Craggy Morris Ankrum is just one of a number of familiar faces that populate the still engrossing after all these years Earth vs the flying saucers. The story concerns a rocket scientist (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife (Joan Taylor) who are contacted by aliens from the great beyond. The aliens just want to be friends,they say.Yeah, right. Before long it becomes apparent that just ain't so. Wanton destruction ensues. On the surface, it sounds like the plot of countless other B pictures from the 1950s, yet Earth vs the flying saucers manages to rise above the clutter. Credit Ray Harryhausen's dazzling special effects for much of the film's appeal; the scenes of the saucers zipping through the atmosphere still look great. The acting is uniformly competent and perhaps most telling-understated. There are no hysterical confrontations or tear up the scenery performances. Instead, Earth vs the flying saucers grabs hold from the beginning and never lets go by spinning a tale...and telling it well.