From California to Hawaii

Though California seems to have set the record for mention of the movie among various news sources in 1956, which seems logical for the motion picture capital of the nation, newspaper articles steadily continued to pop up all over the planet.  A "local believer" in Hawaii, noted here in a letter to the editor, also had something to say.

(Cr: Barry Greenwood)

 

The Face You've Seen, the Voice you Know

We noted previously the voice-over role of late actor Harry Morgan, who played the role of military pilot "Red Dog One" during the famous UFO encounter over Washington, D.C. in 1952, but his was not the only famous disembodied voice to play a part in the movie.

Olan Soule (1909-1994) provided much of the off-camera narration for "U.F.O." Having started his career in radio in 1933, he quickly branched out to TV in its fledgling years and way beyond, and also had movie roles galore.  According to numerous sources, Soule was a deceptively thin 135 lb. bundle of energy whose "chameleon" voice was heard on 7,000 radio shows, commercials and TV cartoons.  He appeared on some 200 TV series and films, and chalked up roles in more than 60 motion pictures.  His authoritative narration in "U.F.O." seemed as essential as Ernest Gold's music score.

As long as we're discussing voices, another of the movie's narrators was actor Marvin Miller, who played the title character on TV's "The Millionaire" in the fifties.  Not to be confused with another series, this was the fictional one where Miller's character would give away one million dollars to a deserving person during every weekly episode, with the money donated by charitable multi-millionaire benefactor "John Beresford Tipton," who insisted strictly upon anonymity. Wouldn't you?  Miller's movie involvement is actually mentioned in his bio at the International Movie Data Base site.

Right Movie, Wrong Actor

A couple of articles from The Hollywood Citizen News during the course of one week in 1956 alerted movie viewers to the premiere of "U.F.O." in Los Angeles.  Tom Towers must have been aware, and likely amused, when one movie reviewer who should have known better listed him as "Tom Tryon."  I will assume the reviewer mixed Towers' name up with actor Thomas (Tom) Tryon, known for his appearance on a TV Western series, a starring role in a few motion pictures, and later appreciated for his fiction writing and work as a producer.

(Thanks to researcher Barry Greenwood for the articles.)

Ground Observer

Production Note:  This could be considered movie trivia, and though I've been aware of this minor little issue for years, I've never thought about it long enough to mention it here.  Basically, in scenes where Al Chop (Tom Towers) walks through the streets of Washington, D.C. at the end of the motion picture, just before the UFO film analysis portion, there seem to be little white-ish objects placed on the sidewalks and even near his parked car.  Because they stand alone, their locations devoid of trash or anything similar, I assume they served as markers showing Towers where to walk or perhaps as objects to designate camera positions or the like.  They are readily apparent to the viewer, and if they are what their presence suggests, it is puzzling that something so obvious and actually distracting from the story's flow (to me) would have been missed during filming.  Of course, I could be wrong about all of this, and we'll probably never know for sure unless sharper eyes or better optical equipment than mine discover another solution.

Planting the Movie's Roots

I was pleasantly surprised a few days ago to get an e-mail from Josh, a documentary video producer whose work is apparently well-established on YouTube, where his projects are known under the designation Red Panda Koala.  The documentarian was wrapping up an historical account of government UFO activity and reports preceding and eventually resulting in the making of "U.F.O." by a very determined producer Clarence Greene.

As well, I was honored and, again, surprised to learn that videographer Josh had dedicated his production to me.

"The First UFO Movie Ever Made" is now up on YouTube and his hard work and care are apparent.  Josh also included a sound bite from the last (and final) broadcast interview I did in 2006, on the late Errol Bruce-Knapp's Canadian radio show, "Strange Days Indeed."

Anytime somebody emphasizes the importance of the 1956 motion picture to UFO history -- and  hasn't Clarence Greene's cinematic alert been somewhat "vindicated" now that the UFO (UAP) subject is rather fashionable and "real" among government and military personnel? -- I'm all in for the effort.  Thanks, Josh.

By the way, "U.F.O." the motion picture is also available on YouTube for free viewing, so be sure to wander through history for about 92 minutes if you've never seen it.

You can find Josh's YouTube presentation by typing in the title at your favorite search engine, or at the following site (I'll also put it up on the link list soon):  https://youtu.be/1OUtl3WJpsA

Used as a Training Film?

Veteran researcher and frequent contributor Barry Greenwood contributes this little gem from the Forth Worth Star-Telegram, October 6, 1956.  

