The Monitors (1969)

Earthlings chafe at the peace established by a benevolent alien race and set about to rebel.

Director:

Jack Shea

Writers:

Myron J. Gold (screenplay), Keith Laumer (novel)

Stars:

Guy Stockwell, Susan Oliver, Larry Storch

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Guy Stockwell	...	Harry
Susan Oliver	...	Barbara
Larry Storch	...	Colonel Stutz
Avery Schreiber	...	Max
Sherry Jackson	...	Mona
Shepperd Strudwick	...	Tersh Jeterax
Keenan Wynn	...	General
Ed Begley	...	President
J.J. Barry	...	Culp
Martin Harvey Friedberg	...	Newt
Sid Grossfeld	...	Gate Guard
Burt Heyman	...	Fink
Helen Malone	...	Mrs. Jordan
Mike Nussbaum	...	Exercise Chief
Murphy Dunne	...	Monitor Driver

Storyline

Unusual sci-fi invasion film, with a black-comedy twist: The Earth is taken over by The Monitors, aliens who run it like hall monitors in a 1950's high school, with overtones of Big Brother. The film follows the progress of the human underground rebellion. The twist is that as the film goes on, the audience's sympathies shift to the aliens, who are basically benevolent. When the humans manage to oust them, it's back to corruption and bribery by the usual suspects.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | rebellion | military | u.s. president | extraterrestrial | 

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Taglines:

If you don't like air pollution, war, body odor, hard pizza rolls, exercise, hairy musicians, sexy blonds, tooth decay, smiling heroes, population explosion... you'll love The Monitors.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Os Monitores

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bell & Howell, Second City, Wilding Picture Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are 30 "trouble spots" on the Monitors' map. They correspond (roughly) with the following locations: Anchorage, Alaska; San Diego, California; Chicago, Illinois; Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; Cochrane, Ontario; New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Havana, Cuba; Salvador, Brazil; Marrakech, Morrocco; Abidjan, Cote d'Ivorie; Cape Town, South Africa; Mombasa, Kenya; Barcelona, Spain; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Berlin, Germany; Oslo, Norway; Athens, Greece; Kyiv, Ukraine; Moscow, Russia; Jerusalem, Israel; Cairo, Egypt; Darwin, Australia; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Vladivostok, Russia; Beijing, China; Lhasa, Tibet

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Goofs

There is a red hand-held fire extinguisher visible in Harry's car on the passenger floorboard at around 8:40 into the movie when he's driving through the city.

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Quotes

Monitor: [voiceover reciting montra] Reason not force. The Monitors are your friends. Peace brings happiness.

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Connections

References Battleship Potemkin (1925)

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Soundtracks

"Voice of the Flower"
Music by Fred Kaz
Lyrics by Sandy Holt
Sung by Odetta

User Reviews

Clever, could be better

I saw this on TV back in the 70s. A comic twist on a classic SF theme, made on a shoestring in Chicago. I think some of the Second City troupe was involved in it. I don't remember how it ends, so I can't spoil it. The part that tickled me the most were the constant radio ads the Monitors ran. They sounded exactly like the AM radio station ID jingles of the 60s and 70s. One went "The Monitors are here/There's nothing left to fear/The Monitors!" (I know, hard to translate into print, but it had the same saccharine harmonies that top 40 jingles had.) I don't recall exactly how they conquered the Earth--there was no bloodshed. Maybe those jingles had subliminal messages! I also remember seeing a riot in progress, and the Monitors sending a car with a PA system that said "Reason, not force. Reason, not force." It was kind of like very polite cops running the world. The Monitors were very nice folks, but a little too naive. Would love to see it again.