It Conquered the World

Last updated
It Conquered the World
It Conquered the World.jpg
Theatrical release poster
by Albert Kallis
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Lou Rusoff
Charles B. Griffith (uncredited)
Produced byRoger Corman
Starring Peter Graves
Beverly Garland
Lee Van Cleef
CinematographyFred E. West
Edited byCharles Gross
Music by Ronald Stein
Production
company
Sunset Productions
Distributed by American International Pictures
Release date
  • July 15, 1956 (1956-07-15)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It Conquered the World is an independently made 1956 American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, starring Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally Fraser. It Conquered the World was released theatrically by American International Pictures as a double feature with The She-Creature . [1] [2] [3]

Contents

It Conquered the World concerns an alien creature from the planet Venus 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. The alien's secret plan is to take complete control of the Earth by enslaving humanity using mind control 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 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 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 Claire and a group of army soldiers stationed 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. Seeing the loss of everything he holds dear, Dr. Anderson viciously attacks the Venusian by holding a blowtorch 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

Production

Development

The film was inspired by the box office success of Day the World Ended , also directed by Corman. It was written by Lou Rusoff (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. [1] 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." [4]

Peter Graves' casting was announced in March 1956. [5] Beverly Garland's casting was announced shortly afterwards. [6]

Shooting

Filming began 3 April 1956. [7]

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 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). [8]

Paul Blaisdell, who made the creature, researched Venus and "came to the conclusion that if it would have any life — it would be vegetable. In trying to make it look as far removed from anything resembling animal-like, I whipped up a nightmarish creation resembling a pear-shaped, cucumber- like creature, with two mobile, branch- like arms." [9] He created the monster with rubber skin over a wooden frame, latex antenna and carved pine teeth. Flashlights were used to make the eyes glow. Originally the claws worked, but they were damaged on the first day of shooting. [10] When Blaisdell unveiled the costume to the film's producer James Nicholson, Nicholson happily exclaimed "Paul, you've done it again!"

The creature was mounted on wheels. Blaisdell would crouch inside to enable the creature to move. "Originally, the creature was supposed to be in a dark cave all the time so an air of mystery would surround it," said Blaisdell. "But Roger decided it would be more effective if the creature would make a defiant appearance outside its hiding place and be destroyed by a charge of bayonet-armed soldiers. He also wanted the creature to appear dead in the film's finale by having it lying on its side!" [9]

In the bayoneting scene, one of the soldiers stuck a bayonet in the wrong spot and nearly skewered Blaisdell's skull who was inside it, working the costume. Luckily Blaisdell's wife had persuaded him to don a helmet for protection, which deflected the blade.

The creature's working pincers were broken on the first day of shooting, but its arms could still be raised. [2] The melting eye socket effect was completed using chocolate syrup. Blaisdell's wife was inside the suit, manually working the chocolate-squirting device, which backed up and squirted all over her. [2]

Garland later recalled the first time she saw the creature at Bronson Canyon:

I said to Roger, “That isn't the monster! That little thing there is not the monster, is it?" He smiled back at me, "Yeah. Looks pretty good, doesn't it?" I said, “Roger! I could bop that monster over the head with my handbag!" This thing was no monster, it was a table ornament! He said, "Well, don't worry about it because we're gonna show you, and then we'll show the monster, back and forth." "Well, don't ever show us together, because if you do everybody'll know that I could step on this little creature!" Eventually I think they did do some extra work on the monster: I think they re-sprayed it so it would look a little scarier, and made it a good bit taller. When we actually filmed, they shot it in shadow, and never showed the two of us together. [11]

Griffith said he called the creature prop "Denny Dimwit and somebody else called It an ice-cream cone. I was around when Paul Blaisdell was building it, and he thought the camera would make it look bigger." Blaisdell himself referred to it as "Beulah" during production. [1] A good portion of Beulah disintegrated due to the shoddy care taken to store it, and whatever was left of it was destroyed in the fire-scene finale of AIP's 1958 film How to Make a Monster.

