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Greetings, and welcome to VIEWING THE CLASSICS. Here you'll find capsule reviews of vintage movies from the early days of cinema through the 1970s, with a special emphasis on sci-fi, horror, and mystery movies. Be sure to check out the Pages links, where you can find a Film Index of all my reviews, links to the reviews organized by cast members, directors, and other contributors, and links to my reviews of the films of talented young director Joshua Kennedy.

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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Zontar, The Thing From Venus (1966)

Starring John Agar, Susan Bjurman, Anthony Houston, Patricia Delaney, Neil Fletcher
Directed by Larry Buchanan
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A scientist claims to have made contact with an alien on Venus with whom he agrees to help take over the world for the good of humanity.

A remake of the 1956 Roger Corman film, It Conquered The World, which was noted for its low budget and cheap special effects, this telefilm from notorious director Larry Buchanan doesn't up the ante any, with even cheaper effects, and an alien nowhere near as distinctive as the original's.  Corman's film also had the advantage of better actors, and although John Agar is fine following in Peter Graves' role, Houston and Delaney can't possibly compare with Lee Van Cleef and Beverly Garland.  It's a given that the original is not exactly regarded as a cinema classic, but there's more fun to be had with it than this pedestrian remake.

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