''UFO'' (full title: ''Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers'') is a 1956 American semi-documentary about the development of the

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 ...

phenomenon in the United States. Clips from the documentary have often been used in other UFO documentaries and television episodes related to UFOs.Article at ''Turner Classic Movies''
accessed 19 May 2013

Origins and plot

In 1952 Hollywood producer

Clarence Greene Clarence Greene (August 10, 1913 – June 17, 1995) was an American screenwriter and film producer who is noted for the "offbeat creativity and originality of his screenplays and for films noir and television episodes produced in the 1950s. ...

saw an unusual object twisting in the sky. He decided to report the sighting, and contacted US Air Force public information officer

Albert M. Chop Albert M. Chop (1916 – January 15, 2006) was a newspaper reporter, a public relations officer in the aerospace industry, and a founding member of NASA's public relations office who served as Deputy Public Relations Director. Under Chop's leadershi ...

, who was in charge of answering UFO questions from reporters and the public. Intrigued by his experience, Greene decided to film a documentary movie about the UFO phenomenon. When Chop told Greene about the existence of film footage of UFOs, Greene obtained the footage for analysis and display in his documentary. The film begins with a statement about its genre:

"Many times in the history of our civilization the introduction of a new thought has brought skepticism, even ridicule. Despite this, there always has remained the duty and inalienable right to tell the people the truth. The Motion Picture you are about to see is true. It is not fiction. Much of the information in it has never been told. You will see it here for the first time."

The documentary starts in 1947, with the first widely publicized UFO sightings in the United States, including recreations of the Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, the Mantell UFO incident, and the Gorman Dogfight. It then traces the development of UFOs as both a popular

fad A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short- ...

and a serious concern for the US Air Force. The history of Project Sign, the first Air Force study of the UFO phenomenon, is discussed. The documentary then focuses upon protagonist Albert M. Chop, who is assigned as the public information officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, in the late 1940s. In that position he is required to answer numerous news media queries about UFO sightings and what the Air Force knows about them. Chop interviews a German rocket scientist (formerly of Penemunde's V-2 program) now working for America; the scientist lends credence to the possibility that UFOs exist. Although he is initially portrayed as a UFO debunker, Chop gradually changes his views as the movie progresses, and he comes to believe that UFOs are unknown, and possibly extraterrestrial, aircraft. By 1952 Chop has moved to Washington, D.C., where he is the press spokesman for Project Blue Book. The documentary analyzes two famous pieces of UFO footage: the Mariana UFO Incident of 1950, in which the manager of the Great Falls, Montana minor-league baseball team claimed to have filmed two UFOs flying over the local baseball stadium, and the 1952 UFO film taken near the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...

in Utah by a US Navy photographer, Delbert Newhouse. The documentary concludes with the famous

1952 Washington, D.C. UFO incident From July 12 to 29, 1952, a series of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings were reported in Washington, D.C., and later became known as the Washington flap, the Washington National Airport Sightings, or the Invasion of Washington. The most p ...

, in which Albert Chop played a central role. The documentary recreates Chop's experiences during the incident, and at the end of the documentary Chop states his belief that UFOs are a "real", physical phenomenon of unknown origin.

Cast

Willis Sperry ... Himself.
Nicholas Mariana ... Himself.
Delbert Newhouse ... Himself.
Wendell Swanson ... Himself.
U.S. Air Force General

John A. Samford John Alexander Samford (August 29, 1905 – December 1, 1968) was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who served as Director of the National Security Agency. Early life and education Samford was born at Hagerman, New Mexico, in ...

... Himself.
Tom Towers ... Albert M. (Al) Chop, U.S. Air Force press officer.
Floyd Burton ... Major Dewey Fournet, Project Blue Book's liaison at the Pentagon.
Gene Coughlan ... Editor, '' Dayton Daily News''

Bert Freed Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo. Life and career Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending P ...

... Colonel, U.S. Air Force.
Stan Gordon ... Reporter.
Marie Kenna ... Mrs. Albert Chop.
Harry Morgan ... "Air Force 216/Air Force 162" and "Red Dog One" (Voice).
Robert Phillips ... U.S. Air Force Captain Edward Ruppelt, Project Blue Book Supervisor.
William Solomon ... German scientist, formerly of Penemunde V-2 rocket program.
Olan Soule ... Narrator.

Trivia

Actor Harry Morgan, who would later become famous for his roles on the television series ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

'' and ''

Dragnet 1967 ''Dragnet'' is an American television series. It ran for four seasons, from January 12, 1967, to April 16, 1970. To differentiate it from the earlier 1950s '' Dragnet'' television series, the year in which each season ended was made part of the ...

'', portrays the voice, albeit disguised, as the pilot of "Air Force 216" (later "Air Force 162") during the foul weather/GCA assisted landing scene, and more distinctively as Air Force pilot "Red Dog One" during scenes describing the 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO incident. Morgan's ''Dragnet 1967'' co-star

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...

was producer and narrator for the 1978 television series ''

Project U.F.O. ''Project U.F.O.'' is an American television series which ran on NBC from 1978 to 1979. Running for two seasons of 13 episodes each, the show was based loosely on the real-life Project Blue Book. The show was created by Jack Webb, who pored throu ...

'', which recreated the real-life

Project Bluebook 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 ...

References

External links

* *
Full film
at the Internet Archive {{Edward Small 1956 films United Artists films Unidentified flying objects Ufology 1950s English-language films American documentary films 1950s American films

Origins and plot

Cast

Trivia

See also

References

External links