we begin our investigation into this fascinating and incredible incident on PROBING THE PAST!!

 

[The program resumes and viewers are presented with a view of a spiral galaxy followed by a zoom-in on views of Earth, the Long Beach, California Harbor and then the Los Angeles area.]

 

Welcome back. I’m your host Bill Bannerman. The material for tonight’s program is the result of previously classified documents released under Freedom of Information provisions, an eye-witness account of events from the last living survivor who was involved and of the pain-staking investigative work of our research team. A combination of actual and reconstructed images and footage will be used to present the events of sixty years ago.

 

“The bogey has been picked up all around the globe today”

 

Our story of the “Cosmic Man” begins at a military base where a radar operator picks up an object on his screen and reports this to Colonel Matthews. The area of likely impact is Oak Ridge.

 

General Knowland enters and informs Colonel Matthews that Air Defense Command says the ‘bogey’ has been picked up all around the globe and that “Washington wants us to keep a close check on it."

 

"What kind of craft can possibly fly over our military posts and cities, in broad daylight, without being seen or heard?"

 

The question remains, what exactly is the ‘it’ that Knowland is referring to? Matthews speculates that the object may be “some kind of light aberration or temperature inversion.” We know from Air Force, Project Blue Book and other official investigations that such explanations are often used to explain (away) sightings of unidentified flying objects.

 

It soon turns out that the Forest Service has reported something up by Bear Lake. Knowland sends Matthews to investigate and calls Pacific Tech requesting Dr. Karl Sorenson to help with the investigation.

 

A park ranger who we know only by the name of Bill, along with Colonel Matthews and a certain Sgt. Gray arrive on the scene. The three men proceed into the canyon where the mysterious object is located. They are soon confronted with the sight of a large white sphere, suspended in the air. Upon descending into the canyon to get a closer look at the object, a ticking sound is heard, the source of which they discover is coming from a Geiger counter being operated by none other than Dr. Karl Sorenson.

 

“Space supremacy could be ours overnight"

 

Sorenson reports there is some radiation he has yet to identify and concludes that the object is not metal, but that it might be a type of glass. Colonel Matthews is not interested in knowledge for knowledge’s sake. His military mind is more attuned to the strategic and practical military applications of such knowledge.

 

After arranging for an armed detail to be sent for and seeking a commitment of secrecy about their find from the others, Matthews declares that "knowledge of what makes this thing work could be the greatest military weapon of all time.” More than sixty years later and some of our political and military leaders are also contemplating achieving mastery of the strategic ‘high ground’ of space as part of preparations for future conflicts.

 

The scene appears to be set for a clash of views concerning knowledge and power and their applications. As Sorenson reminds Matthews, there are two kinds of power: constructive and destructive. Deciding which path to embark upon still seems to bedevil certain political, military and corporate leaders to this very day.

 

I’d now like to introduce viewers to tonight’s guest. Please give a warm welcome to Mr. Ken Grant.

 

[Applause. A tall thin man with silver hair, possibly in his seventies walks on the set, shakes Bannerman’s hand and acknowledges the audience before taking a seat.]

 

Bannerman: Welcome to Probing the Past, Mr Grant. Can you please tell the viewers who you are and the role you played in those strange events of sixty years ago?

 

Ken: Sure, Bill. My name is Ken Grant, son of Kathy Grant. Mom initially had heard on the party line (something youngsters these days wouldn’t be familiar with) that a strange object...a flying saucer had been found. So, mom put me in the car along with my wheelchair and we drove to the canyon site. You see, back then I was unable to walk and I wasn’t expected to live for much longer due to a medical condition - polio. As you can see, more than sixty years on and I’m hale and hearty! Anyway, my mom owned the local lodge and offered the military boys its use as a base of operations.

 

Dr. Sorenson introduced himself to us but I immediately recognized him as “the famous scientist who discovered omicron radiation." Sorenson then said that he would be staying at the lodge.

 

Bannerman: Thanks Mr. Grant. Stay with us as we continue with our presentation and we’ll ask you more about what you recall of the ‘Cosmic Man’ incident. And viewers, you stay with us too as we take a short break with this message from our sponsor.

 

****************

Bannerman: Welcome back. With Sorenson having been given official backing to be a part of the investigative team, Col. Matthews had no choice but to try and get along with him. After all, Sorenson was a Major General in the reserves and was even instrumental in the development of the Atomic Bomb – then subject to secrecy and tight security.

 

It must be noted that by this time a tight security classification had been placed on the mysterious spherical object. Even sixty years later and with the dubious benefit of freedom of information provisions, it is difficult to peal away the layers of top secret and national security classifications that have been slapped on this incident.