Release history

Drive-in advertisement from 1956 for It Conquered the World and co-feature, The She-Creature Baseline Drive-in Ad - 28 August 1956, Highland, CA.jpg
Drive-in advertisement from 1956 for It Conquered the World and co-feature, The She-Creature

It Conquered the World was released theatrically by AIP on July 15, 1956 on a double bill with The She-Creature. [12]

The film originally received an "X" certificate in the UK, meaning that the picture could only be seen by adults. At issue, the scene of the creature being destroyed by a blowtorch was seen as animal cruelty. However, producer Samuel Z. Arkoff convinced the film board that the violence was against an otherworldly person, and not an animal, earning the film its passing certificate. [2] [13]

Reception

Griffith said, "I asked for my name not to be on that picture, so I was unbilled. Surprisingly, it got good reviews." [1]

Variety said "this flying saucer pic is a definite cut above normal, and should help pull its weight at b.o., despite modest budget... It must be admitted that the packed house of moppets at the show caught loved the gore, and continually shrieked avid appreciation. The Lou Rusoff screenplay poses some remarkably adult questions amidst the derring-do.. Corman does a generally good job of mingling the necessary backgroundsetting with fast-paced dialog... Only a few patches of abstract discussion, fail to hold audience attention.... Corman would have been wiser to merely suggest the creature, rather than construct the awesome-looking and mechanically clumsy, rubberized horror. It inspired more titters than terror." [14]

Sight and Sound called it "sharp, economical and really frightening". [15]

Film historian and critic Leonard Maltin called It Conquered the World "... well acted and interesting but awkwardly plotted". [16]

Monthly Film Bulletin found the film exciting.

Time Out magazine, however, gave the film a negative review, criticizing its poor special effects. Critic Tony Rayns opined, "You have to see a movie like this to realise that film-makers who feel they have nothing to lose are rarer than you'd think". [17]

The Chicago Reader gave the film a generally positive review, saying, "Amazingly, this 1953 [sic] picture isn't half bad". [18] Allmovie gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it an "above-average quickie". [19]

Creature Feature gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, praising its campiness. [20]

Later releases

During the 1960s, It Conquered the World was syndicated to television by American International Television. VHS versions appeared in the 1990s on the US home video market (RCA Columbia Home Video), but these are no longer in distribution, nor is the film available on DVD or Blu-ray in the US [21] or in the UK. [22]

In 2001, Susan Hart, the widow of AIP co-founder James H. Nicholson, sued A&E Networks for copyright infringement after the channel used footage from the film in a documentary about Peter Graves. [23]

Remake

In 1966, It Conquered the World was remade in 16mm color by self-proclaimed "schlockmeister" Larry Buchanan after he secured the rights from distributor AIP. He retitled the film Zontar, the Thing from Venus and sold it to television syndication.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (1926–2024)

Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.

American International Pictures LLC is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing films from 1955 until 1980, a year after its acquisition by Filmways in 1979.

<i>The Fast and the Furious</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by John Ireland

The Fast and the Furious is a 1954 American crime drama B movie starring John Ireland and Dorothy Malone, co-directed by Ireland and Edward Sampson.

<i>Attack of the Giant Leeches</i> 1959 film

Attack of the Giant Leeches is an independently made, 1959 black-and-white science fiction-horror film, produced by Gene Corman and directed by Bernard L. Kowalski. It stars Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers, Bruno VeSota and Jan Shepard. The screenplay was written by Leo Gordon. The film was released by American International Pictures on a double bill with A Bucket of Blood, and was retitled Demons of the Swamp for its UK release. Later, in some areas in 1960, Leeches played on a double bill with the Roger Corman film House of Usher.

<i>Attack of the Crab Monsters</i> 1957 film by Roger Corman

Attack of the Crab Monsters is a 1957 independently made American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, and Russell Johnson. The film was distributed by Allied Artists as a double feature showing with Corman's Not of This Earth.

