ferbs54 Offhand, I can think of few actors (other than perhaps Richard Denning) who have gone up against so many 1950s sci-fi horrors and monstrosities as Chicago-born John Agar. From 1955 - '58 alone, the former husband of Shirley Temple battled The Creature in "Revenge of the Creature," a giant arachnid in "Tarantula," a lost subterranean race in "The Mole Men," a floating alien cerebrum in "The Brain From Planet Arous," and a mad scientist in "Attack of the Puppet People," all of which I had hugely enjoyed. There WAS one film of Agar's from the late '50s that I had never seen, though, to complete this list of sci-fi menaces, and that film is "Invisible Invaders." Fortunately, I have at long last caught up with this one, and can report that it is yet another fun (although undeniably shlocky) outing to add to Agar's roster. The film was released in May 1959 and thus has been stunning and amusing audiences for over half a century now. And although the editors at the "Maltin Movie Guide" predictably call the film "cheap, silly and boring," I would argue that though they might be correct as far as those first two accusations go, the film itself--fast moving and clever as it is, at a breakneck and compact 67 minutes--is never boring.In this one, an eminent nuclear physicist, Dr. Karol Noymann (the great John Carradine), is killed in a lab explosion. At his funeral, his friend and colleague, Dr. Adam Penner (Philip Tonge), stands in sorrow next to his pretty daughter, Phyllis (Jean Byron). But soon after, imagine Dr. Penner's surprise when the corpse of Dr. Noymann appears at his door, standing erect and seemingly alive, and issuing a warning. It seems that the deceased's body has been revived by the invisible invaders of the film's title--aliens who have been observing us Earthlings for centuries from their hidden base on our moon. Penner is told that Earth must surrender within 24 hours or the invaders will begin their forceful conquest of our planet. Penner, through his friend and fellow atomic scientist Dr. John Lamont (Robert Hutton), passes the word along to Washington, and is understandably disbelieved and mocked. While Penner awaits word from D.C., the film treats us to its most somber moment, perhaps, as the aged scientist stands at a window and whispers "Dear Lord, I pray that I am insane, and that all that happened is only in my mind. I pray that tomorrow the sun will shine again on living things, not on a world where only the dead walk the Earth." Soon enough, however, the conquest begins, with the invisible aliens resurrecting the dead and using the reanimated corpses to destroy dams and carry out assorted mayhem. The Feds, now fully convinced, decide that Penner, Phyllis and Lamont are to be sequestered in a hidden mountain bunker so that they might figure out a way to combat the unseen invaders and their invisible mother ship, and thus Major Bruce Jay (Agar, who finally makes his initial appearance almost a full 1/2 hour into the film) is tasked with getting the trio to that bunker. But can the group both hold off the advancing zombie hordes AND come up with a way to defeat the aliens, as the clock ticks?"Invisible Invaders" was directed by Edward L. Cahn, who also had a most impressive track record of '50s horrors, including such films as "Invasion of the Saucer Men," "Curse of the Faceless Man," "It! The Terror From Beyond Space," The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake" and "The Creature With the Atom Brain," and indeed, the business suit-wearing cadavers in the film in question, with their effective zombie makeup, DO resemble the reanimated corpses of the "Atom Brain" picture. "II" also features fairly competent acting from one and all, and as I mentioned up top, the film is extremely streamlined and fast moving; indeed, the aliens begin their conquest of planet Earth within the first 20 minutes of the opening credits! The special FX on display are quite decent enough, considering the film's obvious low budget, and the picture is a bit surprising in that its love triangle remains nicely UNresolved by the close. And, as has probably been pointed out elsewhere, those zombies banging on the walls of our quartet's mountain bunker can surely be seen as precursors of the great touchstone zombie film of almost a decade later, "Night of the Living Dead." To be perfectly honest, though, the film's ending DOES feel a bit rushed, and the omniscient narrator who tells us what's going on as events proceed eventually becomes annoying, useless and obtrusive. And how silly is it that despite the widespread radiation that surrounds the aliens, Lamont is deemed safe in his pickup truck's cabin, even when Major Jay opens the truck's passenger door to the open air?!?! And that trick of placing a noose at the bottom of a camouflaged mantrap and expecting a fallen alien to be tied up in it...how convincing is that? But these are quibbles. From the sight of the cadaverous John Carradine issuing the aliens' pronouncement at the movie's beginning, to the sight of John Agar going up against a horde of lurching zombies and the alien mother ship at the end, the film delivers good old-fashioned, matinée-style fun. It is a perfect film to see with your favorite 8-year-old, munching popcorn at your side. And yes, it is another winner from '50s stalwart John Agar!

