By any technical standards, this film is a mess on par with Ed Wood. But what a glorious mess it is! The film’s imperfections create a camp classic, one whose reputation is certainly deserved. Despite the numerous shortcomings, I was never bored with this drive-in classic.
The film’s plot is confusing, so I’ll do my best to explain it. Mars invades Earth to capture voluptuous women for breeding purposes. The invasion force consists of around five aliens probably due to budget restraints. They land in Peurto Rico and destroy a NASA spaceship (which they believe is a missile). The spaceship crashes back on Earth, and an android escapes to terrorize the coast. Two NASA scientists and a general learn of this and do all they can to both halt the invasion and retrieve the android. Also, the Martians have a goofy-looking monster in tow who goes head to head with the android (hence the title).
There are several reasons why this is a camp classic. First and foremost, the acting is incredibly over-the-top. The heads of the invasion force are played wonderfully (by my definition) by the homunculus Lou Cutell and the absolutely gorgeous playboy playmate Marilyn Hanold. Their b-movie chemistry is very good, demonstrated by the memorable scene in which they decide whether the captive women are suitable or not. Robert Reilly plays the android Frank. His scenes at the press conference early on are priceless. Also, the obvious budget restraints elicit much laughter. In the press conference for the first voyage into space conducted by NASA, the panel consists of two scientists, a military general, and the android. The press is represented by about four reporters. Also, the Martian spaceship appears to be much bigger on the inside than the outside. The two songs played repeatedly on the soundtrack are “groovy” pop-garage numbers that you’ll forget as soon as the film is done. For all its shortcomings, it is actually quickly paced and contains much of what we love in flicks like this.
