Daily Archives: December 7, 2016

Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)

Teenagers from Outer Space
Directed by Tom Graeff
Written by Tom Graeff
1959/USA
Tom Graeff Productions

First viewing/Amazon Prime

[box] Derek: Betty, when you learn where I’m from, well… you will not understand but, I hope it will not make any difference between us because…[/box]

The acting and dialogue bring this B baddie into Robot Monster territory.  That’s not a complaint!

A UFO lands in the desert.  It is occupied by a small cohort of young men on a mission to see whether the Gargon, an enormous crustacean that is their planet’s food source, can survive on Earth.  If the experiment is successful, millions of the creatures will be introduced and will quickly devour all living beings on Earth.

The aliens are heartless, revealed by their casual slaughter of the dog Sparky.  One of them, Derek, however, begins to soften as soon as he meets Betty Morgan.  He rents a room with Betty and her kindly grandpa and quickly discovers the benefits of family relations and the American Way.  He determines to stay on earth and to foil the UFO mission.  Alas, he is actually the son of the planet’s Leader and nothing will be easy for him.

I have not been able to find the words to describe the charmingly clunky effect conveyed by the witless dialogue and its delivery.  This made me smile and it’s going on my list of cult classics.

Trailer

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