1950s SF film
Teenagers from Outer Space, 1959, USA DIRECTED BY TOM GRAEFF
There's a much more interesting story surrounding Teenagers from Outer Space than the rather average skiffy flick that viewers see on the screen. No, it's not a great film but it is pretty good, and remarkably was made for just $14,000. It's also quite charming in places even if it is either cheesy or camp just about everywhere else. The screenplay is generally a bit weak and loaded with high drama and plenty of overcooked cliché, and the concept is typical of much of the low-budget science fiction for its time: aliens arrive on Earth in a flying saucer, searching for a suitable planet on which to graze their herds of lobster-like cattle. but the arrogant rapaciousness of this Supreme Race (an English-speaking species, logically enough) was questioned by one of their number called Derek, the only member of the crew with a conscience. He objected to their presence on Earth after he quickly found evidence of intelligent life here, and evading punishment Derek escapes and has an adventure in small-town America, on the run from his species and their flesh-dissolving ray guns, before learning he is also the revolutionary son of their leader and finally sacrifices himself to save the human race of Earth. If there's any religious subtext to be inferred here, see below.
Teenagers is unique in that it's mostly the work of Tom Graeff, who wrote, produced, acted, directed and edited, along with providing the cinematography, creating the special effects and coordinating the film's score from stock music that you can hear in countless other B-movies. But Graeff's life story is today becoming the main attraction, drawing almost as much attention as the film itself, with plans for both a biography and a documentary now in the works. Graeff was an interesting if also an ultimately tragic figure, being a man who had demons and lost his battle with them: there are parallels between the self-discovery of Derek in Teenagers and what was to happen to Graeff himself later after Teenagers' release. Critics weren't kind to the film although Graeff was praised for his versatility; the film was barely profitable yet the backers still saw no money from it, and with the stress of the financial wrangles and the negative press, circumstances conspired to give him a nervous breakdown. He soon declared himself to be the Messiah with a 1959 ad he placed in the Los Angeles Times, and the next year filed to have his name legally changed to "Jesus Christ II". It all went further downhill from there and ten years later, unable to sell a screenplay or find any work, he committed suicide in 1970, age 41.
I sometimes complain when films lack one person's vision and become diluted by what end up being committee decisions, although that's certainly not the case here; Graeff was able to see through to completion his own vision and did it incredibly cheaply as well as turning out a professional-looking end product. Having had his first film released during his senior year at college and later having worked with Roger Corman on Not of this Earth in 1957, he knew the craft of film-making well but, it's probably fair to say, was maybe less successful with its more artistic aspects. It's not hard to imagine Graeff having greater success with Teenagers if he'd had a better screenplay with which to work, as he could certainly bring a story to life and extract decent enough performances from his cast. On the movie's release a Los Angeles Times reviewer said of Graeff, "when he stops spreading himself so incredibly thin, I think his work will bear watching." Does the aftermath of Teenagers indicate what happens when a young, ambitious, talented Jack-of-all-trades becomes unhinged because he is denied the recognition and rewards he feels are his due? Who knows, but I would certainly like to see the documentary to learn more about him, if it ever get's completed.
( Cross-posted with cult_movie)