The Body Stealers

Abysmal sci-fi (an unwise change of pace for Tigon) which, up to this point, had been the low point of Anchor Bay UK's "The Tigon Collection" - not that there were any particular highs! Michael Armstrong, director of THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR (1969) - and who was eventually replaced by Levy - compared it to Ed Wood in his Audio Commentary for that film, and I can't say that he was too far off the mark!

A competent cast flounders in the face of an inane premise and lackluster handling: veterans George Sanders, Maurice Evans (as the chief villain/alien) and Robert Flemyng; heroes Patrick Allen and Neil Connery (yes, Sean's younger sibling!); starlets Hilary Dwyer (better suited to period pieces like her three films with Vincent Price - WITCHFINDER GENERAL [1968], THE OBLONG BOX [1969] and CRY OF THE BANSHEE [1970]) and Sally Faulkner (I was impressed by her in VAMPYRES [1974] and PREY [1977], and here looks lovely if nothing else!). However, Lorna Wilde is terrible as an alien temptress(!) - and the (mercifully brief) contribution of Shelagh Fraser as Mrs. Thatcher(!), an ageing nymphomaniac barmaid with a shrill voice, is positively embarrassing!!

One of its most hilarious - and dated - aspects is the way it presents Allen and Minister's aide Allan Cuthbertson(!) as a couple of would-be studs, in obvious imitation of the James Bond extravaganzas; the cheesy score (by Reg Tilsley, who fared better with THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR) doesn't help, either. A measure of the film's sloppiness is the fact that Hilary Dwyer's name has been mysteriously omitted from the cast list at the end of the picture, though I doubt she voiced her complaint about it to the production company! Patrick Allen's Audio Commentary is actually quite engaging though, understandably, he offers little insight into the film itself - given also that he doesn't remember much at all about its making, and had never even watched the damn thing until now!

The Body Stealers (a.k.a Thin Air) is truly one of the most dreadful movies you'll ever have the misfortune to see. Simply because there are some notable names on the cast list, you mustn't think that it is remotely good. Everyone in this movie must have needed some fast cash to clear their debts. How else can you explain such a strong cast being lured into such an obvious bomb? OK, that's a bit cynical - nobody actually sets out to make a bad film - but whatever the original intentions were, the resulting film is an utter loss.

It's a science fiction story in which the military investigates several cases of parachutists vanishing in mid-air. For the first ten minutes, the peculiar mystery promises to build up to an intriguing resolution, but the promise rapidly evaporates as it becomes apparent that the answers are going to be childish rather than ingenious.

This is hilariously bad, to such an extent that it makes even the worst episode of Doctor Who look like it had high production values! You'd have to be a disturbed eight year old to figure out what the hell is going on as the solution draws close. Still, why worry about it when clearly the actors involved don't look interested either? One interesting thing about the film is the inclusion of Neil Connery (Sean's brother) in a significant role... believe me when I say this guy is no actor!

A few minutes of well-shot footage of parachute jumps and aerobatic flying seem the real impetus for this British science fiction picture. When there are no bodies hurtling towards the ground or planes shooting past each other, what's left is a bad script with far too many scenes of men in suits talking in offices and not nearly enough science or action. Since it was made for a family audience, there isn't even much in the way of female flesh.

Patrick Allen and his improbably large chin take the lead. His character, a NATO troubleshooter, is big on the sub-James Bond womanising and tough posturing. Yet for all his smooth lines and fetching cardigans, he does curiously little to actually solve the mystery of disappearing military parachutists. Plot development consists of supporting characters waving a Geiger counter over a few things while Allen chases the girls.

George Sanders is normally a reliable figure (see the far superior Psychomania, for instance), but he is wasted here as a personality-deficient general. Hilary Dwyer has the requisite qualities for a female star, being very pretty and a great screamer. Lorna Wilde is quite fetching as a mysterious blonde, but the rest of the cast do little.

This is a competently-made film from people who understood the limitations of their budget, limitations which mean rare special effects and few action sequences. The real problem is an absence of ideas or any ambition beyond filling the screen for 90 minutes. Once all the aerial footage has been used up, what is left is a very unoriginal story with little imagination or characterisation and lots of dialogue of a "The minister isn't going to like this" type. Nonetheless, Reg Tilsley's jazz score deserves a mention, ratcheting the tension even when the most mundane action is unfolding on screen.

It's hard to recommend this film when there are so many better British exploitation films from the era; it lacks even any Austin Powers-ish campness and shows nothing of 1960s Britain. As an attempt at family-friendly science fiction from Tigon, a studio better known for its sexually-frank horror, it's a slight curio of film history. For entertainment, you're better off jumping out of a plane, or even watching an in-flight movie.

This film is worth seeing just for the opening sequence alone. A surprise from the outset leading into a thunderous Sixties-style score, before the rot sets in. There is curiosity value for a performance from Patrick Allen (The Jaw, in what nearly amounts to a leading role) and a very rare appearance of Sean Connery's brother Neil in one of only two film roles that he made that I am aware off. Mid-way the love interest on a moonlit beach really sags and does not help the film much, while the ending is a let down and even stranger to see a prop stolen from the Doctor Who film Daleks: Invasion Earth. I almost expected Peter Cushing to materialise out of.....THIN AIR!!! Still, overall I found it...quite enjoyable!!

A bunch of military paratroopers descend on a freefall flight and as a group from NATO wait for them to land they disappear in to thin air

A good opening hook and as the film continues you get the impression that the production have no idea to develop the film outside of the opening hook . In fact despite being a science fiction B movie you get the feeling the production crew are wanting to make a James Bond film and the premise does feel Bond like in many ways . Patrick Allen as Bob Megan is basically channeling Bond as he lights up a cigarette and eyes up every piece of skirt in sight . George Sander is a surrogate M while Neil Connery could easily be a surrogate Q How pathetic is that ? They couldn't get Sean Connery to star in THE BOY STEALERS as Bond but as a way of compensating for this they got Sean's brother !

One genuinely does wonder if at early draft stage THE BODY STEALERS may have been conceived as a straight forward esponaige thriller and rather late in the day became a science fiction genre movie ? Certainly there are scenes that remain confusing such as the culmination of a scene where Jim Radford pursues the mysterious Lorna and the rushed explanation of the ending . Quite often THE BODY STEALERS makes the top ten worst science fiction lists of people who have seen it . It's possibly not that bad and for a B movie the production values aren't all that bad simply because it is very talkative and therefore isn't reliant on special effects , but the problem is the screenplay is painfully under developed and its only al highpoint after the effective opening scene is a government minister being worried about Scotish nationalists repopulating the Highlands