Devil Girl from Mars


Release date(s) 1954

Running time 	76 min.

Distributed by 	Danziger Productions
                British Lion Films

Directed by 	David MacDonald

Produced by 	Edward J. Danziger
                Harry Lee Danziger

Written by 	James Eastwood
                John C. Maher

Starring 	Patricia Laffan
                Hugh McDermott
                Adrienne Corri
                Hazel Court

Devil Girl from Mars is a black and white 1954 British science fiction film, directed by David MacDonald. It was adapted from a stage play and became a cult favorite.

Nyah, a sexy, commanding female alien dressed in black vinyl, is headed for London. She is part of the advanced team that are looking for men to replace the dying male population on their planet. However, because of foggy conditions, she is forced to land her flying saucer in the remote Scottish moors. She is armed with a raygun, and accompanied by a menacing robot.

The film opens in the lobby of a country inn where most of the movie takes place. The alien intermittently enters the inn lobby, makes threats, then leaves so the residents can contemplate her words.

The robot named Chani was constructed by Jack Whitehead and was fully automated, although this machine suffered breakdowns during the filming.

This is an obscure little British sci-fi, from producers who did everything but sci-fi before (or after). This might explain why Devil Girl from Mars (DGfM) is such a departure from the usual sci-fi formulae. On the surface of things, DGfM is akin to the usual saucer-alien-invasion motif. That kinship is only skin deep, though. Beneath the surface is a delightfully different movie.

Reports of a strange meteor landing the remote area of Scotland. A professor of astrophysics and a newspaper reporter are traveling up from London to find it. They stop for the night at a country inn. Meanwhile, a man who escaped from prison has snuck into the inn to seek help from his girlfriend who works there. Also staying at the inn is a fashion model hiding/sulking from a failed romance, and a young boy, the nephew of the man and woman who run the inn. With a grand flash, a flying saucer lands dramatically near the inn. Inside is Nyah, a tall shapely woman dressed in black leather, a black leather skull cap and long black leather cape. She announces that she's from Mars. The male population has grown weak and feeble on Mars, so their looking for breeding stock. She's the first of what will be a wave of invaders taking the best men, now her trip has proven the success of "organic metal" ships. The people are powerless to stop her. She cannot be shot or electrocuted. Nyah has a force field around the inn, so no one can escape or get help. Nyah has a big robot which can disintegrate things with his head-beam, so resistance is futile. The professor does some recon aboard the ship. He feels the ship's power source is its achilles heel. The men draw straws to see who will go with Nyah -- essentially a suicide mission to destroy her ship. While they argue, the convict tells Nyah that he's the one. Her ship leaves and blows up high in the sky.