UK, 1969
91m, 8150 feet
35mm film, colour
English
A British science fiction film directed by Gerry Levy.
Plot Summary
When a paratrooper disappear in mid-air during a parachute jump, a pair of investigators are sent in to find out what’s going on. They stumble upon a plan by alien invaders to take over the Earth by stealing the bodies of humans.
Credits
Crew
Directed by: Gerry Levy
© Tigon British Film Productions Ltd MCMLXIX [1969]
Tony Tenser presents [opening credits]. Filmed entirely in location and at Shepperton Studios by Tigon British Film Productions Limited
Produced by: Tony Tenser
Production Manager: John Workman
Story and Script: Mike St. Clair
Revised Screenplay: Peter Marcus
1st Assistant Director: Pat Morton
Continuity: Iris Karney
Photography by: John Coquillon
Camera Operator: Peter Hendry
Focus: Tony Breeze
Chief Electrician: Archie Dansie
Editor: Howard Lanning
Assistant Editor: Marion Curren
Processed at: Rank Laboratories, Denham, England
Music Composed and Conducted by: Reg Tilsley
Sound Mixer: Bob Peck
Dubbing Mixer: Hugh Strain
Westrex Recording System
Make-up: Bunty Phillips, Roy Ashton
Hairdressers: Olga Angelinetta, Carol Beckett
Art Director: Wilfred Arnold
Filmed entirely in location and at Shepperton Studios
Cast
George Sanders (General Armstrong)
Maurice Evans (Dr Matthews)
Patrick Allen (Bob Megan)
Hilary Dwyer (Julie Slade)
Lorna Wilde (Lorna)
Allan Cuthbertson (Hindsmith)
Carl Rigg (Briggs)
Sally Faulkner (Joanna)
Michael Culver (Lieutenant Bailes)
Shelagh Fraser (Mrs Thatcher)
Neil Connery (Jim Radford)
Robert Flemyng (W.C. Baldwin)
Carolanne Hawkings (Paula)
Michael Graham, Brian Harrison (pilots)
Dixon Adams (David)
Derek Pollitt (Davies)
Max Latimer (guard sergeant)
Ralph Carrigan (M.P.)
Johnny Wilde (orderly)
Dennis Chinnery (1st control officer)
Michael Warren (Harry)
Steve Kirby (driver)
Leslie Schofield (gate guard)
Clifford Earl (sgt. in lab)
Larry Dan (jeep driver)
Arnold Peters (Mr Smith)
Michael Goldie (despatch driver)
Wanda Moore (secretary)
Alternative Titles
Alien Invasion – West Germany
Galaxy horror anno 2001 – Italy
Invasion der Aliens – Austria
Invasion of the Body Stealers – Canada
Loch im Himmel, Das – West German
Out of Thin Air
Thin Air – USA
References
Production Notes
Production
The alien spaceship seen at the end of the film is the same prop as the spaceship seen in Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966).
Other information
The light aircraft flown by Bob Megan is a Beagle B121 Pup II, registration number G-AVLN. As of October 2017 the aircraft was still flying, owned by The Dogs Flying Group based at Sywell airfield in Warwickshire
Press
1969
Kine Weekly vol.624 no.3219 (21 June 1969) pp.12, 14
A good cast helps to make this space-fiction mystery into most acceptable entertainment. Reliable general attraction for all but stuffy audiences. […] The story starts in the matter-of-fact atmosphere of an air display when three, free-falling parachutists disappear from the sky before the very eyes of thousands of spectators. Whitehall decides to keep the affair secret and this is just as well in view of the general cloak of mystery. The plot is, of course, ridiculously far-fetched, but the special effects are well presented and the large audiences who enjoy this sort of thing are not likely to bother about belief. George Sanders, who heads the cast list has a routine part as the Army general who leads the investigation, and most of the action is capably handled by Patrick Allen, as Megan. The romances in his life are charmingly represented by Hilary Dwyer and Lorna Wilde. – from a review by Graham Clarke
Monthly Film Bulletin vol.36 no.427 (August 1969) p.170
As body-stealers, these aliens invite no comparison with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The initial idea is promising, but it is soon buried under a mountain of sub-plots and unexplained mysterious happenings; and the feeble, talkative script gives the cast little chance to make much impression. – from an uncredited review
References
Periodicals
- Castle of Frankenstein no.15 p.44
- Films and Filming vol.16 no.1 (October 1969) p.54 – credits, review (by David Austen)
- The Hollywood Reporter vol.203 no.47 (13 December 1968) p.17 – credits
- The Hollywood Reporter vol.206 no.10 (23 May 1969) p.21 – credits
- Kine Weekly vol.619 no.3198 (25 January 1969) p.15 – note (Change of title)
- Kine Weekly vol.624 no.3219 (21 June 1969) pp.12, 14 – review (by Graham Clarke)
- Monthly Film Bulletin vol.36 no.427 (August 1969) p.170 – credits, review
- Today’s Cinema no.9684 (13 June 1969) p.9 – review
Books
- The Allied Artists Checklist by Len D. Martin p.19 – credits, synopsis, note
- English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.201
- Island of Terror: A Book of 60 Great* British SF and Fantasy Movies from 1936-1984 *And not so Great by Keith Topping pp.390-396
- The Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Handbook by Alan Frank (London: B.A. Batsford, 1982) p.25 – credits, review
- Uneasy Dreams: The Golden Age of British Horror Films, 1956-1976 by Gary A. Smith p.43