<i>Not of This Earth</i> (1957 film) 1957 film by Roger Corman

Not of This Earth is an independently made 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, Morgan Jones, William Roerick, and Anna Lee Carroll. The film was written by Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna and was distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation as a double feature with Attack of the Crab Monsters. Its theatrical release had a running time of 67 minutes, that was expanded to 70 minutes in 1962 for TV syndication.

<i>The Undead</i> (film) 1957 film by Roger Corman

The Undead is a 1957 horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Pamela Duncan, Allison Hayes, Richard Garland and Val Dufour. It also features Corman regulars Richard Devon, Dick Miller, Mel Welles and Bruno VeSota. The authors' original working title was The Trance of Diana Love. The film follows the story of a prostitute, Diana Love (Duncan), who is put into a hypnotic trance by psychic Quintus (Dufour), thus causing her to regress to a previous life. Hayes later starred in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). The film was released on February 14, 1957 by American International Pictures as a double feature with Voodoo Woman.

<i>In the Year 2889</i> (film) 1969 television film by Larry Buchanan

In the Year 2889 is a 1967 American made-for-television horror science fiction film from American International Pictures about the aftermath of a future nuclear war. The film stars Paul Petersen, Quinn O'Hara, Charla Doherty, Neil Fletcher and Hugh Feagin. AIP commissioned low-budget cult film auteur Larry Buchanan to produce and direct this film as a color remake of Roger Corman's 1956 film Day the World Ended.

<i>Beast from Haunted Cave</i> 1959 film

Beast from Haunted Cave is a 1959 horror/heist film directed by Monte Hellman and starring Michael Forest, Frank Wolff and Richard Sinatra. It was produced by Gene Corman, Roger Corman's brother. Filmed in South Dakota at the same time as Ski Troop Attack, it tells the story of bank robbers fleeing in the snow who run afoul of a giant spider-like monster that feeds on humans. The film was released as a double feature with The Wasp Woman (1959).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles B. Griffith</span> American screenwriter (1930–2007)

Charles Byron Griffith was an American screenwriter, actor, and film director. He was the son of Donna Dameral, radio star of Myrt and Marge, along with Charles' grandmother, Myrtle Vail, and was best known for writing Roger Corman productions such as A Bucket of Blood (1959), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), and Death Race 2000 (1975).

<i>Day the World Ended</i> 1955 film by Roger Corman

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 Huntley of NBC, later of The Huntley-Brinkley Report, served as the film's narrator. It was released by American Releasing Corporation as a double feature with The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues.

<i>Gunslinger</i> (film) 1956 film by Roger Corman

Gunslinger is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman and starring John Ireland, Beverly Garland and Allison Hayes. The screenplay was written by Mark Hanna and Charles B. Griffith.

<i>Night of the Blood Beast</i> 1958 American science-fiction horror film by Bernard L. Kowalski

Night of the Blood Beast is a 1958 American science-fiction horror film about a team of scientists who are stalked by an alien creature, which implants its embryos in an astronaut's body during a space flight. Produced by exploitation filmmaker Roger Corman and his brother Gene, it was one of the first films directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and was written by first-time screenwriter Martin Varno, who was 21 years old. It starred several actors who had regularly worked with Roger Corman, including Michael Emmet, Ed Nelson, Steve Dunlap, Georgianna Carter and Tyler McVey. The film was theatrically released in December 1958 as a double feature with She Gods of Shark Reef.

<i>The She-Creature</i> 1956 film by Edward L. Cahn

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. It was produced by Alex Gordon, directed by Edward L. Cahn, and stars Chester Morris, Marla English and Tom Conway, and casting Frieda Inescort and El Brendel in smaller roles. The producers hired Marla English because they thought she bore a strong resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor.

Alex Gordon was a British film producer and screenwriter.

<i>The Beast with a Million Eyes</i> 1955 American film

The Beast with a Million Eyes is a 1955 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and directed by David Kramarsky, that stars Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer, and Dona Cole. Some film sources have said that the film was co-directed by Lou Place. The film was co-produced by Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff. and was released by American Releasing Corporation, which later became American International Pictures.

