Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

"The terrifying truth about flying saucers!"

1956 1h 23m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🍅

73%

FRESH

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 189🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes★6.3IMDB · 9,476

ActionScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Test space rockets exploding at liftoff and increased reporting of UFO sightings culminate in a direct attempt by alien survivors of a dead, extra-galactic civilization to invade Earth from impervious flying saucers, using ray-weapons of mass destruction.

“The terrifying truth about flying saucers!”

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Cast

Hugh Marlowe
Dr. Russell A. Marvin
Joan Taylor
Carol Marvin
Donald Curtis
Maj. Huglin
Morris Ankrum
Brig. Gen. John Hanley
Thomas Browne Henry
Vice Adm. Enright
Grandon Rhodes
Gen. Edmunds
John Zaremba
Prof. Kanter
Paul Frees
Alien (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fred F. Sears
Writers: Curt Siodmak, George Worthing Yates, Bernard Gordon
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

70 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fred F. Sears, shot by Fred Jackman Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Danny B. Landres shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Hugh Marlowe and Joan Taylor and Donald Curtis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The terrifying truth about flying saucers!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0049169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fred F. Sears directs. Fred Jackman Jr. behind the camera. Danny B. Landres cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
270 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Fred F. Sears, shot by Fred Jackman Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Danny B. Landres shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Hugh Marlowe and Joan Taylor and Donald Curtis carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The terrifying truth about flying saucers!".
7IMDB entry: tt0049169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 16 themes, including "washington dc, usa", "flying saucer", "us army", "stop motion".
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Fred Jackman Jr.
Editing: Danny B. Landres
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 9,476 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

1 win total

Also by

Fred F. Sears

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-06
★ 6/10
Restrained but still an effective piece of sci-fi pie. Reports of flying saucers start coming in thick and fast until sure enough alien invaders begin to attack the Earth. Focal point of their attack is the U.S. Space Programe, can hero in waiting Russel Marvin conjure up a defence weapon to save the day? Obviously a template for many an alien invader film since its release, Earth Vs The Flying Saucers never quite reaches the heights that perhaps it should have. Bogged down by maudlin scripting and restricted by its budget, it often hints at what a great picture it could have been. The lead cast are poor and this hurts the film even more, Hugh Marlowe as Russell Marvin bores us with the scientific speak when really he should be fascinating us, whilst scream queen duties fall to poor Joan Greenwood who forgets that she is actually supposed to emit some sort of terror when the alien hordes attack! However, on the plus side the aliens themselves are certainly creepy enough to grab your notice, Ray Harryhausen's flying saucers animation is of course top dollar for its time, whilst the final battle across Washington DC is classic gold, an all buzzing assault with splurges of death rays at every turn. An important film in the pantheon of the genre for sure, but it's just a tad too restrained for its own good. 6/10
CinemaSerf2024-06-14
★ 7/10
This is another enjoyable little 1950s sci-fi movie with scientist Hugh Marlowe ("Dr.Marvin") and Joan Taylor, his wife "Carol", having to use all their wits guile to save the planet from an alien race who want to invade the Earth and enslave us all. Despite their vastly superior technology our resourceful team work frantically to come up with a very effectively portable, if almost as destructive, solution. The visual effects are quite remarkable for the time, with some input from Ray Harryhausen, and the action is well shot and paced. The end is never in doubt (we are all still here!) but it's a fun ride for eighty minutes of ray guns and competent acting.