 

Kathy Grant’s Lodge now acted as military headquarters and a road had been constructed to facilitate the transport of the object back to the Air Base. The area around the sphere was secured by means of an armed military detachment sent out to surround the object.

 

Shadowy Stranger

 

Now, Mr. Grant, it seems that your mother told you about a strange encounter that she had at the Lodge in the presence of Col. Matthews and a couple of other military men.

 

Ken Grant: Why yes. Mom was startled by a sound and when she turned on a light she was confronted by the appearance of a shadowy figure in the dining room. Hearing her scream in horror, Col. Matthews and his men rushed in to help her. A search of the area failed to turn up anything, but soon after reports were received by the police in the nearby town concerning the sighting of someone or something very strange indeed.

 

Later on at Pacific Tech, it seems that the strange shadowy figure had entered Sorenson's lab and made a correction to the plans for his Photon Chamber. Dr. Ritchie showed Sorenson the correction on the blueprint which seemed to confirm that something had indeed arrived on the sphere.

 

The Lodge

 

Bannerman: If I’ve got this right, an odd-looking stranger wearing a coat, hat and very thick glasses approaches and startles your mother, Kathy Grant. In a deep, precise and deliberate voice, he requests a room. He suggests that he is a scientist and knows Sorenson. On the way to his room he spots your wheelchair and states to Kathy, "You have a child who does not walk."

 

The Canyon

 

Meanwhile backj at the canyon, brute force cannot budge the sphere. Oxyacetylene torches are unable to cut through the sphere’s exterior.

 

Suddenly, Sorenson detects a signal coming from the sphere and determines that electromagnetic waves surround it and that light is converted to electricity by the sphere. An experiment to produce light instead results in a sonic explosion that knocks Sorenson flat on the ground. The object apparently does not conduct electricity, but it does convert it into sound waves.

 

Certain additional facts are beginning to emerge:

 

1. The Cosmic Man is partially visible during the day but is invisible at night.

2. Various facilities in the area have been visited by the Cosmic Man.

3. The facilities involve work on Ion Propulsion and radiation research.

 

Now Mr. Grant, you witnessed the presence of the ‘Cosmic Man’ and some of what he said. Can you please tell the viewers what you recall.

 

Ken Grant: Sure Bill. I spent some time with Dr Sorenson and Dr Ritchie as they went over some calculations. I kind of liked being around them when they discussed technical issues. There was talk about setting a trap for the Cosmic Man and that somehow a Professor Steinholtz was now involved and that he had some ideas on how to capture the Cosmic Man.

 

I’ll never forget how at that time Dr Sorenson gave me a present of a telescope. He sure sparked my interest in science and later set me on the path that eventually led to a career in astrophysics.

 

“The peoples of your society must develop a new concept of thinking. Adopt and practice new values and principles of living together before they will be ready to encounter the civilizations of the universe."

 

Before I even had time to enjoy my new telescope, the lights in the lodge suddenly went out. It was the Cosmic Man. He told us more or less that he and others like him were inter-planetary explorers, that for centuries the oceans of the earth have been mined and that he would depart the Earth the next day. As he left, shots were fired at him but without any effect.

 

"I will leave your planet now. For the present my work here is finished."

 

Bannerman: Yes, and in the meantime electromagnets had been moved to Stone Canyon and acts of sabotage had been reported at various companies in the area. Fortunately there was no loss of life or injuries. So, Mr Grant that was not the end of your encounter with the Cosmic Man?

 

Ken Grant: No, not at all! Some of it I recall and the rest was pieced together later during conversations with mom and Dr Sorenson.

 

Bannermann: We’ll be right back with you recollections after this short message….

 

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Bannerman: You were about to tell us more concerning your experiences with the ‘Cosmic Man.’

 

Ken Grant: That’s right, Bill. I remember the Cosmic Man coming into my room where we had some great games of chess. He didn’t seem so bad after all. Later that evening, the Cosmic Man returned and took me away with him.

 

As preparations were under way in the Canyon with the setting up of the electromagnets, the Cosmic Man arrived on the scene carrying me. He apparently told the military boys to shut off the magnetic field in exchange for my safety. He then placed me down on the ground and made his way to his sphere.

 

"We must not let him escape, General. We must learn the secrets of this object”

 

Mom and Dr Sorenson later told me that The Cosmic Man commanded everyone to remain where they were until he departed. Apparently Professor Steinholtz was intent on not letting the Cosmic Man reach his ship, and so he proceeded to turn on the electromagnets. This somehow caused the Cosmic Man to collapse.

The last part that I do remember is waking up and walking over to mom. Yes, I said WALKING over to mom. It seems that I have the Cosmic Man to thank for that. I have spent the last sixty plus years wishing I could personally thank him for that miracle!

