The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)

A thought-provoking sci-fi, horror and mystery thriller with a gripping tale of survival that explores themes about human beings’ capacity for both destruction and redemption

Directed by Terence Fisher
Written by Harry Spalding
Produced by Robert L. Lippert, Jack Parsons
Cinematography Arthur Lavis
Edited by Robert Winter
Music by Elisabeth Lutyens
Production company Lippert Films
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Running time 62 minutes

Cast

Willard Parker as Jeff Nolan
Virginia Field as Peggy Hatton
Dennis Price as Quinn Taggart
Thorley Walters as Edgar (Ed) Otis
Vanda Godsell as Violet (Vi) Courtland
David Spenser as Mel Brenard
Anna Palk as Lorna Brenard

Trailer

For this post, I’d like to present an underrated and overlooked sci-fi film from the 1960s. In fact, I had forgotten about it and neglected to include the film as part of my recent free eBook, Sci-Fi Film Fiesta: The Swingin’ 60s – The Complete Book. (See download link below So, for your enjoyment may I present, The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)

Read on for more.....Spoilers follow below.....

Britain and possibly the world has just been devastated by an alien-controlled robot invasion by means of a poisonous gas!

The alien robots can reanimate dead human bodies to do their bidding!

A handful of survivors led by an American test pilot fight to survive both the robots and the walking dead!

Can the few survivors find a way to escape and give hope to the continued existence of the human race?

The dawning of yet another day in a quaint English village and no-one gave a thought to the possibility that this day would begin any differently to any other day in their comfortably predictable lives. That is until a steam train careening through the countryside with a dead engineer in the cabin reached a bend in the tracks and crashed in a violent maelstrom of steam and metal…..Until a car with the driver slumped over the wheel crashed headlong into a brick wall…..Until a plane, with an unresponsive pilot crashed into woodland…..Until an umbrella-wielding bowler-hatted public servant commuter suddenly and inexplicably dropped dead at the train station. No time for contemplation of Life’s vagaries as everywhere people collapsed where they stood - stone dead.

An eerie and ominous pall had descended on to the little English village with the lifeless bodies of its residents strewn about insensible as to the fact that something very wrong had indeed taken place.

Suddenly inserting itself into this sinister silence, a vehicle appears being driven by Jeff Nolan who is apparently hail and hearty and full of determination to discover what has happened. In order to ascertain what has transpired, Nolan picks up a shortwave radio from an electrical goods shop and then checks on a couple of stricken people lying in the street to determine they are dead. He even stops to pick up a dead bird off the ground and incongruously carefully relocates it to where it won’t get trodden on. It also confirms that other living creatures have been afflicted by whatever has been killing people.

With rifle and radio in hand, Nolan enters a local inn and proceeds to test the shortwave radio and the TV at the bar. Instead of the expected analogue station broadcasts or static and vestiges of signals from the cosmic background radiation of the Universe, Nolan can only discern a strange rhythmic pulsing sound emanating from both devices.

While being absorbed in his quest to get to the bottom of this strange state of affairs, Nolan is surprised by the unexpected presence of two living humans: Quinn Taggart who is brandishing a hand gun and his apparent wife, Peggy. Taggart demands to know who he is and to show any identification he may have on him. Amid the disconcerting pervading silence of death, there’s something jarringly unsettling about the appearance of these two remaining representatives of the living, in particular with Taggart.

“None of us know who our friends are”

The coming together of individuals gives rise to a coalescing of information and hypotheses about the situation they are facing and about each of them as individuals. Taggart, reflecting some of the fears and paranoia of the time, is put more at ease when learning that Nolan is American and not as he suspected an enemy responsible for the present calamity. Apparently, the situation is the same all over the south of England. Nolan is a military aircraft test pilot, who had been testing a new experimental craft. It was part of a “joint project.” involving Britain, Canada and the US testing a “vertical-rising jet,” a Harrier Jump Jet presumably. Everything was normal when he ascended that morning but when he returned, he discovered that everyone he came across was dead- stone dead.

