Invisible Invaders (1959)
Evil invisible aliens resurrect the dead in order to take over the Earth. It's up to an intrepid handful of folks to figure out a way to stop them before it's too late. Competently directed by Edward L. Cahn, with a steady pace, a roaring melodramatic score by Paul Dunlap, a reasonable amount of spooky atmosphere, a pleasingly tight 67 minute running time, nifty and acceptable low-fi special effects, crisp black and white cinematography by Maury Gertsman, a nice sense of mounting dread, and cool moments of mass destruction, this modest, yet effective affair makes for an entertaining quickie romp. The sound acting from an able cast helps a lot, with especially praiseworthy work by John Agar as the rugged, no-nonsense Major Bruce Jay, Philip Tonge as the weary, disillusioned Dr. Adam Penner, Jim Hutton as the stalwart Dr. John Lamont, and Jean Byron as Penner's fetching daughter Phyllis. The ubiquitous John Carradine only appears briefly as the ill-fated Dr. Karol Noymann, but both his gaunt, cadaverous face and deep, gloomy voice are put to satisfyingly creepy use. Moreover, the central plot serves as a neat precursor to "Night of the Living Dead;" the shots of pasty-faced zombies trudging across the landscape are pretty eerie and impressive. A fun fright flick. (IMDB Woodyanders)
(This is a repeat (upgrade) movie for the blog)
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John Carradine |
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Jean Byron - Robert Hutton |
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John Agar (R) |