Starring Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba
Directed by Fred F. Sears
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A rocket scientist and his new wife are contacted by aliens in a flying saucer, who are ready to conquer the Earth with their fleet of ships.
This is a bit of a rarity in Ray Harryhausen films in that no actual living creatures are animated by the special effects titan, but the flying saucers and their targets of destruction alone. Nevertheless, it's quite a piece of work for Harryhausen, as the film contains some truly iconic scenes of the saucers destroying Washington D.C.'s national monuments, something that had never been done on screen before. The cast is fine too- Marlowe is believable as focused scientist Russell Marvin, and veteran actor Ankrum brings intelligence and gravitas to his role as General John Hanley, who is cruelly used by the aliens. Although uncredited, voice actor extraordinaire Paul Frees provides the clear but somewhat distorted voice of the aliens which is crucial to the unfolding of the story. It's a shame with the creative gifts of Harryhausen that so much military stock footage had to be used in the picture although it's understandable. It still remains a Harryhausen classic, and well worth revisiting often.
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