''It Conquered the World'' is an
independently made 1956 American
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
science fiction film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
, produced and directed by
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
, starring
Peter Graves
Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series '' Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 (original) and from 1988 to ...
,
Lee Van Cleef
Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, partic ...
,
Beverly Garland
Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...
, and
Sally Fraser
Sally Fraser (December 12, 1932 – January 13, 2019) was an American actress who appeared on television and in numerous films. She became best known for appearing in low-budget science fiction films of the 1950s.
Biography
Spotted after singin ...
. ''It Conquered the World'' was released theatrically by
American International Pictures
American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...
as a
double feature
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.
Opera use
Opera ho ...
with ''
The She-Creature
''The She-Creature'', or ''The She Creature'', is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction horror film, released by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff (brother-in-law of AIP executive Samuel Z. Arkoff). It was pr ...
''.
[Frank (1998) The Films of Roger Corman. Batsford][Warren 1982]
''It Conquered the World'' concerns an alien creature from the planet
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
that secretly wants to take control of the Earth. The creature makes radio contact with a disillusioned human scientist, who agrees to help because the scientist believes that such an alien intervention will bring peace and save a doomed humanity from itself.
Plot
Dr. Tom Anderson, an embittered scientist, has made contact with a
Venusian creature, while using his
radio transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
. The alien's secret motivation is to take complete control of the Earth by enslaving humanity using
mind control
Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...
devices; the alien claims that it merely desires to bring peace to the world by eliminating all emotions. Anderson agrees to help the creature and even intends to allow it to assimilate his wife, Claire and friend Dr. Paul Nelson.
The Venusian then disrupts all electric power on Earth, including motor vehicles, leaving Dr. Nelson to resort to riding a bicycle.
After avoiding a flying bat-like creature which carries the mind control device, Dr. Nelson returns home to find his wife, Joan newly assimilated. She then attempts to force his own assimilation using another bat-creature in her possession, and he is forced to kill her in self-defense. By then, the only people who are still free from the Venusian's influence are Nelson, Anderson, Anderson's wife and a group of army soldiers on station in the nearby woods.
Nelson finally persuades the paranoid Anderson that he has made a horrible mistake in blindly trusting the Venusian's motives, allying himself with a creature bent on world domination. When they discover that Tom's wife Claire has taken a rifle to the alien's cave in order to kill it, they hurriedly follow her, but the creature kills her before they can rescue her. Finally, seeing the loss of everything he holds dear, Dr. Anderson viciously attacks the Venusian by holding a
blowtorch
A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking.
Early blowtorches used liquid fuel, carried in a refillable reservoir attache ...
to the creature's face; Anderson dies at the alien's hand as it expires. Arriving on the scene too late to save his friend, Nelson sadly reflects on how Anderson's misguided ideals ultimately led to death and devastation, and muses that a solution to humanity's problems must ultimately be achieved by humanity itself.
Cast
*
Peter Graves
Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series '' Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 (original) and from 1988 to ...
as Dr. Paul Nelson
*
Lee Van Cleef
Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, partic ...
as Dr. Tom Anderson
*
Beverly Garland
Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...
as Claire Anderson
*
Sally Fraser
Sally Fraser (December 12, 1932 – January 13, 2019) was an American actress who appeared on television and in numerous films. She became best known for appearing in low-budget science fiction films of the 1950s.
Biography
Spotted after singin ...
as Joan Nelson
*
Russ Bender
Russ Bender (January 1, 1910 – August 16, 1969) was an American actor.
Career
Before becoming an actor, Bender wrote detective stories for magazines. That part of his life was interrupted when he joined the Army. By the time he returned to c ...
as General James Pattick
*Taggart Casey as Sheriff N.J. Shallert
*Karen Kadler as Dr. Ellen Peters
*
Dick Miller
Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...
as Sgt. Neil
*
Jonathan Haze
Jonathan Haze (born Jack Schachter; April 1, 1929) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in Roger Corman films, especially the 1960 black comedy cult classic, ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', in which he p ...
as Corporal Manuel Ortiz
*Paul Harbor as Dr. Floyd Mason
*
Charles B. Griffith
Charles Byron Griffith (September 23, 1930 – September 28, 2007) was an American screenwriter, actor and film director, son of Donna Dameral, radio star of ''Myrt and Marge'', along with Charles' grandmother, Myrtle Vail, and was best known ...
as Dr. Pete Shelton
*
Thomas E. Jackson as George Haskell
*Marshall Bradford as Secretary Platt
*David McMahon as General Carpenter
*
Paul Blaisdell
Paul Blaisdell (July 21, 1927 – July 10, 1983) was an American painter, sculptor and visual effects creator, best remembered for his work in science fiction and horror B movies of the 1950s.
Life and career
Blaisdell was born in Newport, Rhod ...
as The Monster (uncredited)
Production
Development
The film was inspired by the box office success of ''
Day the World Ended
''Day the World Ended'' is a 1955 independently made black-and-white post-apocalyptic science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Adele Jergens, Paul Birch and Mike Connors. Chet Huntl ...
'', also directed by Corman. It was written by
Lou Rusoff
Lou Rusoff (August 3, 1911 – June 29, 1963) was a Canadian-born screenwriter and producer best known for his work with American International Pictures.
He was brother-in-law to Sam Arkoff and was the screenwriter for many of Roger Corman's f ...
(Sam Arkoff's brother-in-law), but before being completed, Rusoff's brother died and he had to leave for Canada. Corman then called in Charles Griffith to do a final rewrite, two days before filming began.
[Graham, Aaron ]
['Little_Shop_of_Genres:_An_interview_with_Charles_B._Griffith."
_''Senses_of_Cinema'',_April_15,_2005._Retrieved:_January_13,_2015._Griffith_does_have_a_small_part_as_a_scientist.
Griffith_said_Rusoff's_script_"was_incomprehensible_which_was_strange_because_he_was_quite_meticulous._Lou's_brother_was_dying_at_the_time_which_most_likely_had_something_to_do_with_it."_Griffith_said_he_"wrote_streams_of_dialogue._The_picture_was_terrible."
Peter_Graves'_casting_was_announced_in_March_1956._Beverly_Garland's_casting_was_announced_shortly_afterwards.
_Shooting
Filming_began_3_April_1956.
The_design_of_the_creature_was_Paul_Blaisdell's_idea,_and_he_thought_that_coming_from_a_big_planet,_''It''_would_have_evolved_to_deal_with_heavy_gravity_and_would_therefore_be_low_to_the_ground._Corman_later_admitted_this_was_a_mistake,_saying_the_creature_would_have_been_more_frightening_had_''It''_been_larger_or_taller._When_
Beverly_Garland_
Beverly_Lucy_Garland_(née_Fessenden;_October_17,_1926_–_December_5,_2008)_was_an_American_actress._Her_work_in_feature_films_primarily_consisted_of_small_parts_in_a_few_major_productions_or_leads_in_low-budget_action_or_science-fiction_movie_...
_first_saw_the_creature,_she_commented_"''That''_conquered_the_world?"_and_claimed_she_kicked_''It''_over_(unlikely,_since_Blaisdell_said_in_an_interview_that_it_took_three_men_to_turn_the_prop_onto_its_side_for_the_film's_death_scene_finale).