A giant crawling turnip from Venus smooth-talks American scientist Dr. Tom Anderson (Lee Van Cleef) into organising a trip to Earth, whereupon the creature promises to save mankind from itself by eradicating human emotions. Of course, the ugly alien only intends to conquer the planet. Thankfully, Dr. Paul Nelson (Peter Graves) isn't convinced by Anderson's good intentions and refuses to co-operate.
A cold-war-era sci-fi quickie from director Roger Corman, It Conquered The World is in the same vein as Invaders From Mars and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, a thinly veiled warning for all of us in the West to keep an eye out for 'reds under the beds', those who might have been indoctrinated by Communism. While the idea isn't a new one, and the film's low budget doesn't allow for any fancy special effects or a decent creature (the Venusian is one of the goofiest looking monsters imaginable), Corman's assured direction ensures an entertaining movie nonetheless, the film's success helped by strong performances throughout (with a special nod for Beverly Garland as Anderson's wife Claire) and some unexpectedly strong violence (a cold-blooded shooting, a man burnt alive, and death for all of the women!).
A cold-war-era sci-fi quickie from director Roger Corman, It Conquered The World is in the same vein as Invaders From Mars and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, a thinly veiled warning for all of us in the West to keep an eye out for 'reds under the beds', those who might have been indoctrinated by Communism. While the idea isn't a new one, and the film's low budget doesn't allow for any fancy special effects or a decent creature (the Venusian is one of the goofiest looking monsters imaginable), Corman's assured direction ensures an entertaining movie nonetheless, the film's success helped by strong performances throughout (with a special nod for Beverly Garland as Anderson's wife Claire) and some unexpectedly strong violence (a cold-blooded shooting, a man burnt alive, and death for all of the women!).