While Taggart checks out the area around the inn, Peggy confides to Nolan that she and Taggart are not married. When the disaster occurred, she had been in an oxygen tent at the hospital and had left when she couldn’t contact any of the staff. No details are forth-coming as to why she had been admitted to hospital which is interesting as it may have a bearing on her state of health (mental health perhaps?) which can’t very well be admitted to strangers. All Peggy can offer by way of response to Nolan’s enquiry is to say, “I'm all right now.”

“It's every man for himself”

When Taggart returns, it seems that the current situation is not just confined to the village or indeed the south. This leaves the question open as to how to proceed and it it is not long before a divergence of priorities begins to emerge. Nolan believes that like themselves, “there must be some people left” who might “head for the nearest town.” He would rather stick around for a while to “see if anyone showed up.” On this basis if they wish to survive, they would need all the help they could get.

Taggart on the other hand, is not keen on collective cooperation as a means of survival. According to his way of thinking, the current situation confronting them is no accident, but the start of a war and that “whoever did it has won the war” and that “all they've got to do is to move in and take over.” Survival therefore, would be based on the notion of “every man for himself.”

Later on while outside, Nolan notices that the wrecked car he had earlier inspected is now devoid of its apparent deceased driver. Suddenly a voice calls out to him belonging to one certain Edgar Otis, the aforementioned dead driver, miraculously resurrected it would seem.

It is quite apparent that Otis is not a man in possession of courageous attributes and would rather seek solace from a bottle of alcohol than confront the dire circumstances they are being faced with. To him it seems that survivors like he and Nolan are in reality already dead.

Otis is in the company of a rather amply endowed (not in terms of courage or intellect) woman of middling years by the name of Violet Courtland. The pair had taken refuge in a grocer’s shop on the logical basis that "at least we'd be able to eat." Neither individual seems at all equipped for surviving the situation they are in.

Back at the hotel, poor Violet is in a state of denial what with worrying about not having a thing to wear and hoping things don't go back to normal until she “can get a proper wardrobe.”

Nolan meanwhile, peruses a line of thought involving where Otis and Violet had been the previous night. Both had attended a 25th anniversary party of their company – Chempex Limited. When they had both emerged from their overnight “stay” in one of the company’s labs, they discovered that everyone had gone. Nolan deduced that the lab’s air had been “treated to prevent contamination.” This fact together with Peggy’s hospital stay and his own altitude test flight suggests that the world had been subject to some kind of gas attack. (And just where had Taggart been?)

Poor Violet can’t seem to get her head around the enormity of what has happened along with not being able to rely on normal means of communication for information, fretting over the fate of her son who’s at sea and the absence of the military during such a dire situation.

While having been primed in her mind to grasp at anything that could offer hope, Violet suddenly spots through the window the presence of two what seem to be strange silver-suited individuals walking by slowly outside. To Violet, it can only mean they are from the “air force” and declares joyously, at last “they've come!” So outside she bounds and bounces after the two silver strollers with blind hope and optimism in tow.

Having finally got their attention, reckless relief is replaced by wretched incomprehension on Violet’s face as she is confronted by the decidedly inhuman nature of the two intruders. One of the creatures abruptly reaches out with his arm and makes contact with Violet and unleashes a surge of energy which kills her on the spot. Did it react only when Violet seemed to intervene in whatever purpose it and its shiny compatriot were engage in? Had they mistakenly perceived Violet to be a threat?

From the inn, Nolan and Taggart fire their guns at the two creatures but with no effect at all. After they move off, a distraught Otis grieves over the prone body of poor Violet, probably the one thing in life he cares about. There is nothing for it now but to remove her body to the inn.

