Teenagers from Outer Space (1959): watch the full film free, legally

Derek rejects the Gargon mission

Teenagers from Outer Space is a 1959 American independent black-and-white science fiction film, released in the United Kingdom as The Gargon Terror. Tom Graeff produced, wrote and directed it. David Love, Dawn Bender, Bryan Grant, Harvey B. Dunn and Tom Lockyear star. The film had the working titles The Boy from Outer Space and The Ray Gun Terror. Its tagline was “Hoodlums from Another World in a Ray-Gun Rampage!”

A flying saucer arrives on Earth looking for a planet suitable for raising Gargons, lobster-like but air-breathing monsters kept as a reserve food supply on the aliens' home planet. Crewman Thor vaporizes a dog named Sparky with a raygun. Derek finds an inscription on the dog's tag and realizes that Earth has intelligent inhabitants. Since mature Gargons are a grave menace, he says the crew must search elsewhere.

The other aliens see no reason to spare Earth. They consider themselves the supreme race, and pride themselves on a society where families and friendships are forbidden. Derek produces an ancient book distributed by an underground rebellion, commemorating humane periods of his world's history, and draws a raygun. The Captain and Thor disarm him. They plan to try and execute Derek.

Their Gargon falls sick in Earth's atmosphere, apparently showing that the planet cannot support it. Derek escapes while the crew is distracted, and the creature recovers. The Captain is then told that Derek is the son of the Leader of their race, though Derek does not know this. Thor is sent after him with orders to return him alive or kill him and any other intelligent beings. The remaining crew members depart, leaving the Gargon in a nearby cave.

Derek follows the address on Sparky's tag to Betty Morgan and her Grandpa, who rent out a room. He inadvertently becomes their boarder. He later accompanies Betty to an afternoon swim after reporter Joe Rogers cannot attend. Derek shows Betty Sparky's remains and explains Thor's weapon can vaporize people. Betty promises to help. Thor kills people who could raise the alarm, while Joe follows reports of skeletons appearing around town.

Graeff's Hollywood production

The film was shot in and around Hollywood, California, during the fall of 1956 and winter of 1957. Bronson Canyon in Griffith Park and Hollywood High School are among the landmarks that reveal its otherwise generic setting. Graeff did much of the work himself. Besides playing reporter Joe Rogers, he wrote, directed, edited and produced the film, provided cinematography and special effects, and coordinated the music.

Bryan Pearson, who played Thor, and Ursula Pearson, who played Hilda, provided the $14,000 budget with Gene Sterling, who played the Leader. The amount was less than shoestring even by the standards of the day. In June 1958, Pearson, who had invested $5,000 with Ursula, took Graeff to court to recover the investment and seek a percentage of profits. The dispute lasted a year. Pearson received his $5,000, but the judge ruled there was no profit to share. Graeff and the Pearsons, previously friends during production, never spoke again.

A troubled release and later following

Warner Bros. released the film theatrically on June 2, 1959, on a double bill with the Japanese film Gigantis the Fire Monster. It failed at the box office. The Los Angeles Times offered a negative but not crippling review, calling it “a curious little film” with “flashes of astonishing sensitivity half-buried in the mass of tritisms.” The paper said Graeff's work would bear watching when he stopped spreading himself “so incredibly thin.”

The film later became a cult classic among science-fiction fans. It appeared on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Elvira's Movie Macabre, Off Beat Cinema and Svengoolie. It was also included as an extra in the video game Destroy All Humans!, becoming available in full after the game is beaten. A clip from the film is part of the loop shown at Disney's Hollywood Studios' Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant.

DVD Savant critic Glenn Erickson described the staging as being at the level of a high-school play and called the Gargon a crudely matted silhouette, yet found the film “actually quite touching” and said it finds “its own humble level of dramatic integrity.” Phil Hall wrote that the Grade Z effort was not as awful as many maintained, citing the vim and vigor behind its absurdity. In 1987, the film entered the public domain in the United States because Warner Bros. did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Teenagers from Outer Space (film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.