Post by RedKing on Jul 14, 2006 21:01:49 GMT -8
The Eye Creatures (1965)
American International Televison (distributor)
an Azalea Production
Directed by
Larry Buchanan
Written by
Paul W. Fairman short story The Cosmic Frame (uncredited)
Robert J. Gurney Jr. uncredited
Al Martin uncredited
Cast (in credits order)
John Ashley .... Stan Kenyon
Cynthia Hull .... Susan Rogers
Warren Hammack .... Lt. Robertson
Chet Davis .... Mike Lawrence
Bill Peck .... Carl Fenton
Ethan Allen
Charles McLine
Nathan Wyle
Bob Cowan
Tony Huston .... Culver (as Tony Houston)
Jonathan Ledford
Shirley McLine
Bob Brown
Donna Lindberg
Larry Tanner
Gordon Bulow
Jody Daniel
Travis Wayne
George Edgley (as George Edgely)
Bill Thurman .... Air Force Sergeant
Hillman Taylor
Edwin Cherry
Jody Daniels .... Unnamed
Peter Graves .... Narrator of USAF Briefing Film (uncredited)
Larry Buchanan .... producer
Edwin Tobolowsky .... associate producer
Original Music by Les Baxter & Ronald Stein (uncredited)
Cinematography by Ralph K. Johnson
Film Editing by S.F. Brownrigg
James A. Sullivan .... production manager
Hillman Taylor .... second unit director
Bruce Shearin .... sound supervisor
Joreta C. Cherry .... assistant to director
Melvin Clark .... key grip
Ted Liles II .... camera operator
Annabelle Weenick .... dialogue director
I first saw this as a kid on afternoon TV on WWOR from NYC on cable at my aunt's house. That was also the last time i saw it until I got the Retromedia double feature disc in the mail last week. What a neat disc-EYE CREATURES and ZONTAR! I actually really enjoyed both movies and think they have worse reputations than they deserve. These are probably Larry Buchanan's best films and are decent remakes of earlier 50s AIP hits. In this case, it's one of my favorite 50s alien movies-INVASION OF THE SAUCERMEN. Like the original, THE EYE CREATURES retains alot of the tongue in cheek flavor, but is perhaps a bit more serious. The basic plot is exactly the same- a UFO lands in the woods and the mischievious aliens get tangled up in framing some innocent kids for a murder they actually commit while a bumbling government agency finds their UFO, destroys it and covers it all up ( is this how all those UFO conspiracy stories started?). The aliens in this version are actually quite nasty looking-pale white/grey lumnpy things with segented arms and legs, gaping mouths with what looks like baleen plates like whales have in them, and lots of cat-like small eyes on their bulbous lumpy heads! They are also accompanied on the soundtrack by a disturbing heartbeat soundeffect, which is the only noise they make. Buchanan manages to shoot the aliens effectively for most of the movie-there seems to have actually only been one full body suit! The other monstrers in crowd scenes are strategically placed behing cars or bushes to conceal them, and it works fairly well, until towards the end of the movie, he drops it and shows several of them in plain view having just heads, hands and black bodysuits! The teenagers end up having to save the day of course as the adults won't believe them and the army has covered everything up about the UFO and headed for home, not realizing they left aliens roaming the countryside! Just as in SAUCERMEN, the aliens are destroyed by light, so the kids surround the spacemen with their cars and hit them with the high beams, sending them up in smoke! I quite enjoyed this movie, which was one of several Larry Buchanan made for American International televison through his Azalea Pictures company loctaed in Dallas ,Texas, which is also where all of these movies were filmed. Amazingly, THE EYE CREATURES had a budget of just $16,000 and even though it was filmed in 16mm for TV, AIP did make some 35mm prints and send it around to the drive-ins in some parts of the country! So some kids actually ended up paying to see this on a drive-in double bill after they had probably seen it on TV!
American International Televison (distributor)
an Azalea Production
Directed by
Larry Buchanan
Written by
Paul W. Fairman short story The Cosmic Frame (uncredited)
Robert J. Gurney Jr. uncredited
Al Martin uncredited
Cast (in credits order)
John Ashley .... Stan Kenyon
Cynthia Hull .... Susan Rogers
Warren Hammack .... Lt. Robertson
Chet Davis .... Mike Lawrence
Bill Peck .... Carl Fenton
Ethan Allen
Charles McLine
Nathan Wyle
Bob Cowan
Tony Huston .... Culver (as Tony Houston)
Jonathan Ledford
Shirley McLine
Bob Brown
Donna Lindberg
Larry Tanner
Gordon Bulow
Jody Daniel
Travis Wayne
George Edgley (as George Edgely)
Bill Thurman .... Air Force Sergeant
Hillman Taylor
Edwin Cherry
Jody Daniels .... Unnamed
Peter Graves .... Narrator of USAF Briefing Film (uncredited)
Larry Buchanan .... producer
Edwin Tobolowsky .... associate producer
Original Music by Les Baxter & Ronald Stein (uncredited)
Cinematography by Ralph K. Johnson
Film Editing by S.F. Brownrigg
James A. Sullivan .... production manager
Hillman Taylor .... second unit director
Bruce Shearin .... sound supervisor
Joreta C. Cherry .... assistant to director
Melvin Clark .... key grip
Ted Liles II .... camera operator
Annabelle Weenick .... dialogue director
I first saw this as a kid on afternoon TV on WWOR from NYC on cable at my aunt's house. That was also the last time i saw it until I got the Retromedia double feature disc in the mail last week. What a neat disc-EYE CREATURES and ZONTAR! I actually really enjoyed both movies and think they have worse reputations than they deserve. These are probably Larry Buchanan's best films and are decent remakes of earlier 50s AIP hits. In this case, it's one of my favorite 50s alien movies-INVASION OF THE SAUCERMEN. Like the original, THE EYE CREATURES retains alot of the tongue in cheek flavor, but is perhaps a bit more serious. The basic plot is exactly the same- a UFO lands in the woods and the mischievious aliens get tangled up in framing some innocent kids for a murder they actually commit while a bumbling government agency finds their UFO, destroys it and covers it all up ( is this how all those UFO conspiracy stories started?). The aliens in this version are actually quite nasty looking-pale white/grey lumnpy things with segented arms and legs, gaping mouths with what looks like baleen plates like whales have in them, and lots of cat-like small eyes on their bulbous lumpy heads! They are also accompanied on the soundtrack by a disturbing heartbeat soundeffect, which is the only noise they make. Buchanan manages to shoot the aliens effectively for most of the movie-there seems to have actually only been one full body suit! The other monstrers in crowd scenes are strategically placed behing cars or bushes to conceal them, and it works fairly well, until towards the end of the movie, he drops it and shows several of them in plain view having just heads, hands and black bodysuits! The teenagers end up having to save the day of course as the adults won't believe them and the army has covered everything up about the UFO and headed for home, not realizing they left aliens roaming the countryside! Just as in SAUCERMEN, the aliens are destroyed by light, so the kids surround the spacemen with their cars and hit them with the high beams, sending them up in smoke! I quite enjoyed this movie, which was one of several Larry Buchanan made for American International televison through his Azalea Pictures company loctaed in Dallas ,Texas, which is also where all of these movies were filmed. Amazingly, THE EYE CREATURES had a budget of just $16,000 and even though it was filmed in 16mm for TV, AIP did make some 35mm prints and send it around to the drive-ins in some parts of the country! So some kids actually ended up paying to see this on a drive-in double bill after they had probably seen it on TV!
