The UFO Incident (1975)

In the early 1960s, a married couple undergo hypnosis, which unlocks memories of a forgotten event on a lonely road. Soon they believe they were abducted by extraterrestrials.

Director:

Richard A. Colla

Writers:

Hesper Anderson (teleplay), Jake Justiz (teleplay)

Stars:

James Earl Jones, Estelle Parsons, Barnard Hughes

Cast

Cast overview:
James Earl Jones	...	Barney Hill
Estelle Parsons	...	Betty Hill
Barnard Hughes	...	Dr. Benjamin Simon
Dick O'Neill	...	General James Davison
Beeson Carroll	...	Lt. Colonel Jack MacRainey
Terrence O'Connor	...	Lisa MacRainey
Jeanne Joe	...	Examiner
Lou Wagner	...	The Leader

Storyline

Through memory flashbacks accessed by hypnotic regression, depicts the alleged UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill on September 19, 1961 in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Upon returning from a trip into Canada, Betty (a social services worker in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) and Barney (a postal employee in Boston) are plagued by crippling anxiety and nightmarish visions. Turning to Dr. Benjamin Simon for help in piecing together the happenings of that night, the Hills enter into therapy and independently relate a most unearthly tale.

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Plot Keywords:

hypnosis | extraterrestrial | ufo | star map | social worker | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Interrupted Journey

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Travis Walton came up with his abduction story two weeks after this film was aired. This led cognitive psychologist Susan Clancy to argue that this film influenced Walton to present his own alleged abduction story, which inspired Fire in the Sky (1993).

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Goofs

While under hypnosis, Barney recalls that he is storing a gun, a "32-caliber pistol" in the trunk of their car while traveling through Canada. Later, when we see him retrieve the gun, it is a revolver, not a pistol.

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Connections

Referenced in UFOs: Chariots of the Beast (2011)

User Reviews

Works on "several levels."

First of all, even though I'm a "UFO buff" (depending on how you use that term), I'm tired of many sides of the whole subject, because it's been such a huge, huge pop culture subject for such a long while, and between the believers and the disbelievers (especially the latter, really), you can't get away from it. But, you don't have to like the subject A BIT (either as a believer or a disbeliever) to like this movie. You can watch it as a "docu-drama" (one that came along before the whole docu-drama craze), about how this couple dealt with the whole situation (regardless of what you believe that was). Or you can watch it as a regular "scary story" (it works entirely well as that). And of course, you CAN watch it for the UFO subject itself, especially since it's one of the most famous stories. One of the great things about the Betty and Barney story is that it sticks a pin in the whole "abducted hillbilly" idea (which, even if it weren't such a huge generalization, is such really, really overworked joke). Here's a "mixed marriage," in New England, both people intellectuals. And of course it has three very great actors (one a little less well-known by name than the other two). Estelle Parsons and James Earl Jones draw you completely into the whole thing, especially during the "regressions." And Barnard Hughes as the doctor (he'd played a few doctors already by then), was just right also.