"U.F.O." had premiered in theaters coast to coast just months previously in 1956, but from all indications the movie took on an unexpected versatility when it was shown as something of a training film for volunteer airplane-spotting members of a Civil Defense ground observer unit.

Whether watching the movie generated any legitimate UFO reports among ground observers is unknown, but the reasoning behind a presentation of "U.F.O." in this manner would be an interesting story in itself.

About Movie Industry Comments

The very media industry assembled to promote the entertainment aspect of motion pictures consistently demonstrated a lukewarm or puzzled response to "U.F.O." because its low key, documentary style couldn't find a perfect fit in Hollywood's world of fifties glitter, not even if one stretched the truth and looked upon the film as something akin to a product of science fiction.  It WASN'T sci-fi, but it wasn't all that entertaining, either.

In one entertainment news clipping shown here, we find a source placing blame on director Winston Jones for the movie's slow, often lackluster pace -- hardly surprising, since Jones had no firm resume' as a director and had actually escalated his status following a career working with Hollywood props.  Nevertheless, knowing how close co-producer Clarence Greene remained to the project, Jones likely reflected the production and vision pretty much the way Greene desired.  Ditto the script writer, Francis Martin.

Note, too, that throughout our several-year journey on this blog, there was nary a word about the film relating to Greene's partner on this and other films, producer Russell Rouse.  Like a child in a single parent family, "U.F.O." was dependent, I would suggest overwhelmingly, upon one daddy:  Greene himself.


(Visual Credit:  Barry Greenwood)

Foreign Reviews - 1956, 1958, 1960

At least for now, these are the last of a few foreign language motion picture reviews.  Next time, a page in English.


(Credit:  Barry Greenwood)

Motion Picture Herald, June 1956

(Credit:  Barry Greenwood)

Publicity: June, July, October 1956

This miscellaneous collection of clippings spotlights producer Clarence Greene himself, along with snippets of movie reviews.  Of special interest is a motion picture promotion involving silver (we assume tin foil) pie plates organized by a theater manager, exactly the kind of zany publicity maneuver United Artists invited in their quest to draw people to the box office.

Looking at Greene's 1956 picture of confidence, we are again reminded how fickle Hollywood success can be, as, it is alleged, he eventually died nearly penniless in a nursing home.


(Scan Credit:  Barry Greenwood)

Foreign Cinema - August 7, 1957

(Credit:  Barry Greenwood)

News and Reviews, 1956 & 1963

Among movie-related articles from 1956 and 1963 shown here are a somewhat smarmy review, another piece regarding a thumbs-up for "U.F.O." from the Catholic Church's National League of Decency, and an important little mention about United Artists.

From Broadcasting magazine we learn that United Artists compiled a package of 60 films available to interested TV stations in May of 1963, which neatly explains why my first opportunity to see "U.F.O." as a teenager occurred in the mid-sixties via a local TV station, and this brief published comment indicates that the motion picture started to air on afternoon or late-late TV shows in locations large and small all over the USA between 1963-1965. 

For the most part, unsuspecting TV viewers probably never even heard of the film, let alone realize or cherish any historical importance it conveyed.  The "good stuff" for typical TV screen popcorn munchers would easily be lost, secondary to marginal acting and a documentary style devoid of high dramatic effect.


(Credit:  Barry Greenwood)

Foreign Cinema - December 23, 1958

We'll be posting several foreign reviews, but I will leave it up to readers properly equipped online or with time to meander through the text to translate.  Today's entry is said to be written in Portugese, as are additional pages we will post here, in between reviews presented in English.

(Credit:  Barry Greenwood)

Box Office Roulette

For a motion picture said to be a loser at the box office, these glowing reports from the Motion Picture Herald during the summer of 1956, and apparently on into at least November suggest otherwise.  Is there really any accounting for accounting in Hollywood?

(Document credit:  Barry Greenwood)

Certified by God

Researcher Barry Greenwood continues to unearth publicity information and other documentation relating to the movie.  Today we're highlighting, more or less, the cinematic blessings bestowed upon "U.F.O." by the National League of Decency.

As you see, it's indeed fortunate that producers Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse intended neither to elicit sympathy for key personnel's "questionable ethics," nor to lend credence to "spiritistic practices," thereby granting the movie a comfortable rating of A-I, designated "suitable for all audiences."

The National League of Decency, well-described via Wikipedia and other sources, was basically the Catholic religion's attempt to rate motion pictures based upon its strict moral standards.  We would like to believe this was intended only for followers of the Church, but, alas, those of other religions and belief systems were also targeted, the League having acted essentially as a government within a government.