Invasion of the Star Creatures (1963)

Director:

Bruno VeSota

Writer:

Jonathan Haze (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Beautiful... Deadly... In their Veins the Blood of Monsters!

Plot:

A pair of comical soldiers (Robert Ball and Frankie Ray) investigate a mysterious crater in an atomic...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Hot Pants | Native American | Spaceship | Parody

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Robert Ball	...	Pvt. Philbrick (as Bob Ball)
Frankie Ray	...	Pvt. Penn
Gloria Victor	...	Prof. Tanga
Dolores Reed	...	Dr. Puna
Trustin Howard		(as Slick Slavin)
Mark Ferris	...	Col. Rank
Jim Almanzer
Anton Arnold
Anton von Stralen
Mark Thompson
Allen Dailey
Sid Kane
Richard Adams
Joseph Martin
Lenore Bond	...	WAC

Also Known As:

Monsters from Nicholson Mesa (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

70 min | USA:80 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

Jonathan Haze wrote the script for this film under the title "Monsters From Nicholson Mesa." This title was a friendly jab at American International co-founder James H. Nicholson.

Goofs:

Continuity: Despite the fact that Philbrick never takes off his sacred 'Space Commander Connors' ring, it continually vanishes; most notably when he puts on his gas mask outside of the cave.

Quotes:

Pvt. Penn: I've got blisters on my blisters!
Col. Rank: You're soft!
Pvt. Penn: Yeah, I'm soft - in the head!

Movie Connections:

References "Puppet Playhouse" (1947)

Will I ever grow up?

I must have been about eight years old when I saw this on TV in the sixties. I was hesitant to watch it because I was home alone and the title seemed kind of scary. I watched it anyway and my initial reaction was that it seemed really odd. When I saw it again (and again and again)as an adult, I came to realize that a good deal of that oddness can be attributed to the low budget of the film(minimal cast,cheap sets,crude monsters and tacky - but distinctive - music). The box office appeal of the two voluptuous "galaxy gals" who were spearheading the invasion was also lost on me as a kid, as were the references to early television and the then-fledgling space program. Still, the overall kookiness of the whole thing really appealed to me at that tender age and it still does(I have a VHS copy my friend "The Alien" recorded off TV). Since, as I type this there is only one other comment for this film, there must be an awful lot of people out there who haven't seen it. The story involves a pair of dimwit army privates who discover that Dr. Poona and Proffessor Tanga(really!), two amazonian women from another world are in the early stages of planning an attack on the earth, aided by their army of "vege-men." Because their story is so fantastic(and they're so stupid)our two G.I. Jokers can't get their superiors to take action, so it's up to them to save the day. Sub-Three Stooges slapstick and brain-damaged dialogue can be found throughout,and it can't be over-emphasized that this is a very cheaply made movie. That said, I really enjoyed this film as a kid and I like it now.