''Night Caller from Outer Space'' (also known as ''The Night Caller'' and ''Blood Beast from Outer Space'') is a British 1965

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

directed by

John Gilling John Gilling (29 May 1912 – 22 November 1984) was an English film director and screenwriter, born in London. He was known for his horror film, horror movies, especially those he made for Hammer Films, for whom he directed ''The Shadow of the ...

and starring

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing ...

Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Early life Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son of Eleanor ...

and Patricia Haines. It was written by

Jim O'Connolly James Philip O'Connolly (23 February 1926 – December 1986), known professionally as Jim O'Connolly, was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as associate producer of many of the ''Edgar Wallace Myst ...

based on Frank Crisp's 1961 novel ''The Night Callers''. A colourised version of the film was released in 2011.

Plot

Scientist Dr Morley and his American associate Jack Costain detect a meteorite heading to Earth. After determining where the meteorite has crashed, they and their aides investigate a meteorite in the British countryside, discovering that it is an alien device from Ganymede, a moon of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

. The device is in the shape of a small sphere. While working nights at the lab, secretary Ann Barlow sees something moving in the lab. Dr Morley attempts to communicate with the creature, but he is killed. When the creature escapes the lab, Costain begins to track it. Shortly thereafter, teenage girls begin to go missing after answering an advertisement in ''Bikini Girl'' magazine. It turns out the alien wants to use women from Earth for breeding.

Cast

as Dr. Jack Costain *

as Dr. Morley * Patricia Haines as Ann Barlow *

Alfred Burke Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor who played Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's southeast district of Peckham, the son of ...

as Detective Supintendent Hartley * John Carson as the Major *

Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was an English actor best known for playing bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in television, film and stage productions from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was a BAFTA TV A ...

as Reg Lilburn *

Marianne Stone Marianne Stone (23 August 1922 – 21 December 2009) was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone app ...

as Madge Lilburn *

Stanley Meadows Stanley Meadows (born 14 July 1931 in Stepney, London, England) is a retired British film and television actor. Meadows was the son of a shopowner in Stepney Green. He won a scholarship to Forest School, in Epping Forest, and eventually graduate ...

as Detective Tom Grant *

Aubrey Morris Aubrey Morris (born Aubrey Steinberg; 1 June 1926 – 15 July 2015) was a British actor known for his appearances in the films '' A Clockwork Orange'' and '' The Wicker Man''. Early life and career Morris was one of nine children born to Becky ...

as Thorburn *

Ballard Berkeley Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Life a ...

as Commander Savage *

Geoffrey Lumsden Geoffrey Forbes Lumsden (26 December 1914 – 4 March 1984) was a British character actor who had a lengthy career on television. He often played pompous upper-class characters, army officers and the like. Biography Lumsden was born in ...

as Colonel Davy * Tom Gill as Police Commissioner's secretary * Jack Watson as Sergeant Hawkins * Barbara French as Joyce Malone

Production

It was the first science fiction film featuring John Saxon.

Music

UK prints of the film feature Alan Haven's version of the hit instrumental "Image" as the theme played over the opening credits. Export prints feature a lounge number titled "The Night Caller" written by

Albert Hague Albert Hague (born Albert Marcuse, October 13, 1920 – November 12, 2001) was a German–born American songwriter and actor. Early life Hague was born to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. His father, Harry Marcuse, was a psychiatrist a ...

and sung by Mark Richardson.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "An uncommonly intelligent little science fiction thriller, competently mounted and convincingly scripted. The fantasy of the first half comes off better than the more straightforward investigations towards the end, and the finale is something of an anticlimax. But the acting is always more than adequate, and Patricia Haines in particular manages to bring some character to the stock figure of the female scientist." Stuart Byron of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that "it is simply too well-made for its own commercial good" and that it was "far above average of its kind, but it eschews a standard action-adventure climax in favor of a 'philosophical' one." He noted that audiences at a 42nd Street screening showed their displeasure with the film "quite volubly".

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

called it a "well-done sci-fi thriller" and gave it two-and-a-half stars out of four. ''Creature Feature'' gave the movie 2 out of 5 stars, liking the direction. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' gave the movie 2 out of five stars, finding both the script and production values worthwhile. ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "You are an alien sent to Earth to find women to help repopulate your planet. How would you go about recruiting them? A wanted advert in ''Bikini Girl'' magazine, of course." The reviewer went on to call the film a "cheerful piece of nonsense."

Home release

It was released on DVD on 22 December 2011.

References

External links

*
''The Night Caller''
at Moira Reviews {{John Gilling 1965 films British science fiction films British black-and-white films 1960s science fiction films Films set in England Films directed by John Gilling Films based on British novels 1960s English-language films 1960s British films English-language science fiction films