Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
The terrifying truth about flying saucers!
1956 | 83m | English
Popularity: 4 (history)
| Director: | Fred F. Sears |
|---|---|
| Writer: | George Worthing Yates, Donald E. Keyhoe, Bernard Gordon |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | Jul 04, 1956 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Fred F. Sears |
| Writer: | George Worthing Yates, Donald E. Keyhoe, Bernard Gordon |
| Genres: | Action, Science Fiction |
| Keywords | washington dc, usa, flying saucer, us army, stop motion, alien invasion, scientist hero, global threat, space program, ray harryhausen, property destruction, land-air battle, ray weapons, sonic weapon, foo lights, rocket launch site |
| Production Companies | Columbia Pictures, Clover Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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) |
| Frank Wilcox | Alfred Cassidy |
| Sydney Mason | Frank the garage man |
| Larry J. Blake | Motorcycle cop |
| Bert Stevens | Air Intelligence Command Officer |
| Forbes Murray | Military Officer at Experiment |
| Arthur Tovey | Officer/Civilian at Military Conference |
| Alan Wells | Major Kimberly |
| Nicky Blair | Military Officer at Experiment (uncredited) |
| Jimmy Cross | Military Messenger (uncredited) |
| Jack Deery | Military Officer (uncredited) |
| Charles Evans | Dr. Alberts (uncredited) |
| Raoul Freeman | Military Official (uncredited) |
| Paul Frees | Alien (voice) (uncredited) |
| James Gonzalez | Military Official (uncredited) |
| Duke Green | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| Ed Haskett | Military Official (uncredited) |
| Clark Howat | Sgt. Nash (uncredited) |
| Harry Lauter | Cutting - Generator Technician (uncredited) |
| Don Marlowe | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| William Meader | Worker in Control Tower (uncredited) |
| Sol Murgi | Plane Passenger (uncredited) |
| Forbes Murray | Military Officer at Experiment (uncredited) |
| William J. O'Brien | Radio Listener (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| Murray Pollack | Plane Passenger (uncredited) |
| Mike Ragan | Tank Commander (uncredited) |
| Alan Reynolds | Maj. Kimberly (uncredited) |
| Dale Van Sickel | Man Crushed Beneath Wall (uncredited) |
| Guy Way | Civilian Observing Saucer Attack (uncredited) |
| Bob Whitney | Plane Passenger (uncredited) |
| Frank Wilcox | Alfred Cassidy (uncredited) |
| Beal Wong | Chinese Radio Listener (uncredited) |
| William Woodson | Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Fred F. Sears | Director |
| Curt Siodmak | Screenstory |
| George Worthing Yates | Screenplay |
| Ray Harryhausen | Visual Effects |
| Gene Anderson Jr. | Assistant Director |
| Leon Chooluck | Unit Manager |
| Jack Erickson | Production Coordinator |
| Donald E. Keyhoe | Novel |
| Bernard Gordon | Screenplay |
| Danny B. Landres | Editor |
| J.S. Westmoreland | Sound |
| Russ Kelley | Special Effects |
| Sidney Clifford | Set Decoration |
| Paul Palmentola | Art Direction |
| Fred Jackman Jr. | Director of Photography |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Sam Katzman | Executive Producer |
| Charles H. Schneer | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 15 | 22 | 12 |
| 2024 | 5 | 16 | 23 | 9 |
| 2024 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 8 |
| 2024 | 7 | 14 | 23 | 9 |
| 2024 | 8 | 14 | 26 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 15 | 23 | 9 |
| 2024 | 10 | 14 | 31 | 8 |
| 2024 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 7 |
| 2024 | 12 | 10 | 21 | 5 |
| 2025 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 5 |
| 2025 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
Trending Position
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
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 reso ... urceful 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.