Son of the Revenge of the 31 Days of Cheese - Day 19: It Conquered the World

I didn’t mean this to be a Roger Corman sidebar but, if you start looking at b-movies from the late 1950’s on – well he made an awful lot of them and sometimes he directed them. 

Such as this one – 1955’s It Conquered with world.

I’m not really sure it does as the only place we see is a small town in Southern California near a satellite tracking station but let’s just take the movies word for it.

We are told about of lot of things that would be too costly to film like riots.

And God does this movie talk and talk and talk. Even when a mind controlled sheriff guns down the publisher of the local newspaper there are a couple of speeches first.

And driving and riding on bicycles. (  Peter Graves has a bit of a problem with a manual transmission it seems – you hear the gears grinding and since this was a Roger Corman film there were no expensive retakes – what went in the can the first time when on the screen, even if it didn’t really make sense.)

And an insane mutated Venusian carrot hiding in a cave that sends out flying things that control minds (see above) when it isn’t killing Beverly Garland.

And more speeches.

And annoying comic relief from a platoon of national guard/infantry – it’s not clear which they are and  the discussion is about food and maybe stealing a chicken, mostly by the token cliché Hispanic in the platoon.

And then when just about everybody is dead another speech.

Okay – let’s just back up a bit.

At the start we see Tom Anderson (Lee Van Cleef) in a scientist who is concerned about our launching a satellite which might be construed by intelligences on the other planets as a hostile move – this of course supposes a) there are intelligences on the other planets and b) they are as paranoid as we are – the general talking to him tells him that his concerns are too late that the satellite has just been launched. Tom looking hurt leaves.

Sometime later Tom, his wife Claire played by Beverly Garland and bullet bra, are having dinner with Paul (Peter Graves) and Joan (Sally Frasier) Nelson. There is some talk about the satellite which has been up for a while now. This leads right into Tom dragging Paul over to some radio contraption to have him listen to the voice being broadcast from Venus. Claire tries to get him to stop, in a tone of voice that is like someone trying to get some to not go on about Obama’s Islamic roots and plan to destroy America once he gets his third term at thanksgiving or some family party.

Before Paul can tell Tom just how full of it he is there is a call – the satellite has disappeared, Paul and Joan have to hurry back – Tom’s face is full of trying to suppress “I TOLD YOU SO” at this moment.

Turns out the satellite was high jacked by the alien (we don’t see it just yet) who takes up residence in a nearby cave – stops all power cars don’t work, electricity doesn’t work, even watches with springs don’t work. Truly this is being of immense power, if absurd appearance. One thing it can allow some cars to work lights to go on if he so desires so Tom can drive around while Paul has to take a bicycle –which he rides about as gracefully as he shifts gears.

 It also sends out these little bat wing thingy whatits that fly around looking for the targets suggested by Tom while he talking to the alien on his shortwave radio set (well that’s what it looks like) this includes the general in charge of the satellite base who sends the troops with the unfunny comic relief way off the base (I would have done that even without being mind controlled by an alien) and tells the rest of the base personnel that this is all caused by a commie uprising. It being the 1950’s they accept this without a single question. Later some of the other scientists get controlled and end up killing the one who isn’t (the one killed is a she and is wearing only her slip and a lab coat when strangled well got to pay the bills)

The film so devolves into a series of debates between Paul representing goodness and humanity and emotions and tom who takes the side of the alien- who we are told is an emotionless entity without feeling who absorbs the people he controls – it being the 50’s the subtext of the alien being some sort of living embodiment of communism is about as subtle as stick in the eye.

I just have to note watching 1950’s science fiction and horror films you get the sense that folks in the fifties were frightened of just about anything even cotton balls under the right circumstances – anything that was not absolute conformity was treated as a threat.

Anyway as the debates drag on Pau’s wife Joan is taken over by the alien and Paul narrowly escapes the same fate – however as the mind control is said to be permanent – Paul shoots Joan. Which does puzzle one – wouldn’t killing the alien doing the mind control release the victim? Or maybe he just figured it was a chance to rid himself of the old ball and chain.

Meantime Claire has worked herself up into a murderous rage at the alien so taking a rife she – heads for the cave – in high heels – turns out a) bullets do dick on the carrot which we really see for the first time here – and b) Tom and Paul get to listen in on the radio as Claire is killed.

Then there is a confrontation with the troops who die like storm troopers – Paul goes to the base and shoots everybody – then Tom confronts the beast – makes one more speech before shoving the business end of a lit blowtorch in the creature’s eye – The creature dies but not before well strangling Tom.

With just about everybody dead Paul makes another speech – great Paul we have  pretty large pile of bodies here to move including this big ass alien Carrot you want to maybe lend a hand?

The monster’s a hoot (Frank Zappa mentions it as an example of Hollywood cheese in his introduction to the song cheepnis) but the talking just goes on too damn long and the comic relief again makes you want to hurt yourself.

Enjoy with a grilled cheese sandwich (American Chesse please) and a tomato.