THE BODY STEALERS

Tony Tenser’s legendary Tigon pictures have produced some Horror classics over the years. Among them are Witchfinder General and, my personal favourite, Blood on Satans Claw. Always willing to clear an hour and a half or so for vintage British horror, with great anticipation I sat down to watch 1969’s THE BODY STEALERS.

We are treated to a quite stunning opening when the procession of different shaded emerald fields are the moving backdrop for a typically daring parachutist’s descent. The military testing of these new ‘chutes will, if successful, make Jim Radford (played by Neil Connery, brother of 007’s Sean) a very wealthy man.

But no sooner has Jim ordered champagne for the crew, a problem is spotted. After what appears to be some electrical interference, the skydivers literally disappear. The government’s knee jerk reaction is to cover up the incident from the public while recruiting top aviation investigator, Bob Meegan. As the roguish Meegan uncovers a couple of clues, the mystery deepens especially when a beautiful yet eccentric woman, only known as Lorna, comes to his attention.

When one of the men who vanished is found, but then promptly dies, our protagonists discover that all the men who have gone missing in action share a common trait: They have all been ‘space trained’. Could it be their knowledge that the captors are after? Or is it something for more ominous?

Firmly in science fiction horror territory The Body Stealers is a diluted tale in the spirit of its better known counterpart "Invasion of Body Snatchers".

The picture started off quite spectacularly with some great mid-air filming. The soundtrack literally seared out of the speakers when the humans were kidnapped and in fairness, it worked pretty well. Also, given the tragedy at an air show in Bournemouth recently, the Red Arrow footage looked even more intense and very impressive. But unfortunately the promising start could only then labour toward the finishing line. Drab sets accompanied by the worst ‘ray-gun’ on camera since the days of Ed Wood didn’t help the relatively slow pace. That said, a narrative was constructed all the same. The real let down was the rather limp finale in my opinion.

When you are dealing with the threat of alien fiends, government conspiracies and a threat to the human race itself, the conclusion needs to be fantastic. Maybe director Gerry Levy’s budget has dwindled at the hotdog stand at the aforementioned air show; maybe he simply believed in the ole paradox ‘less is more’. Whatever the reasons, it was the climax a disappointment.

On a more positive note was the strong cast from that era. Patrick Allen as Bob Meegan turns in a typically English rugged performance that was most amusing to watch. When he wasn’t trying to make sense of the predicament he was delivering slick one- liners, Roger Moore style, to anything that moved in a skirt! In fact, his male blood was apparently at such boiling point he resigned a certain Captain Kirk to mere impotency! Also worthy of note is General Armstrong played by George Sanders. Ever wanted to know what Disney’s evil tiger, Shere Khan, looked like in real life??? Look no further then Mr Sanders!

Certainly not one of Tigon’s finest moments but a fair British effort all the same. Released in 1969, the picture hit the silver screen a couple of months BEFORE Neil Armstrong’s historic landing on the moon that same year.

Maybe an irrelevant fact but certainly one indicative of a period in history where man’s biggest fears derived from what exists beyond the limits of the skies...

Review by Marc Lissenburg