''The UFO Incident'' is a 1975 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

biographical film starring

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

and Estelle Parsons based on the alleged 1961

alien abduction Alien abduction (also called abduction phenomenon, alien abduction syndrome, or UFO abduction) refers to the phenomenon of people reporting their experience of being kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings and subjected to physical and psychologica ...

Barney and Betty Hill Barney and Betty Hill were an American couple who claimed they were abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural portion of the state of New Hampshire from September 19 to 20, 1961. It was the first widely publicized report of an alien abduction in ...

Plot

The movie introduces us to Barney and Betty Hill, two ordinary people who have had the most extraordinary experience. She is a social worker and he a postman. They are an interracial couple who are very happy with each other but they are perplexed by a traumatic experience of which they have no memory. Two years later, they are still tormented by what happened during a trip where they have a mysterious lapse of memory which takes place after sighting a strange object hovering over their car. They wake up some time later much farther down the road. Barney and Betty consult Doctor Benjamin Simon a psychiatrist who tries to help them find the answer. The doctor decides that the best treatment to unlock their case of double amnesia is

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

. Doctor Simon mentions that Barney has suffered from a childhood of racial strife and feels deep guilt about his divorce. Barney tells the doctor that he has had physical symptoms after the experience such as strange warts on his groin. They are both tormented by mysterious nightmares that Betty begins to document. They report the incident to the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

(the US Air Force actually had a project relating to

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

sightings called

Project Blue Book Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of unidentified flying objects by the United States Air Force from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, O ...

). Doctor Simon places Barney under hypnosis and he begins to relive the experience. Barney describes his and Betty's seeing a strange object in the sky that begins to follow and then to terrify them. Barney begins screaming in horror during the session as he describes his and Betty's being abducted by the aliens from the UFO. Betty also reacts with horror describing their captive experience. She and Barney are subjected to medical experiments by the aliens including Betty having a needle shoved into her navel. With Doctor Simon's assistance and their strong love for each other, Barney and Betty are able to come to terms with their experience and get on with their lives. At the end of the movie it is revealed that Barney died of a stroke in 1969 at the age of 46. Betty lived on until 2004.

Main cast

as Barney Hill * Estelle Parsons as Betty Hill *

Barnard Hughes Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after mi ...

as Dr. Benjamin Simon *

Dick O'Neill Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company ...

as Gen. James Davison * Beeson Carroll as Lt. Col. Jack MacRainey * Terrence O'Conner as Lisa MacRainey * Jeanne Joe as "Examiner" * Lou Wagner as "The Leader"

Home Video Release

On 6/21/2022 Kino Lorber Studio Classics released a 2K remaster of the movie on Blu Ray (Region A). Among the bonus features there is a commentary by filmmaker and historian Gary Gerani, a documentary about the movie's music composer, Billy Goldenberg and optional English subtitles SDH.

Possible remake

According to ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' in 2011, a more developed and detailed film depicting the events of the Hill couple's alleged encounter and abduction was pursued as a possible project that could give a better insight to the incident.

Historic context

The film aired two weeks before the

Travis Walton UFO incident The Travis Walton UFO incident was an alleged alien abduction of American forestry worker Travis Walton by a UFO on November 5, 1975, while he was working in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests near Snowflake, Arizona. Walton was missing for f ...

on November 5, 1975, which led cognitive psychologist Susan Clancy to argue that this film influenced Travis Walton to present his own alleged abduction story.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:UFO Incident, The 1975 television films 1975 films 1970s biographical films American biographical films Alien abduction in television Alien abduction films Films about interracial romance Films set in New Hampshire Films set in 1961 NBC network original films Films directed by Richard A. Colla Films scored by Billy Goldenberg UFO-related television 1970s American films