The Brain Eaters (1958)

Director:

Bruno VeSota

Writer:

Gordon Urquhart (writer)

Release Date:

September 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

Crawling, Slimy Things Terror-Bent on Destroying the World!

Plot:

Strange things are happening in Riverdale, Illinois. A huge, seemingly alien structure has been found jutting out of the earth...

Plot Keywords:

Zombie | Parasite | Sheriff | Mayor | Brain

Cast

Ed Nelson	...	Dr. Paul Kettering (as Edwin Nelson)
Alan Frost	...	Glenn Cameron
Cornelius Keefe	...	Senator Walter K. Powers (as Jack Hill)
Joanna Lee	...	Alice Summers
Jody Fair	...	Elaine Cameron
David Hughes	...	Dr. Wyler
Robert Ball	...	Dan Walker
Greigh Phillips	...	Sheriff
Orville Sherman	...	Mayor Cameron
Leonard Nimoy	...	Professor Cole (as Leonard Nemoy)
Doug Banks	...	Doctor
Henry Randolph	...	Telegrapher
Saul Bronson	...	Prof. Helsingman

Also Known As:

Keepers of the Earth
The Brain Snatchers
The Keepers

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Some sources have claimed that future exploitation director Jack Hill acted in this film. "Jack Hill" was actually the name being used by veteran actor Cornelius Keefe (who plays Senator Walter K. Powers) for his film credits during the 1950s.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Leonard Nimoy's name is misspelled in the opening credits as "Leonard Nemoy"

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Leonard Nimoy: Spock and Beyond" (1996)

Strange visitors come to Riverdale

I have seen The Brain Eaters a couple of times and is quite enjoyable, despite the low budget and reading some bad reviews about it. This movie was first released on video in the UK as part of the Drive-In Classics series, of which I own a copy. It has since been re-released on video and now DVD.

A strange alien cone shaped craft of unexplained origin appears in the small town of Riverdale. Some scientists and government officials are sent to investigate the craft and at the same time, some of the local residents start acting strange and then die. All of the people who have died have bite marks on the back of their necks and it turns out these are the work of parasites from the cone. These turn out to be millions of year old aliens who want to rule the world and have been living underground all this time. Some of the people enter the cone and are attack by more parasites and are defeated in the end.

The movie's cast is mostly made up of unknowns, although Ed Nelson has appeared in several drive-in movies of this kind including Attack Of the Crab Monsters and A Bucket Of Blood. Also look out for a then unknown Lenard Nimoy, some years before he played Mr Spock in Star Trek.

This is a worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of 1950's science fiction like me.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.