Invisible Invaders

Invisible Invaders
Directed by	Edward L. Cahn
Produced by	Robert E. Kent
Written by	Samuel Newman
Starring	John Agar John Carradine Philip Tonge
Music by	Paul Dunlap
Cinematography	Maury Gertsman
Production company	Premium Pictures
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	May 15, 1959 (1959-05-15) (US)
Running time	67 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Invisible Invaders is a 1959 science fiction film starring John Agar and John Carradine. It was produced by Robert E. Kent, directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by Samuel Newman.

Plot

Dr. Karol Noymann, an atomic scientist, is killed in a laboratory explosion. His colleague, Dr. Adam Penner, is disturbed by the accident and resigns his position and calls for changes.

At Dr. Noymann's funeral, an invisible alien takes over Noymann's dead body. The alien, in Noymann's body, visits Dr. Penner and tells him the earth must surrender or an alien force will invade and take over the earth by inhabiting the dead and causing chaos. The alien demonstrates to Penner that they are able to make things invisible. Penner tells his daughter Phyllis and Dr. John Lamont about the experience and asks Dr. Lamont to relay the message to the government in Washington, D.C.. The government ignores the warning and Dr. Penner is labeled a crank by the media.

Dr. Penner takes his daughter and Dr. Lamont to Dr. Noymann's grave, where they are visited by an invisible alien. Later, at the site of a plane crash, another alien takes over a dead pilot's body, goes to a hockey game, chokes the announcer, and issues an ultimatum for the earth to surrender. Another alien take over a dead body from a car crash and issues the same ultimatum at a different sporting event. The media announce the threat and the governments of the world decide to resist the invasion. Aliens take over more dead bodies and blow up dams, cause fires and destroy buildings.

Maj. Bruce Jay arrives to take Dr. Penner, Phyllis and Dr. Lamont to a secret bunker. On the way, they are confronted by a scared farmer who tries to take their vehicle. Maj. Jay kills the farmer and they proceed to the bunker while an alien takes over the dead farmer's body.

At the bunker, they are contacted by the government and tasked with stopping the alien invasion. They determine that the aliens are radioactive, and decide to capture an alien to conduct tests on. They attempt to spray an alien with acrylic to seal it in plastic, but this fails. They then fill a hole with the acrylic liquid and lure an alien into it. Once captured, the alien is taken to the bunker.

Back at the bunker, they confine the alien in a pressure chamber and break the acrylic using high pressure to set it free. They try several experiments, but nothing affects the alien. Frustrated and hopeless, Dr. Lamont wants to surrender, but Maj. Jay does not. The two men fight and inadvertently damage some electronic equipment, setting off a loud alarm. They notice that the alien reacts violently to the noise.

They make a sound gun and test it on the alien, causing it to become visible and killing it in the process. They try to inform the government, but their radio broadcast is jammed by the aliens, who are apparently nearby. Using a radio direction finder they follow the jamming signal to the alien ship, killing several aliens along the way. Maj. Jay walks through the woods to get to the ship and is confronted by several aliens. He kills them with the sound gun but is shot in the process. Despite being wounded, he finds the alien ship and shoots it with the sound gun, causing the ship to explode. With the jamming signal silenced, Dr. Penner is then able to contact the government and tell them how to stop the aliens while Phyllis tends to Maj. Jay's wound.

Later, at the United Nations, Dr. Penner, Dr. Lamont, Phyllis Penner and Maj. Jay receive thanks for saving the world from the alien invasion.

Cast

• John Agar as Maj. Bruce Jay
• Jean Byron as Phyllis Penner
• Philip Tonge as Dr. Adam Penner
• Robert Hutton as Dr. John Lamont
• John Carradine as Dr. Karol Noymann
• Hal Torey as The Farmer
• Paul Langton as Lt. Gen. Stone
• Eden Hartford as WAAF Secretary
• Don Kennedy as Pilot
• Chuck Niles as Hockey Game Announcer

Production

Production of Invisible Invaders began in December 1958. The film was made as part of a package deal with The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake. It was the fourth science fiction film made by Premium Pictures.

Release

Invisible Invaders was released to theaters in June 1959.

Reception

The movie had only a short run but became a minor cult film on television.

Critical response

Film critic Emanuel Levy rated the film 3 out of 5 stars. Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle said, "Though clearly a product of its own time and a low budget, Invisible Invaders is engaging and fast-paced, riddled with genuinely inspired twists alongside breathtaking implausibilities."

Home media

Invisible Invaders was first released to the home video market on VHS videotape in 1996 by MGM/UA Home Video. The film was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment in 2003, packaged with Journey to the Seventh Planet as part of their Midnite Movies series.

Soundtrack

Paul Dunlap composed the music for Invisible Invaders. Dunlap would later use much of the same music in three other science fiction movies: The Angry Red Planet later in 1959, The Three Stooges in Orbit in 1962, and Destination Inner Space in 1966.

External links

• Invisible Invaders at IMDb
• Invisible Invaders at the TCM Movie Database
• Invisible Invaders at the American Film Institute Catalog