 

The last I saw of him was when a beam of light shot out of the sphere and shone on the Cosmic Man who then gradually disappeared like a sand dune’s individual grains being blown away by a desert wind. All that remained were the Cosmic Man’s empty clothes. The sphere itself then disappeared leaving us all to gaze up in wonder and apprehension at a cloud-filled sky.

 

Bannerman: Thank you so much Mr. Grant for giving us your time and willingness to recount your experiences surrounding this intriguing incident.

 

Now in closing, I would like to share with you some of the numerous tweets, email and text messages we have received during the course of our program. Of course there is much more to be found on our Facebook Page.

 

"This so-called ‘The Cosmic Man’ incident seems to suspiciously draw heavily on the ideas and characters from the classic 1951 sci-fi film, “The Day Earth Stood Still.” At least Michael Rennie’s fictional Klaatu character had more screen time presence and substance than this supposedly ‘real-world’ alien visitor did in real life."

 

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"Funny how The Cosmic Man's spaceship is little more than a white sphere. Where is all the advanced whiz-bang alien technology with blinking lights and such? What kind of alien is a man wearing just glasses and a coat?"

 

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"This smacks of more than just being an elaborately made-up story in which we merely have a menacing alien issuing us with a dire ultimatum."

 

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"No wonder there’s a cloud of official secrecy surrounding such incidents what with the military looking to the potential for weapons of mass destruction while being confronted by an alien force with superior minds."

 

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"Really! A disabled child made to walk again? From politics to the entertainment media; sounds like the Christian lobby is sallying forth again with its agenda!"

 

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On that note, until next week, this is Bill Bannerman wishing you good evening from all of us at Probing the Past where we take one step back into the past and two steps forward into the future….

 

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I hope you enjoyed this volume of “Sci-Fi Film Fiesta.”

Keep an eye out for Volume 6, Alien Invasion.

 

 

Useful Resources

 

Atkinson, Barry., Atomic Age Cinema The Offbeat, the Classic and the Obscure, Midnight Marquee Press, Inc.; 2013

 

Bliss, Michael., Invasions USA The Essential Science Fiction Films of the 1950s, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014.

 

Fischer, Dennis., Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895-1998, McFarland, 2011

 

Geraghty, Lincoln., American Science Fiction Film and Television, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009

 

Gulyas, Aaron John., Extraterrestrials and the American Zeitgeist: Alien Contact Tales Since the 1950s,  McFarland & Company; Illustrated edition, 2013

 

Hendershot, Cyndy., Paranoia, The Bomb, And 1950s Science Fiction Films, University of Wisconsin Press, 1999

 

Koca, Gary., Good and Bad Sci-Fi/Horror Movies of the 1950s: And the Stars Who Were in Those Films, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

 

Mantley, John., The 27th Day Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us, 2019 

(Published by Crest S209, Canada, 1958) 

 

Moore, Theresa M., & Carlyle, Patrick C., Science Fiction Films of The 20th Century 1950-1954,  Antellus, 2019 

 

Moore, Theresa M., Science Fiction Films of The 20th Century 1955-1956, Antellus, 2019 

 

Moore, Theresa M., Science Fiction Films of The 20th Century 1958 Anrellus, 2019 

 

Warren, Bill., Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties:  McFarland; 21st Century Edition, 2016

 

 

Useful Links To On-Line Resources

 

1. The Thing: From Another World (1951)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

 

2. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

at Manapop.com 

 

at Filmsite.org 

 

 

3. The Man from Planet X (1951)

 

at IMDB 

 

at Scifist.net 

 

at 1000misspenthours.com 

 

 

4. Red Planet Mars (1952)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

at 1000misspenthours.com 

 

at Scifist.net 

 

 

5. Phantom from Space (1953)

 

at IMDB 

 

at millionmonkeytheater.com 

 

 

6. It Came from Outer Space (1953)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

at scifist.net 

 

 

7. Devil Girl from Mars (1954)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

at scifist.net 

 

 

8. Stranger from Venus (1954)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

 

9. The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

at 1000misspenthours.com 

 

 

10. The 27th Day (1957)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

 

11. The Lost Missile (1958)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

at 1000misspenthours.com 

 

 

12. The Space Children (1958)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

at cultfilalley.com.au 

 

13. The Strange World of Planet X

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

 

14. The Cosmic Man (1959)

 

at Wikipedia 

 

at IMDB 

 

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VENUS

 

NASA: “Solar System Exploration: Our Galactic Neighborhood” 

 

IONOSPHERE 

 

NASA: “Solar System Exploration: Our Galactic Neighborhood”: “10 Things to Know About the Ionosphere” 

 

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DVD: “Hollywood in the Atomic Age: Monsters! Martians! Mad Scientists!”

Marshall Publishing & Promotions, Inc. 2021 (Stream on Tubi tv for free)