Meanwhile, two young folk drive up in a car. The couple, Mel and Lorna had been on their way to Lorna’s Mother’s house in Liverpool. They had left London the day before completely broke, so that night hey broke into an abandoned air-raid shelter where they then spent the night. This fact also confirms Nolan’s earlier theory about the one factor they all shared in common that could explain their survival of the gas attack. Like the others, the next morning Mel and Lorna had awoken to find everyone dead.

Mel seems to aptly represent an angry young generation that is disdainful and is suspicious of authority. His young wife Lorna is heavily pregnant and vulnerable and only wishes to get to her mother’s house before she gives birth. Under the current circumstances, it seems likely that the future of the human race will rest heavily on both their young shoulders being “probably the most important people on earth right now.”

“Have you got men like that where you come from?”

Nolan decides that the group would be better off if they stick together but that they need more weapons should the alien intruders return. By now it is obvious that the creatures are not human. Otis suggest that they might find some guns in a civil defense hall at the Regimental Headquarters on the East side of the village.

When the group arrive at the drill hall of the defence establishment, Taggart who has has not revealed anything about his past or his survival, easily picks the locks securing the door. A search of the building reveals drill rifles minus firing pins and a small cache of handguns and ammunition. Interestingly, Taggart displays his ease and familiarity with such weapons. An educated man intent on hiding his past, who can pick locks, who has some expertise handling weapons and who has a strong instinct for his own survival. Ex-military? Intelligence services? Criminal involvement?

“We're never, never going to get out of this wretched village.”

That night back at the hotel Nolan discovers Otis heavily involved in the contents of a a glass of alcohol instead of preparing to stand guard. Since the death of violet, Otis has sunk further into a state of despondency and wonders what difference it would make if he drinks himself into the grave given the circumstances. After Nolan points out how in fact he really is needed, Otis agrees to go out and take his turn standing guard.

Soon after Mel comes in bearing a box of bank notes he had purloined from the local bank. Many people, particularly Gen Z and Millenials, today might relate to his talks of wanting money so badly for a house, a car, decent clothes, a telly, a washing machine, good furniture, a place to go on a holiday, a cruise – all those things other people might take for granted but which he, his wife and others like him are excluded from having. It’s like the breaking of a social contract involving the promise of a good life if you get an education and work hard only to find that the way is being blocked even for just simply obtaining a secure roof over ones head. Sometimes circumstances can force a revaluation of one’s social, economic and other priorities - as the group of survivors are about to discover.

Lorna is surprised and frightened by the vehemence Mel displays when he suggests that just three days ago he would have killed for that money in the box. The irony of it all is just how futile it all is now seeing that money is “absolutely useless. You can't eat it. You can't wear it. You can't even write on it.” Mel then proceeds to cast the bank notes into the fire place which causes Taggart to panic and frantically attempt to retrieve the money before it burns. Another interesting clue about his past and character perhaps!

In the middle of the night, Lorna probably experiencing cravings and discomfort leavers her heavily pregnant body from the sofa and makes her way to the kitchen for a glass of milk. Nolan standing guard outside observes her through the window. Suddenly, he notices one of the aliens approach and halt outside the kitchen to watch Lorna. Strangely enough it appears to be content just to observe Lorna before moving away and showing no interest in the others inside nor of Nolan in close proximity to it..

How to account for such unexpected behavior? Could it be an indication as to the motives of the aliens? Do the aliens anticipate a a certain number of humans to have survived which they require to be alive and conscious for whatever purpose? With the pregnant Lorna being left alone by the observing alien, does this mean that they intend to allow humans to breed as a means to having future generations of human slaves to carry out whatever tasks and roles required of them to perform? So many unanswered questions!

“She hasn't got any eyes, just gray blobs”

Meanwhile, Taggart wakes and begins putting a predetermined plan into action by quickly gathering his clothes and taking a store of food in preparation for his solo clandestine departure. At the same time in an upstairs bedroom, buxom Violet has come to life and proceeds to move through the house. After merely observing the sleeping survivors downstairs, Violet registers Taggart’s presence and makes her way towards him with the protruding blank orbs of her eye sockets directed straight ahead. Taggart sees her and quickly opens fire, hitting her twice, possibly killing her.

