Academics, and others, frequently argued that the whole alien entity and abduction scenario were inspired and influenced by movies. Numerous books, interviews, and other comment sources, showed an "expert" waving away any such nonsense as the product of too many movies or television shows.
People nodded, accepting at face value that blanket assessment. Several academic papers addressed it and argued well - but without reflecting any real investigation into timelines and chronologies for the sightings they were dismissing.
One strong visual image of the "alien" came in the Man from Planet X (1951). A short, small statured actor was the alien. He had a dome shaped head, large handlike ears and a long beaked nose. It was spooky looking.
The same year, Flying Saucer (1951) used the theme to convey the military's favorite theme of the era, namely that the "disks" were products of soviet attempts to induce fear in the American people. No aliens and a small man-made saucer.
A more popular film was 1951's The Thing From Another World (or just The Thing). Based on a short story it was gripping and showed a tall, vegetable-based alien with evil intent, facing off with a group of military and scientists in the frozen north. Towering James Arness played this alien. The short story was much more like the later remake in the 1980's starring Kurt Russell. This one , with its "watch the skies" can be understood as both a warning of potential polar invasions from hostile countries as well as potential dangers from "outer space."
Also, that year was The Day The Earth Stood Still. Making notable a large metallic robot and an alien played by a tall, slender, and youthful Michael Rennie. An anti atomic weapons movie cloaked in science fiction.
It Came From Outer Space (1953)
Invaders from Mars (1953)
War of the Worlds (1955)
Robert Monsters from Mars (1954)
Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
Killers from Space (1954) - Abduction story
Target Earth (1954) - features a robot
This Island Earth (1955)
Forbidden Planet (1956) . Humanity as its own worst enemy.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). The film interpreted the book via a lens of communist takeover of a society and focuses on the "no choice" aspect of such. Aliens are seed pods.
It Conquered the World (1956). Alien is plant-based lifeform.
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957). Aliens were small, child sized, with large teardrop shaped heads, long pointed ears, bulging eyes, and prominent veins in the scalp. Their form may have been inspired by the Kellyville-Hopkinsville (KY) alien encounter with a farm family.
Kronos (1967) A robot.
Brain from Planet Arous (1957)
Mysterion (1957) A Japanese made movie.
Not of the Earth (1957)
The Blog (1958). Grossed 4 million.
I married a Monster from Outer Space (1958). Veiny faced aliens who take over bodies.
Invisible Invaders (1959). A blending of zombies and aliens.
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959). While recognized as bad it was successful on the small driven in and theater circuit.
In 1961, a couple in New Hampshire will report what is considered the first major alien-human encounter and missing time and/or abduction. The Betty and Barney Hill case includes sketches of the "leader" they encountered. A Round headed being with slightly slanted eyes who wore a uniform of some kind. Skeptics had often charged that the couple had been influenced by television shows such as Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits.
These shows did have aliens, "Sixth Fingers", Outer Limits (1963), "Bellario Shield" (1964) and "Galaxy Being" on Twilight Zone (1963). These, however, appeared after the incident and could not have influenced the original drawings.
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