Entertainment

Raunchy, 60s Sci-Fi Comedy Is A Wild Alien Invasion

By Robert Scucci
| Published 20 seconds ago

Whenever an older movie on streaming starts with a disclaimer stating, “The content you are about to view features depictions that are objectionable,” you know they’re trying to save face for something. 1962’s Invasion of the Star Creatures has this disclaimer, and it took me a minute to figure out why. It’s a movie about an invasion of very tall, sexy alien women who plan to take over planet Earth. Accompanying them are their male, plant-based counterparts who possess superhuman strength. Caught in the middle are two military privates who fall in love with the women while carrying themselves in slapstick fashion like Laurel and Hardy or the Marx Brothers.

It’s all pretty standard stuff, and my initial notes on this shlocky sci-fi adventure stated, “Anybody offended by this in 2026 needs therapy.” In my mind, that was a solid take. The alien women in Invasion of the Star Creatures are powerful and completely in control. Privates Philbrick (Robert Ball) and Penn (Frank Ray Perilli) are bumbling idiots who just so happen to be attracted to them. Their Sergeant (Trustin Howard) is a walking caricature who loves barking orders. It’s broad. It’s silly. It’s what you’d expect.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, everybody’s smoking a peace pipe with a Native American tribe, and I began to understand why this film had a disclaimer at the beginning. I can’t say it’s grossly offensive by any stretch of the imagination, because Invasion of the Star Creatures is very much a product of its time. Its disclaimer even concludes with, “We present this material for its historical value. We strongly believe that awareness of yesterday’s prejudice and its lasting effects can be enhanced when that prejudice is seen through the lens of the entertainment it informed at the time.”

In other words, Invasion of the Star Creatures is objectionable to some in spots, but with the early 60s context in mind, it’s still a fun watch if you’re willing to look past your modern bias.

It’s Just Goofy Slapstick With An Alien Plot

Invasion of the Star Creatures tells a painfully simple story about Privates Philbrick and Penn, two military idiots so useless they’re relegated to trash duty and other humiliating tasks around the barracks. Despite their buffoonery, they’re summoned by their Sergeant to investigate a cavern that suddenly appears on the military’s radar.

They enter the cavern and are immediately accosted and kidnapped by giant vegetable creatures. These creatures lead Philbrick and Penn to their female alien overlords, Dr. Puna (Joanne Arnold) and Professor Tanga (Dolores Reed). Initially overpowered, Philbrick accidentally learns that kissing the aliens incapacitates them briefly after trying to make out with Dr. Puna.

Realizing they can’t handle an impending alien invasion alone despite knowing their weakness, the privates head back to base, explain everything to the Sergeant, and return to the cavern. Along the way, they have a run-in with friendly Native Americans who love to smoke their peace pipe, sing nonsense syllables, and dance the day away.

Now, I could be way off base here, but I’m fairly certain this is why Invasion of the Star Creatures opens with a disclaimer. It’s not misogynistic. It’s not even casually demeaning toward women, who in this case overpower their human counterparts with ease and speak with confident authority. If there were no disclaimer in front of this B movie from the 1960s, I wouldn’t even think twice about it because this is more or less what you sign up for when watching movies of this caliber from this era.

Streaming Invasion Of The Star Creatures

While the Native Americans may be depicted in objectionable ways, they’re also depicted as helpful and self-sufficient, and their presence drives the story forward. On the flip side, literally anybody else could have helped Philbrick, Penn, and Sergeant along on their trip to the cavern, so in that regard, it is a pretty wild creative choice, but one that ranks low on my personal offenso-meter.

Invasion of the Star Creatures is a solid B movie, and that’s all it ever needs to be. It’s the kind of slapstick that makes you want to say “yuk, yuk, yuk,” and slap your knee, and there’s really no need to overthink this one. It’s fun. It’s fine. Choices were made. You don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to.