It Conquered the World (1956)

A well meaning scientist guides an alien monster to Earth from Venus, so that he can rid mankind of feelings and emotions - but only death and sorrow results.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Lou Rusoff (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, Lee Van Cleef

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Graves	...	Dr. Paul Nelson
Beverly Garland	...	Claire Anderson
Lee Van Cleef	...	Dr. Tom Anderson
Sally Fraser	...	Joan Nelson
Russ Bender	...	Brig. Gen. James Pattick
Jonathan Haze	...	Pvt. Manuel Ortiz
Dick Miller	...	Sgt. Neil
Taggart Casey	...	Sheriff N.J. Shallert
Paul Harbor	...	Floyd Mason
Karen Kadler	...	Ellen Peters (as Karyne Kadler)
Charles B. Griffith	...	Dr. Pete Shelton (as Charles Griffith)
Marshall Bradford	...	U.S. Secretary Platt (as Marshal Bradford)
Thomas E. Jackson	...	George Haskell (as Tom Jackson)
David McMahon	...	Gen. Carpenter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Knight	...	Bazooka Soldier

Storyline

One of several remaining members of its race, an alien from Venus is guided to Earth by disgruntled scientist Tom Anderson, who tells it which humans it should attach mind control devices to. Among them is his old friend, fellow scientist Paul Nelson. Nelson, after killing a flying bat-thing which carries the device, finally persuades the paranoid Anderson that he's been wrong to ally himself with an alien bent on world domination. They hurriedly leave when they discover Tom's wife has picked up a rifle and gone to the alien's cave to try to kill it.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | scientist | mind control | world domination | creature feature | 

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Taglines:

SEE. THE HIDEOUS "FLYING FINGERS" OF THE MONSTER!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

It Conquered the Earth

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sunset Productions (III)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When leading lady Beverly Garland got her first look at the titular monster, her sarcastic remark was, "THAT conquered the world?".

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Goofs

At the end of the film, when Dr.Nelson shoots the General and the two scientists, he completely misses the first scientist who dies nonetheless.

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Quotes

Claire Anderson: [raising her rifle] You think you're gonna make a slave of the world... I'll see you in Hell first!

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Alternate Versions

Australian DVD released by Siren (which features "Creature From The Haunted Sea" on the same disc) is taken from an old print which for some reason omits nearly every shot of the monster, leaving many scenes near the end totally incomprehensible.

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Connections

Referenced in After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater (1995)

User Reviews

One of Roger Corman's most entertaining quickie monster movies.

A lot of people slam Roger Corman and try and act like every movie he made was worthless schlock, but while he definitely did make a few stinkers in his long career, the truth is that he was involved with more good than bad movies, either as a director or a producer. In fact, some of the movies he directed were better than just "good" e.g. 'The Trip' and 'Bloody Mama'. His early reputation mainly rests on his quickie monster movies, and 'It Conquered The World' is one of the most entertaining. So okay, it a low budget movie (and I mean LOW), it's very naive and the special effects are poor. The Venusian monster and the flying bat things will probably inspire fits of giggles in most people, but despite all that the movie has lots of energy and it hooks you straight in. It's also helped enormously by having an above average cast. The two leads are Peter Graves and Lee Van Cleef. Graves later became immortal on TV as Mr. Phelps in 'Mission: Impossible', and Van Cleef became a Western icon via his work in movies such as 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly' and 'Death Rides A Horse'. Van Cleef gives an intense performance as a scientist obsessed with communication with aliens. Graves is his more level headed colleague. When Van Cleef intercepts messages from an extraterrestrial that only he can hear, his wife (Beverly Garland) and Graves think he is cracking up. He co-operates with the alien, helping it to try and take over the world. Garland is best known to most people for her later work on TV (e.g.'My Three Sons'), but boy is she sexy here! Hubba! Hubba! Being a Corman movie we shouldn't be surprised to see Dick Miller in the supporting cast. He plays a soldier, as does Jonathan Haze (Seymour in 'Little Shop Of Horrors) 'It Conquered The World' isn't up to the standards of such 1950s SF classics as 'The Incredible Shrinking Man' or 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers', but it's lots of fun, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys b-grade movies from this period.