Space Invasion of Lapland
| Space Invasion of Lapland | |
|---|---|
|
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| Directed by | Virgil W. Vogel |
| Produced by | Bertil Jernberg Gustaf Unger |
| Written by | Arthur C. Pierce (screenplay and story) |
| Starring | See below |
| Music by |
Harry Arnold Allan Johansson |
| Cinematography | Hilding Bladh |
| Edited by | Shirley Citron Tom Rolf |
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Release date
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1962 in U.S. |
|
Running time
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73 minutes (Sweden) 55 minutes (USA) 81 minutes (U.S. TV) |
| Country | United States Sweden |
| Language |
English Swedish |
Space Invasion of Lapland (Rymdinvasion i Lappland in Sweden) is a 1959 Swedish-American black-and-white science fiction-monster film released to Swedish cinemas on 19 August of that year. The film was produced by Bertil Jernberg and Gustaf Unger, directed by American Virgil W. Vogel, and stars Barbara Wilson, Robert Burton, and Stan Gester. The film, partly presented in English, was written by Arthur C. Pierce.
For its U.S. theatrical release, Space Invasion of Lapland was shortened by distributor Jerry Warren to 55 minutes from its original 73 minutes. New footage of an on-screen narrator (John Carradine) was added, opening and closing the film, bookending the revised storyline. Using a replacement actor, new "Diane Wilson" main character footage was shot detailing a strange UFO incident that happened before the character goes to Sweden. After reediting other plot details, the film was distributed in America under the title Invasion of the Animal People on a double bill with Warren's Terror of the Bloodhunters.
When Invasion of the Animal People went into U.S. television syndication, additional footage increased its running to 81 minutes.
While asleep, a young woman experiences an extraterrestrial visit, awakening to a horrible, ear-splitting sound that only she can hear. Overcome by confusion, panic, and pain, she runs outside in her nightgown and sees weird lights in the sky. By the time paramedics take her to the hospital, she is catatonic and no longer able to explain what she has experienced. Doctors cannot explain her mysterious seizure. Could it possibly have something to do with the UFO sightings that were reported the same night as her attack? Before it can be determined, she suddenly recovers completely from her coma and decides to follow her dream of becoming a figure skater.
Olympic figure skating champion Diane Wilson (Barbara Wilson) travels to Sweden where she meets up with her uncle, famous geologist Dr. Vance Wilson (Robert Burton), who has traveled there to help investigate a recent meteor landing. Diane is courted by her uncle's associate, Dr. Erik Engstrom (Sten Gester), though she aggressively plays hard-to-get at first. Their romance develops and eventually their journey is interrupted by the discovery of a herd of mutilated reindeer. The two scientists immediately fly to the site of the meteor crash, far north in the Arctic mountains of Lapland. Much to the irritation of the men, Diane stows away aboard their plane. When they arrive, it is determined that the meteor is actually a round alien spacecraft, and she suddenly realizes just how dangerous a decision she has made.
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Wikipedia