I reread Paul W. Fairman's SF short story "The Cosmic Frame" this week, so I thought I'd feature the B flick that it inspired. Invasion of the Saucermen owes little beyond the basic plot to Fairman's tale. Director Edward L. Cahn was first going for shock but soon realized that the teenaged drive-in (its co-feature was I Was a Teenage Werewolf) audience would react to the monster makeup with laughter. He changed gears and opted for a teenage SF sendup. His decision was probably made easier by the "teenage" stars Steve Terrill and Gloria Castillo, both of whom looked like they would soon be collecting social security.
This "classic" AIP release was produced by James H. Nicholson and Robert Gurney, Jr. Samuel Z. Arkoff executive-produced. Al Martin wrote the screenplay (with additional dialogue from producer Gurney). Special makeup (the cheesy monsters) was created by Paul Blaisdell.
In addition to Terrill and Castillo, the cast featured a young Frank Gorshin, Lyn Osborn, Raymond Hatton, Russ Bender, Douglas Henderson, Sam Buffington, Bob Eisner, and Jason Johnson.
Abandon all hope for a classy picture, hunker down, relax, and enjoy the zaniness of Invasion of the Saucermen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjtASrKtpos
And, for those who are interested, Fairman's original story is available at unz.org:
http://www.unz.org/Pub/ThrillingSF-1974dec-00058
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