Killers From Space

In Killers from Space, an atomic scientist claims he was abducted by aliens after being injured in a plane crash.

Killers From Space (1954) starring Peter Graves

Killers from Space is an interesting 1950’s entry in the “aliens want to take over Earth” movie genre — with an interesting twist. It begins with the protagonist, played by Peter Graves, surviving a seemingly fatal plane crash. And then he’s accused of stealing military secrets. But he has no memory of doing it … or even how he survived the plane crash.

Later, it turns out that, under truth serum, he does remember what happened — subconsciously. He died in the plane crash. And space aliens revived him. Why? To use him as their unknowing minion, as part of their scheme. They plan to use radiation from human technology to mutate insects and lizards into unstoppable monsters, and destroy humanity.

Of course, his supervisors don’t believe his story. Although there is a mysterious scar on his chest, that’s not evidence of alien invasion. So, he’s restrained in the military hospital … But he escapes. He’s convinced of his story. And he has a plan to stop the alien invasion, willing to risk his life to save the Earth.

Conclusion

In short, Killers from Space is actually an enjoyable science fiction movie from the 1950’s. It’s well-acted, although the pace is somewhat slow. I enjoyed it, and hope that you do as well.

Cast of characters

• Peter Graves (Red Planet Mars) as Dr. Douglas Martin. The protagonist of the story, who unravels his own mystery, with the help of the military doctor.
• Frank Gerstle as Dr. Curt Kruger. The military doctor, who takes care of Dr. Martin. He discovers, via truth serum, what actually happened. Although he doesn’t actually believe Dr. Martin’s recovered memory. However, he’s convinced that Dr. Martin believes he’s telling the truth.
• James Seay as Colonel Banks. The base commander, who doesn’t believe Dr. Martin’s story. But, he will protect the security of the base. So, he calls in:
• Steve Pendleton as FBI Agent Briggs. The FBI agent who’s brought in to investigate Dr. Martin. And he catches him in the act of hiding stolen information.
• Barbara Bestar as Ellen Martin. Dr. Martin’s loving, supportive wife. She doesn’t know what has happened to her husband. But she knows him, and trusts him.
• John Frederick as Deneb. The space alien from the planet Astron Delta. He revived Dr. Martin’s lifeless body, and is using him as an unknowing pawn. His eyes look like ping pong balls. 🙂

Editorial review of Killers From Space courtesy of Amazon.com

A young and gallant Peter Graves stars in a extraterrestrial nightmare of the nuclear age. While flying over a routine atomic test in Nevada, Dr. Douglas Martin (Graves) spots a strange fireball on the ground. Suddenly, his plane loses control and crashes; the pilot is killed, but Martin survives, totally unharmed. A medical examination uncovers a mysterious scar on his chest, yet Martin has no recollection of the scar or the aftermath of the crash. His ordeal becomes even more perplexing when he inexplicably steals top-secret information from his military colleagues and delivers it to a cavernous area near the test site.

Under restraint and injected with truth serum, Martin recalls the impossible truth: he was saved by a squadron of aliens with far superior intellects and monstrously bulging eyes! What’s worse, the invaders are mutating insects and reptiles into gigantic carnivores in their bid to conquer the Earth! Killers From Space was directed by W. Lee Wilder (brother of Billy) who also produced Phantom From Space (1953), The Snow Creature (1954) and Manfish (1956).

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