<i>Apache Woman</i> (1955 film) 1955 film by Roger Corman

Apache Woman is a 1955 American Western directed by Roger Corman and starring Lloyd Bridges. It was Corman's second film as director, following Five Guns West. It was one of four Westerns he made for American International Pictures, the other being Five Guns West, The Oklahoma Woman (1955) and Gunslinger (1956). Corman says Apache Woman and Oklahoma Woman were from ideas by AIP whereas the others were his ideas. This was the first film from Golden State Productions, a company headed by Alex Gordon.

<i>Naked Paradise</i> 1957 film by Roger Corman

Naked Paradise is a 1957 drama film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Richard Denning and Beverly Garland.

Lou Rusoff was a Canadian-born screenwriter and producer best known for his work with American International Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Blaisdell</span> American artist and visual effects creator (1927–1983)

Paul Blaisdell was an American painter, sculptor and visual effects creator, best remembered for his work in science fiction and horror B movies of the 1950s.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Graham, Aaron W.['Little Shop of Genres: An interview with Charles B. Griffith." Senses of Cinema, April 15, 2005. Retrieved: January 13, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Frank (1998) The Films of Roger Corman. Batsford
  3. 1 2 Warren 1982[ page needed ]
  4. ↑ McGee, Mark Thomas (February 1981). "Charles Griffith and the Little Shop of Corman". Fangoria. No. 11. p. 16.
  5. ↑ Former Studio Messenger Produces, Directs Picture Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 30 Mar 1956: a6.
  6. ↑ Drama: Milestone Will Resume Here With Kirk Douglas; Tribute to Zanuck Due Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 3 Apr 1956: B7.
  7. ↑ "Hollywood Production Pulse". Variety. 25 April 1956. p. 20.
  8. ↑ McGee 1996, p. 58.
  9. 1 2 "Maker of Monsters". Space Monsters. February 1990. p. 56.
  10. ↑ Frank, A. (2000) The Films of Roger Corman. Batsford Publishing
  11. ↑ Weaver, Tom (January 1986). "Queen of 50s Horror". Fangoria. No. 50. p. 58.
  12. ↑ "World Premiere Showing!". Deseret News. August 1, 1956. p. 32.
  13. ↑ Rubine, Irving. "Boys meet ghouls, make money." The New York Times , March 16, 1958, p. X7.
  14. ↑ Review of film at Variety
  15. ↑ Film Clips ARKADIN. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 32, Iss. 3, (Summer 1963): 140.
  16. ↑ Maltin 2009, p. 695.
  17. ↑ Rayns, Tony. "Review: 'It Conquered the World'." Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Time Out magazine. Retrieved: January 13, 2015.
  18. ↑ Kehr, Dave. "Review: 'It Conquered the World'." Chicago Reader. Retrieved: January 13, 2015.
  19. ↑ Erickson, Hal. "Review'It Conquered the World'." All Movie Guide (Allrovi.com). 'Retrieved: January 13, 2015.
  20. ↑ Stanley, J (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd Edition
  21. ↑ "'It Conquered the World' US-American VHS." Amazon.com. Retrieved: January 13, 2015.
  22. ↑ "'It Conquered the World' British VHS." Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved: January 13, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Hofheinz v. a & E Television Networks, 146 F. Supp. 2d 442 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)". law.justia.com. Retrieved August 15, 2021.

Bibliography

  • Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2009. New York: New American Library, 2009 (originally published as TV Movies, then Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide), First edition 1969, published annually since 1988. ISBN   978-0-451-22468-2.
  • McGee, Mark. Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1996. ISBN   978-0-78640-137-6.
  • Warren, Bill. Keep Watching The Skies Vol. I: 1950–1957. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1982. ISBN   0-89950-032-3.

Wikiquote-logo.svg Quotations related to It Conquered the World at Wikiquote

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.