The Love War

I do enjoy the cosy charms of a 70's TV movie. This one went out in the U. S. as an ABC Movie of the Week. Its one of several of these kinds of things which veered into sci-fi territory. Its about aliens from the warring planets Zinan and Argon who are currently on Earth, using it as a neutral zone in which to play out their deadly battles. Like many a low budget TV film, the aliens disappointingly take human form. On the plus side we have Lloyd Bridges as one of the warrior aliens and Angie Dickinson as the human woman he meets whom he falls for. Its fairly basic stuff overall but its still well done, with the solid production values of U. S. telly-land underpinning it. The ending has an interesting plot development.

Like most of the comments here, I'm working off of my childhood memory. But the fact that I remembered the title after all these years has to count for the quality of the storyline, low-budget or not.

I have several scenes of this film stuck in my brain - which I won't give away here should we actually get a DVD box set of the Best of the Movies of the Week some day (hint, hint). But I have to go on record as saying that Spielberg's DUEL isn't the only TV film ABC produced under the Movie of the Week banner that is worthy of note. I'd venture to guess that there were a dozen of these suspense/horror/sci-fi genre films nearly as good (or better) as much of the summer movies we're seeing in theaters these days (and I'm talking about storytelling, not effects and explosions). That may not say as much about the quality of those TV movies as the lack thereof in modern films. But LOVE WAR in particular, was one I watched every time it was on and has held up - at least in my mind.

I'd love to see it again, if only for the sake of nostalgia.

George McGowan must have liked this plot, as he did a second movie along a similar theme that same season for ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK. That film, THE CHALLENGE, had Darren McGavin in the Lloyd Bridges role. Both films had the same premise-- rather than an all-out war between two forces, a select group of champions is chosen to fight it out, winner take all. McGowan obviously did not care for the final version of THE CHALLENGE, as he attached the dreaded Alan Smithee name to its directorial credit. Maybe THE LOVE WAR is closer to how he wanted to end that other film?

Lloyd Bridges had a great deal going during those wonderful days of the MOVIE OF THE WEEK series. He got a wide range of roles, from action roles like this to horror flicks like HAUNTS OF THE VERY RICH to dramas like SILENT NIGHT LONELY NIGHT. In terms of number of films made, I'd say he and Darren McGavin were the most prolific actors (Bridges= 14, McGavin = 11), with Christopher George and Doug McClure fighting for 3rd and 4th places.

I was fourteen when I saw these and man, did that ending take me by surprise! 31 years later, I'm still not sure what happened after the film's events ended..... Talk about a "Lady or the Tiger" ending!

Aaron Spelling-produced TV-movie has attractive, penniless hitchhiker Angie Dickinson latching onto enigmatic bus traveler Lloyd Bridges outside Fresno. After checking into a roadside motel, he tells her what's really going on: he's an alien from the planet Argon, an assassin vying with hit-men from another planet over who will control Earth and its population. Only Aaron Spelling would put the fate of the world in Lloyd Bridges' hands! Film is very low in budget (making extensive use out of back-projection with scenes on the road and backlot sets for the entire final reel), but this scenario turns out to be restricted in regards to locations, so a bigger budget wasn't really necessary (it just looks tacky). There's a plot twist late in the game that is a surprise (though, in hindsight, doesn't make a lot of sense) and the cast does well with the teleplay, which is neither dumbed-down nor overly complex.

I saw this movie on TV when I was a lot younger but it impressed me. Mainly because despite the unlikely pairing of Loyd Bridges and Angie Dickinson in a Sci-Fi movie it worked quite well. The plot was complex but while moving quickly enough did not become garbled or incoherent as some movies do when trying to achieve the "unexpected". The partnership between the main characters develops quite naturally although it may seem cliché to some in this day and age. Perhaps much of it's charm for me is that it came before many other similar movies and was in its way a ground breaker in this genre. I would love to see it again but as another commented I have yet to see it on either tape or DVD. Not many resources even list it. The title of lost sci-fi classic is quite appropriate and I feel many sci-fi fans would enjoy it if it were available to them.