God bless Roger Corman. Even as far back as the fifties when he was still directing, there wasn’t a film made that he wasn’t willing to blatantly plunder from. Take Don Siegel’s Invasion Of The Body Snatchers for example; that near-perfect, paranoid slice of communists-as-aliens science fiction that saw otherworldly pods replicate snoozing humans into soulless replicas. Never one to let a good premise go to waste on the actual film that originally used it, Corman fired out It Conquered The World mere months after Siegel’s movie was released, but obviously included a few quirks that tipified the director’s work.
For a start, a typically threadbare and tight production meant that It Conquered The World wouldn’t actually have many resources to conquer it with and even by 50s sci-fi standards, the film would go on to play fast and loose with logic. However, featuring something of a breathless pace and featuring Peter Graves and Lee Van Cleef hamming it up for all they’re worth, there’s something incredibly endearing about this particular attempt to enslave the world.
Dr. Tom Anderson is one of those scientists who has so totally lost faith in humanity, he’d believe any old tripe if he thought it would save our flawed species from itself. That’s probably why he’s dedicated himself so totally to the new friend he’s been communicating with on his radio transmitter; a Venusian creature that claims it wants to bring peace to the world by merely eradicating all emotions (oh, is that all?). So embittered is Tom, he happily goes along with the alien’s plan despite his wife, Claire, constantly telling him in no uncertain terms that it’s a bad fucking idea.
Nevertheless, after hitching a ride on an experimental new satellite, the thing from Venus forces it to crash land so it can take refuge in a nearby cave and put its plan into action. Stage one involves the Venusian using its funky alien powers to disrupt all electric power on Earth, causing the entire planet to grind to a standstill. While everyone is puzzling over why their watches, cars and various gadgets no longer work, the alien then sends out eight, leathery bat-like things to implant devices in the necks of prominent figures around town (and their wives). With these devices in place, the Venusian now has control over the local sheriff, the General in charge of the nearby military base and a few other influential members in town.
However, the creature hasn’t counted on Dr. Paul Nelson, Tom’s best (human) friend who isn’t about to give up his emotions quite so easily. Engaging first in many philosophical discussions about the nature of humanity with his friend turned human turncoat, Paul swiftly moves onto pure, unbridled action as he stops at nothing to ensure the alien’s grasp on the townsfolk is broken. But when his own wife is made a recipient of one of those bat-delivered control devices, can Paul do what needs to be done to stop our world from getting conquered?
OK, so yes, while It Conquered The World (spoiler: it doesn’t) feels very much like Corman is trying to bend the themes of Body Snatchers to his reasonably budgeted will, you have to admit that the legendary figure has mostly managed to craft his own story out of it. However, that story is so gloriously over excited, there are moments where I had to pause the film in order to fully take stock of some of the more outlandish choices the filmmaker has made. For a start, shrinking down the alien threat from countless personality nullifying pods to just one turnip-shaped mastermind makes a certain amount of sense from a perspective of scale, but from here the film’s sense of problem solving goes a little out of whack. For example, the film gives the squat Venusian weird, stiff, bat-creatures to unconvincingly fly around on wires and dive-bomb their victims in the back of the head in order to bring them under the alien’s thrall. However, in a bizarre plot detail, it turns out the creature has only brought eight of his pets to earth and it’ll take a week for him to get more, suggesting that a sense pre-planning may not be a Venusian strong point. Weirdly, despite being so plainly limited, it does still have the ability to halt all the world’s power on a whim, which seems like an incredibly vast amount of power for something that instantly crumples the second someone sticks a welding torch in its eye.
However, while the Venusian has an unconvincing look to go with it’s shockingly inconsistent power set, it is rather fun to observe at as it shuffles out of its cave to engage Dick Miller and his cadre of confused soldiers. Resembling something Super Mario would jump on without a second thought, it’s leering face and jagged teeth are backed up by wildly grasping crab claws and the mobility of an overturned wheelybin, but there’s something that warms the heart about such a ludicrous design.
But with a central villain that’s about as threatening as an overripe rutabaga, it means that It Conquered The World needs to get its dramatic thrust via other means. In most cases of 50s sci-fi theatre, it’s the humans that tend to slow things to a drag, while it’s the appearance of an extraterrestrial foe that speeds things up. However, due to some incredible choices made by the script and the actors, it’s the not-so puny earth men that prove to be the most fun.
Right off the bat, it’s so strange to see Lee Van Cleef of all people in a cheesy creature feature, that you can’t quite believe it’s him. After all, it’s not every day you see the “bad” from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly sell out his entire race because an alien on the radio tickled his ego. Watching him rationally debate his decision to stab the human race in the back may raise many issues of narrative logic (being complicit in the brain washing of your friend’s wife isn’t exactly a benign act) but you can’t say that Van Cleef isn’t giving it his all to try and sell it. Speaking of giving their all, watching Beverly Garland watch her spouse crumble in the face of his interplanetary bromance and then tool up to fuck the alien over is genius. She even gets the thing on the radio to deliver Taken style threats (“I hate your guts!”) before charging out of the house with a rifle for her date with destiny. However, it’s the actions of Peter Graves’ stony faced hero which stun the most as his only solution to protecting the earth from brainwashed humans is to grab a pistol and shoot the living shit out of them. It’s extra weird, because at no point does anyone even try to reverse the process that those stiff-winged bat have inflicted on their victims and instead Graves just blows away his boss, some co-workers and even his fucking wife to save America. Ah well, it was the 50s I suppose, so I guess that scans.
While Corman’s spirited sci-fi potboiler falls foul of many of the obstacles that threaten to trip up any modestly budgeted creature feature of the era, the sheer amount of outlandish energy the director pumps into the unintentionally amusing final 30 minutes carries it far beyond rubbery monster designs and stilted line readings. Throw in a comedy Mexican private, screaming soldiers running directly into the alien’s claws and a surprisingly high body count, and this film may not have conquered the world, but it certainly conquered my interest.
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