WAR OF THE SATELLITES (1958)

Roger Corman's rock-bottom budget for this film would put one comfortably in a mid-range Audi today. He directed and produced this sixty-six-minute, double-billed, imaginative film released by Allied Artists. The frenetic, disjointed score with percussive xylophone by Walter Greene opens and closes the film like a mid-Sixties science fiction television series. Think of it as a conglomeration of The Jetsons, Batman, and Lost in Space themes. Coupled with the then-trendy, opening animated graphics—a Corman trademark—and strategic placement of bold text, it suggests the viewer will hardly be able to contain themselves for an hour. This is the oft-told tale of evil twins (clones). All the tension occurs aboard a manned satellite spacecraft with interior props made from the finest cardboard and plywood. 

As is so often the case in recent movies, it is left to a single hero to save the film, the world, and the girl. This would be Dick Miller and Susan Cabot (above), respectively. After an opening scene of disappointed scientists watching another satellite being destroyed, the film shifts to a gratuitous romantic couple—an apparent comedy team—in a 1957 Mercury convertible parked on the lane of love. They witness a UFO crashing, though what they pick up appears to be a large, professional firework. Whatever. A Latin phrase is inscribed. Roughly translated, “Earthlings are a bunch of belligerent boobs.” Just a guess. From a matching set of leather recliners, and with arms dutifully crossed before launching, anyone can survive space travel from the "liftoff lounge." 

The story picks up inside the United Nations, where world representatives discuss recent attacks by an unknown force on satellites. War with Earth has been declared after the UN disobeys the repeated subtle hints with satellite destruction. Perennial villain Richard Devon (above and below) is the genius behind the “Sigma Project,” designed to eliminate the attacks. He is well-cast in this film. Miller and Cabot are key team members supporting his theory. The responsibility of launching satellites falls under the UN Satellite Control Center. The large, single control panel is so simple to operate, it can be monitored by one man, Roger Corman, himself!

As their key speaker, Devon departs for the UN. En route, an alien force takes control of his steering wheel—despite Devon’s humorous preventive efforts—and plummets the vehicle down an embankment in a fiery crash. The sound effects of the alien force are lifted from the Martian crafts in The War of the Worlds, released five years earlier. Though some thought he was a bit screwy, the UN council members mourn the death of Devon for about thirty seconds before he suddenly appears before the council, not a scratch or a burn on him. Few recognize the evil clone. He is equipped with a popular accessory, the ability to “splinter off” any number of Devons. Satellite crews suggest he is appearing in more than two places at the same time.

Wanting to make sure Devon is safe for the trip, the doctor wants to listen to his heart. He excuses himself because he has none. Later, he creates a heart by himself by placing his two hands in that general area. In the closing moments of the film, he becomes amorous toward Cabot, who is freaking out. Be still, your beating heart! Devon's emotionless speech pattern and no longer using a smoking pipe make Miller suspicious. Devon is now pushing "Plan B," but Miller knows "Plan A" is the safer and the most effective course to counter the celestial blob that has been destroying previous satellites. 

The makeup department provided an effective, final evil appearance for the final clone with a demonic look. Devon's twitching "smile" adds to the effect. A couple of special effects are handled pretty well. Devon blackens his hand from a nearby chemical torch but is unaware of it. The lab assistant runs to the doctor. Devon simply starts rubbing his hands together (the magic of hand degreaser) and removes the "cajon burn" from his hand. There is another rather cool, weird solarization effect (alternating negative print) near the climax with music that sounds as if played backward—an effect that will get a good workout after the mid-sixties with added hallucinogenic colors. The aliens cannot comprehend the inherent need for humans to defend themselves against aggressive attacks on freedom. Miller is left to make the point that space exploration is anyone's challenge.

Note: The point of this film has been used often after the US ended World War Two. To this day, according to many Hollywood scriptwriters, aliens are nearly always smarter than humans and arrive to warn us, in varying degrees of gullibility, about the use of nuclear weapons, their expected mutations from testing such, or the conquering of space, destroying its purity. The mere suggestion of such things masquerades as fact.