Battle of the Worlds (1960)

This alien invasion scenario has a stray planet on a collision course with the Earth. At the last minute, it takes orbit around our world instead and what seems like a dead planet suddenly launches a fleet of flying saucers to attack the Earth space fleets.

The finale sees the heroes landing on the planet – “the Outsider” (as the interloping world is dubbed) – and descending into the red bowels with its tangled tubes and tunnels, where the corpses of its insectoid residents lie.

The great Claude Rains – hamming it up wildly in owl spectacles as irascible maverick Professor Benson – explores the planet’s innards in wonder as he seeks to learn the secret of its ‘immortal formulas’ contained in its electronic brain.

Originally released as Il Pianeta Degli Uomini Spenti (“The Planet of Dead Men”), the whole thing is awful, pointless and childish. The barrage of synth noises (the alien UFOs are manoeuvred via soundwaves) also gets a bit much.

Prof. Benson
Claude Rains
Cmdr. Bob Cole
Bill Carter
Dr Fred Steele
Umberto Orsini
Eve Barnett
Maya Brent
Cathy Cole
Jacqueline Derval
Barrington
Renzo Palmer
Gen. Varreck
Carlo D’Angelo
Mrs Collins
Carol Danell
Boyd
Jim Dolen
Pat
Joe Pollini
Dr Cornfield
John Stacy
Lewis Boyd
Massimo Righi
Moran
Giuliano Gemma

Director
Antonio Margheriti (as Anthony Dawson)