For Nolan there is nothing for it but for the group to relocate to the military facility and wait till dawn before heading south away from the village.

“There aren't any rules. There aren't any orders. We can make any kind of world we like.”

Before the group leaves for the drill hall, we notice Otis gently and lovingly covering up Violet’s dead body which speaks volumes about him despite his rather dissolute behavior and lack of intestinal fortitude.

Nolan has become the natural leader of the group as he issues orders to the others and organizes matters conducive to their survival. In fact, he seems to have taken on the role as surrogate father figure to Mel by giving the young man responsibility, direction and a sense of purpose.

Peggy has assumed a more maternal and caring role by having the responsibility of looking after the well-being of the young pregnant Lorna.

And what about the mysterious and contrarian Taggart? We can gauge his duplicitous nature just from his sarcastic-laden response to Nolan’s directive to him to check the back of the drill hall when they are outside: “Anything you want, Professor.”

Taggart’s self-serving and controlling nature comes to the fore in his determination not to abide by the plan to go south when he pistol whips Nolan when the latter has his back to him. He then accosts Peggy and informs her they will both be going north. At gun-point Taggart forces Peggy to his car and they drive off.

When Taggart pulls into the village, Peggy complains about being bitterly cold and Taggart agrees to get her some warmer clothing. Peggy uses this time to take the opportunity to escape. Taggart reemerges to discover Peggy making a dash for the inn. Suddenly two silver suited aliens steadily and inexorably approach his car. Being no fool and being of a mercenary bent, Taggart guns the MG and quickly heads north out of the village leaving Peggy to her fate. Perhaps someone like Taggart would be perceived by the alien invaders as being a definite threat who must be eliminated and possibly be made use of under their total control if reanimated.

Meanwhile, the inn has become a veritable House of Horror. Peggy has spotted one of the aliens approaching, along with a number of reanimated gray bulgy-eyed village folk slowly and methodically coming in search of her. Peggy also being no fool heads off upstairs with clip-clopping alacrity and hides out in a closet. Now who would think of looking in a closet for someone who is intent hiding, I ask you? Apparently the human zombies have no concept of the game of hide and seek as one of them leaves without detecting her, despite staring right at the door. In this rather tension-filled sequence, it is almost as if the invading aliens had no real intention of harming Peggy at all but were motivated by something else. One more of the many unanswered questions to crop up in this movie.

“It's a machine, a robot”

Thanking her lucky stars, Peggy seizes the opportunity to escape, but as luck would have it though, her exit from the inn is blocked by the menacing approach of an alien and and several weirdy-eyed villagers. Nolan, having departed the drill hall with instructions for the others to to leave in 30 minutes if he doesn’t return, arrives on the scene. Concluding that Peggy is in peril, he runs the alien down with his vehicle and then opens fire on two of the zombie villagers. The mangled body of the alien reveals it to be in fact a robot. Americans have a funny way of pronouncing the word, ‘robot.’

Nolan theorizes that the human villagers have become “human slaves to these machines” who have the power to “paralyze all the bodily functions and then reactivate them.” The humans having been reduced to the status of “sightless and mindless slaves” would if they got away “be worse than animals” being devoid of “any mind or any intelligence.” (Ah! Love the smell of Cold War and anti-Commie paranoia first thing in the morning!)

“Where she goes, the baby goes too, you know”

Upon returning to the hall, Nolan learns that Lorna has gone into labor. He directs Otis and Mel to go into town to collect items that Lorna might need for for the baby. Lorna soon gives birth to a daughter and both she and her husband now have the adult responsibility of being parents, the enormity of which seems to have dawned on Mel who has had to grow up quickly from being a petulant and angry boy to becoming a responsible adult.

