Invasion USA (1952)

FreeClassicMovies wrote:Produced by Robert Smith
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Written by Robert Smith and Franz Schulz
The Actors: Gerald Mohr (Vince Potter), Peggie Castle (Carla Sanford), Dan O'Herlihy (Mr. Ohman), Robert Bice (tractor maker George Sylvester), Tom Kennedy (bartender Tim), Wade Crosby (Illinois Congressman Arthur V. Harroway), Edward G. Robinson Jr. (radio dispatcher), Noel Neill (second airline ticket agent), Erik Blythe (Ed Mulfory), Phyllis Coates (Mrs. Mulfory)

FreeClassicMovies wrote:Americans have become fat and lazy and look for profits and wealth instead of staying well-armed for war. Factories are making tractors instead of tanks, and that is a very dangerous thing. As a handful of people drinking in a bar next to Rockefeller Plaza watch, the television screen comes alive with special bulletins about planes flying from Russia to Alaska and down the west coast, dropping A-bombs and destroying Seattle, San Francisco, and all the military bases in between. Enemy troops in U.S. uniforms surround Washington D.C. and the Capitol building and all of the Senators and Congressmen inside. Of course, we also have A-bombs and we send a flock of jets to Russia to drop bigger and better A-bombs on the Ruskies, but the enemy attacks continue unabated. Finally, New York City is hit with A-bombs and two of our main characters are clinging to life in the rubble outside the bar and it appears that the end of the world as we know it is at hand. I've gotta tell you that if I had seen this movie when I was a young pre-teen I would have been scared out of my skin. How can a movie like this end?

This crazed movie is a combo exploitation-propaganda pic, unabashedly hawkish and jingoistic. It is a stock footage extravaganza with clip after clip of planes and ships in combat. The onslaught begins after a cryptic hypnotist decides he must teach his fellow barflies to wake up and prepare for war. What follows are extreme destruction scenes, very skillfully edited for maximum effect. The military footage includes much from World War II (dogfights, sinking ships, B-29s) but also contemporary jet planes (including some Russian jets with swept-back wings). The unspecified if obvious "enemy" is depicted as a sort of Nazi-Russian composite. They attack with atomic bombs, missiles, and torpedoes, and then they paratroop down disguised as American troops or citizens. Invasion U.S.A. might make a nice double feature with The Atomic Café (1982), Red Dawn (1984), or its own contemporary Red Planet Mars. You might also pair it with the mostly unrelated 1985 Chuck Norris flick of the same name. Recommended for military or WWII buffs. Required viewing for students of the Cold War. But beware the mix of emotions that this movie evokes. You 'll laugh at the extreme camp, but don't be surprised if you also feel a bit frightened and sad.

Goldweber, David Elroy (2012-06-14). Claws & Saucers: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Film: A Complete Guide: 1902-1982 (Kindle Locations 39503-39519). David E. Goldweber. Kindle Edition.