The Body Stealers * (1969, George Sanders, Maurice Evans, Patrick Allen) – Classic Movie Review 9709

Director Gerry Levy’s odd, promising but unsatisfactory little 1969 British sci-fi picture The Body Stealers [Thin Air] has a story about British armed forces parachutists vanishing apparently into thin air (or red mist in this case) while on a routine jump.

George Sanders heads the cast as a general, General Armstrong, who discovers an alien called Marthus (Maurice Evans) is at work.

Investigator Bob Megan (Patrick Allen) is brought in and he makes inquiries at a military research laboratory headed by Dr Matthews (Maurice Evans), who is killed and his form then assumed by the alien Marthus.

Alas, thin, unconvincing scripting, shaky performances and underpowered direction combine largely to spike the interesting project, written by Michael St Clair (story and script) and Gerry Levy [Peter Marcus] (revised screenplay), and produced by Tony Tenser.

Sean Connery’s brother Neil Connery co-stars as Jim Radford, along with Hilary Dwyer as Dr Julie Slade, Robert Flemyng as Wing Commander Baldwin, Lorna Wilde as Lorna, Allan Cuthbertson as Hindesmith, Michael Culver as Lieutenant Bailes, Sally Faulkner as Joanna, Shelagh Fraser as Mrs Thatcher, Carl Rigg as Briggs, Carol Hawkins as Paula, Dixon Adams as David, Derek Pollitt as Davies, Johnnie Wade as Orderly and Clifford Earl as Sergeant in Laboratory.

The Body Stealers [Thin Air] is directed by Gerry Levy, runs 91 minutes, is made by Tigon, is written by Michael St Clair (story and script) and Gerry Levy [Peter Marcus] (revised screenplay), is shot by John Coquillon, is produced by Tony Tenser and is scored by Reg Tilsley.

The film was also released as Invasion of the Body Stealers, cheekily recalling the story’s debt to the much superior Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

The film’s alien spacecraft is the Dalek flying saucer from Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9709

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