“By the way, uh, where's Otis?”

“Oh, he turned chicken”

Plans now have to be made to exit the village which will not prove to be an easy task with Lorna having just given birth and having to bring the newborn along as well as Otis’ need for the company of pink elephants.

“Without the beam they'd just be dead hunks of machinery”

The noise of the radio static has given Nolan the idea that it is a homing beacon which the alien invaders use to direct their robots. Therefore, if the transmitter can be located and destroyed the the robots will most likely be disabled. With this in mind, Nolan constructs a primitive direction finder to use to locate the transmitter. Together with Mel, Nolan takes a series of readings and plots them on map which leads them to an old military repeater station which the aliens have been using.

From this point we now have two sets of parallel sources of climactic tension. First of all, at the army drill hall Taggart who has had his comeuppance being now under the control of the alien robots, has arrived and leads the robots inside. Peggy frantically calls Nolan on the radio alerting him to whats happening. Secondly, with time fast running out the pressure is on Nolan to rig up some explosives to use to destroy the transmitter and disable the robots

In the drill hall building, we see the robots gradually closing in on a terrified Peggy who protectively attempts to shield an equally terrified but very vulnerable Lorna and her baby. At the same time Nolan attempts to set up the explosives next to the transmitter building while the robots advance ever closer to him and to Mel who is operating the blasting mechanism.

Meanwhile, Otis miraculously recovers from his drunken tryst with the pink elephants to see an armed grey bulgy-eyed Taggart and shoots him dead. He seems to be aghast at the fact that he actually killed someone and that he had found the courage to do so when the circumstances called for such drastic action.

“She's a very important young lady. All of a sudden people mean something again”

After Nolan and Mel arrive back at the drill hall, a new evacuation plan is formulated involving Nolan obtaining and piloting a plane which the group will use to fly south. It is hoped that any other survivors who see the plane will begin moving to the south of the country as well. The future for humanity is both precarious but hopeful.

Points of Interest

The Earth Died Screaming was filmed at Shepperton Studios, with location shooting in the village of Shere in Surrey.

While watching The Earth Dies Screaming, I couldn’t help but recall the earlier film, Target Earth (1954) n which human survivors wake up one day to find the lives they had taken for granted suddenly altered for ever. All that remains is for them is to find the means to survive the new circumstances and perhaps reclaim Earth for humanity. However, there are a few self-truths they will need to be confronted with. Then of course there’s Terence Fisher’s other films which are of a similar vein: Island of Terror (1966) and Night of the Big Heat (1967).

At least this film had a few more alien robots than just one robot lumbering about. The robots themselves reminded me (and many others no doubt) so much of the earlier versions of the Cybermen of Doctor Who. Unlike the silent robots of this film, the earlier Cybermen had those very silly and annoying high-pitched voices which mad it very hard to take them seriously.

In terms of gloomy and tense atmosphere the film is also reminiscent of the film version of John Wyndham’s, The Miodwich Cuckoos - Village of the Damned (1960).

In real-life the actors who played Peggy (Virginia Field) a and Nolan (Willard Parker) had been married since 1951 until 1992 when Virginia Field died. They, like the other actors in the film gave very competent and convincing performances.

The choice of title, The Earth Dies Screaming is an interesting one in that the film’s plot doesn’t really live up to all it implies. It does however grab one’s interest with its sense of drama and this low-budget film does at least contain much in the way of urgency, pace and tension all expertly handled by director Terence Fisher.

Although a rather short low-budget movie,The Earth Dies Screaming holds the viewer’s attention from start to finish with its pace, stark black-and-white cinematography and pervasive ominous sense of dread conveyed by the eerie silence of the deserted streets of the village. No time at all is wasted in the short running time available in this film which combines a good mix of character-centered drama, suspense, horror, mystery and action. Well worth a watch!

Full Film

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