Scarecrow-88 Admittedly, I expected this to be far worse than it turned out. I imagined that in far less capable hands (Ed Wood, as an example), "Invisible Invaders" could have been a disaster to laugh at. However, in the competent directorial reins of Edward L Cahn, this turns out far better than it has any right to be. This little, 68 minute B-movie sci-fi effort from United Artists has an alien invasion, cloaked intentionally in invisibility, purposely plans to overthrow and dominate the earth for their own colonization. Taking the bodies of the dead, the invisible alien invaders emanate a radioactivity that reads their presence in the area, producing a way of warning for the heroes holed up in a secret military bunker (which can withstand an atomic blast as intended) designed for them to have equipment and devices to be used for experimentation. Collected in this bunker are Major Jay (resident in the B-movie universe, John Agar), the soldier/protector of the group, scientists, Dr. Penner (Philip Tonge) and Lamont (Robert Hutton), and Penner's daughter, Phyllis (Jean Byron). Penner was head of a nuclear program, associated with a renowned and dead scientist, Noymann (John Carradine). Penner resigns after Noymann accidentally kills himself in a nuclear blast that destroys his lab. Penner is the first to be "greeted" by an alien invader, taking Noymann's body as a host to forewarn the world of what awaits them. In the bunker, the group will be tasked to come up with a way to stop the invisible invaders as the world is toiling in apocalyptic chaos. Will they be able to find an answer at saving the human race?To think that the fate of humanity lies in four people inside a small bunker in some Podunk rural locale hidden from society at large. Small-scale in as far as the setting, but large-scale in the overall story of how a minute band of characters will have to conceal their anxieties of the current nightmarish situation and the claustrophobic entrapment of the bunker in order to find the weakness (the kink in the armor, so to speak) of the global-threatening enemy, hoping to exterminate the invisible invaders. Carradine fans shouldn't expect to see a great deal of him; this was a way to use (exploit?) the assets he does bring to a film. I mean, he is on the cover of prints for the film. The makeup work is essential to the creepy factor this movie has going for it. The farmer himself is an ideal model for the zombie design that came into form a decade later. When Carradine emerges inside the house of Tonge, it is quite an introduction! The way the makeup lines Carradine's face and his foreboding voice: this sets up the invasion plot neatly. Tonge is so damn good, he actually elevates the plot, and let's face it, this has quite a bill of goods to convincingly sell to an audience. Hutton gets saddled with a part that many might consider a "cowardly nuisance in scientist's clothes", but he does what he can despite of how it undermines him. Byron has the love triangle beauty that courageous and authoritative military man, Agar, and ready-to-pee-in-his-pants, "let's go ahead and surrender" scientist, Hutton, vie for. I think the sight of the undead, either walking the countryside or on the monitor in the bunker, has a nicely unsettling look. The "sound device" is an interesting method of defeating the enemy, using sound waves as a means to circumvent their ascent. The use of movie and stock footage to recognize the alien invasion's success is quite effective; this is using resources imaginatively and cleverly when stuck with a minuscule budget. The resignation of Tonge, as he wishes for Washington to recognize what the H-bomb did to the air we breath, and even perhaps the atmosphere of earth, is an interesting precursor to the global warming debate of today.

kevin olzak 1959's "Invisible Invaders" truly represents the quota quickie, shot fast and cheap, then sent out to die a swift death at drive-ins across America. Nevertheless, such films being horror/science fiction, they continue to gain legions of fans through the years, no matter the merits of each. An alien invasion with invisible beings and spaceships looks easy on paper, but with literally nothing to work with, the actors are performing in a vacuum (an invisible alien had already starred in 1953's "Phantom from Space," a real no budget loser with a cast of no names). The notion of inhabiting the recent dead to carry out their world domination was used at least once before, in "Plan 9 from Outer Space," and would be revived for 1968's "Night of the Living Dead," which used radiation from space activating the brain as just one possible reason for its flesh eating zombies. John Agar fans can rejoice, as their hero gets top billing, and works hard to earn it. Robert Hutton fans (I know you're out there too!) also see him survive to the very end. Ah, but John Carradine fans like myself, well, there's very little bang for the buck. Killed off just a few seconds after the opening credits, we do see him emerge for one big scene opposite Philip Tonge, supplying exposition regarding the invaders' intentions and background, then becoming a disembodied voice heard on three more occasions thereafter. He may well be flattered to find his face adorning the DVD, despite his miniscule role; the producers at least utilized his remarkable voice to great effect. Certainly, better horror films lay ahead, but titles like 1972's "Silent Night, Bloody Night" and 1976's "The Sentinel" both capitalized on playing up his name value, yet never granted him the dignity of using that voice (one line of dialogue between the two). Billed last in the small cast is Eden Hartford, lesser known than her sister Dee Hartford, but better remembered as the current (and final) wife of Groucho Marx (she appears with him in 1957's "The Story of Mankind"). Actor Philip Tonge died in Jan 1959, some four months before this final film saw release (other notable titles of his include William Castle's "Macabre," Vincent Price's "House of Wax," and 1955's "Desert Sands," also with John Carradine). "Invisible Invaders" aired twice on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, Oct 17 1964 (followed by 1958's "War of the Colossal Beast") and Feb 17 1968 (following 1964's "Godzilla vs. the Thing").

Woodyanders Evil invisible aliens resurrect the dead in order to take over the Earth. It's up to an intrepid handful of folks to figure out a way to stop them before it's too late. Competently directed by Edward L. Cahn, with a steady pace, a roaring melodramatic score by Paul Dunlap, a reasonable amount of spooky atmosphere, a pleasingly tight 67 minute running time, nifty and acceptable low-fi special effects, crisp black and white cinematography by Maury Gertsman, a nice sense of mounting dread, and cool moments of mass destruction, this modest, yet effective affair makes for an entertaining quickie romp. The sound acting from an able cast helps a lot, with especially praiseworthy work by John Agar as the rugged, no-nonsense Major Bruce Jay, Philip Tonge as the weary, disillusioned Dr. Adam Penner, Jim Hutton as the stalwart Dr. John Lamont, and Jean Byron as Penner's fetching daughter Phyllis. The ubiquitous John Carradine only appears briefly as the ill-fated Dr. Karol Noymann, but both his gaunt, cadaverous face and deep, gloomy voice are put to satisfyingly creepy use. Moreover, the central plot serves as a neat precursor to "Night of the Living Dead;" the shots of pasty-faced zombies trudging across the landscape are pretty eerie and impressive. A fun fright flick.