The Cape Canaveral Monsters

Did You Know?

• Four songs played during the film are listed in the opening credits: Please Somebody, Love is the Thing, Think of Me, and I'll Find a Way.
• Please Somebody was released in February 1960 on Lute Records as the B-side of a 45 rpm single by Terry Miller.
• The film was mentioned in dialogue and a poster of it appeared on the Robot Monster episode of I Hate Everything: The Search for the Worst in 2015.

Plot

Two white circles on a black background move as a woman's voice states they need human bodies for their mission. A man and woman leave a beach near Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the circles cause their car to crash, killing both. The extraterrestrials take over the bodies; the woman's face is cut and the man's left arm is torn off. The male alien, Hauron, leaves his severed arm behind, and the female alien, Nadja, retrieves it to sew back on at their artificial cave headquarters.

When Hauron reconnoiters Cape Canaveral, guard dogs tear off his reattached arm. He uses a disruptor ray to shoot down rockets after launch. Rocket scientists work to understand the failures. Tom Wright and Sally Markham, launch site employees, go on a double date with Bob and Shirley.

Tom suspects an illegal transmitter is causing the failures. While searching for it, Bob and Shirley are kidnapped. Bob dies during capture; Nadja grafts his arm and chin onto Hauron. Shirley and Bob are transmitted to the aliens' planet.

Tom and Sally find the cave and are captured. Tom frees himself by waving his wristwatch's radium dial at an electronic device, then returns for Sally.

Production

The film was shot in Griffith Park, Bronson Caves, and on a beach in Malibu, California, though set in and around Cape Canaveral, Florida. These same locations were used by Tucker for his 1953 film Robot Monster. Linda Connell, daughter of cinematographer W. Merle Connell, appeared only in this movie. Harriet Dichter, credited as Woman Scientist, may or may not have been related to executive producer Lionel Dichter; neither had other known film or television roles.

The movie was originally planned as a color film with a two-week shooting schedule and multiple takes, financed by a group of dentists or doctors. Budget cuts forced black-and-white photography and single takes. No full production cost is known; Bill Warren later wrote the budget must have been minuscule. CCM Productions Inc. produced the film and made no others.

The movie was intended for states' rights distribution but may not have been released theatrically; no contemporary posters or lobby cards have been found. DVDs appear with different illustrations.

Reception

No contemporary reviews are known. British critic Phil Hardy later called the film a belated entry in the reds-under-the-bed cycle, linking Cold War paranoia to science fiction. Bill Warren described it as a stilted, limited disaster, though Tucker seemed sincere. Kay Glenn wrote that while not as inept as Robot Monster, it is full of plot holes, bad acting, and unintentional laughs from the bickering aliens.

Bryan Senn dismissed it as an obscure curio neither good nor bad enough to stand out. The film holds a 3.5/10 on IMDb from 248 votes. Several authors note sexual and gender undertones: Nadja and Hauron appear to enjoy an active sex life, possibly a first for invading aliens. Bruce Eder suggested a greater emphasis on the aliens' lusty side might have made a more interesting movie.

David Elroy Goldweber observed sexist treatment of women in Tucker's sci-fi films, with helpless Earthwomen in bondage, undressed, and generally useless.

Ownership

The film was not copyrighted until 1988, though opening credits show a 1960 copyright by CCM Productions Inc. Turner Classic Movies and Bloomberg state Paramount Pictures holds the copyright; the American Film Institute says Republic Pictures Corp. holds it. Both companies are now owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation. Several streaming sites and DVD sellers list the film as public domain.