Teenagers From Outer Space

1935. TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE (1959-USA). Connoisseurs of science fiction epics, teen angst dramas and all-around bad movies will savor this hilariously awful film, produced on a pittance: it reportedly was made for $20,000, which even in 1959 was a minuscule movie budget. The scenario has to do with an alien adolescent named Derek, who with his comrades has come to Earth in a flying saucer. Unlike his fellow aliens, who have “an endless hunger for killing,” Derek is life-loving and compassionate. Abandoning his space ship, he sets out to alert unprepared Earthlings that the powers on his planet have chosen our planet as a site for the breeding of herds of monstrous Gargons. Derek is pursued by, and must contend with, a villainous killer named Thor, who sports a deadly “focusing disintegrator ray” which instantly reduces mortals to skeletons. Along the way, he manages to mix with, and fall for, a friendly, pretty teen Earthling. While the plot moves at a sprightly pace, the dialogue is mind-bogglingly atrocious and the actors are collectively inept; none of them earned major (or even minor) movie stardom after appearing in this. There is so much more to groan at here, from the phony, paste-on beard of one Dr. Mason to the Gargon, which seems to be little more than a creatively photographed lobster. Cast as Derek is a performer billed as DAVID LOVE – a pseudonym if there ever was one – which turns out be an alias for one TOM GRAEFF, who also directed, produced, photographed and edited this all-time-classic turkey. 86 minutes. Science Fiction