Teenagers from Outer Space
- Charles YnfanteFebruary 20, 2026"Teenagers From Outer Space. 1959. 85 minutes. Black and white. . I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! . The first ten minutes lays out heavy themes about the meaning of home, the meaning of family; the morality of right and wrong; and questions of life and death. . Most of the movie is about one alien (a ruthless killer) chasing a rebel alien, who wants a home and family life (concepts unknown on their planet. . Through the two main characters --- Betty of Earth and Derick the alien --- life is seen as trusting, innocent, and sweet. This innocence and trust is reinforced by the personality of Betty's grandfather. This is all in contrast to the ruthless killer who stops at nothing to take it all away. . The acting of Dawn Anderson, who played Betty, and David Love, who played Derick, the alien, was wonderfully restrained and underplayed. This approach brought out the innocent trust of love between them. . Dawn Anderson's hair style was great! She had bangs with straight hair that fluffed with large soft curls at the ends. A brief scene at the beginning of the movie showed the hair style of one of the aliens: his hair was slicked back at the sides with curls on the front top. I thought it looked cool. . The alien uniforms lacked inagination. The musical score was stirring and nice. . The special effects in this 85 minute movie have been laughed at Yet, a few years later, a TV series had equally cheesey and phony special effects: "Star Trek". . Dawn Anderson, who played the character Betty, was born in February 1935 in Glendale (Los Angeles) and later attended a school in Eagle Rock (I attended Eagle Rock High School). . She was quite active in film, stage and radio. However, by the time she was in her early 20s, she was ready to call it quits. She wanted a normal life as a wife and mom. . After this movie, at 24 years of age, she retired from acting and became a school teacher for 40 years in Los Angeles. In 2025, she was 90 years old. . Tom Graeff wrote, directed, produced, and edited this movie. He also acted in the movie as Joe Rogers, the reporter. . The movie was originally titled "The Boy from Outer Space" and "The Ray Gun Terror". . Would I see this movie again? Yes! The theme of wanting a home and family resonates. I also want to see Dawn Anderson again. Review by Charles Ynfante.
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Teenagers from Outer Space was released on June 3, 1959.
Teenagers from Outer Space was directed by Tom Graeff.
Teenagers from Outer Space has a runtime of 85m.
Teenagers from Outer Space was produced by Tom Graeff.
A young alien (David Love) falls for a pretty teenage Earth girl (Dawn Anderson) and they team up to try to stop the plans of his invading cohorts, who intend to use Earth as a food-breeding ground for giant lobsters from their planet. The invaders, who arrive in a flying saucer, carry deadly ray guns that turn Earth-people into skeletons.
The key characters in Teenagers from Outer Space are Derek (David Love), Betty Morgan (Dawn Bender), Gramps Morgan (Harvey B. Dunn).
Teenagers from Outer Space is rated Not Rated.
Teenagers from Outer Space is a Science Fiction, Crime, Horror film.
Teenagers from Outer Space has an audience rating of 3 out of 10.
Teenagers from Outer Space had a budget of $20,000.