Flying saucers invade Museum on First Friday
May 23,
2003
For Immediate Release
Calendar, event editors
Contacts: Jon Pishney
(919) 733-7450
RALEIGH — Warning! Take Cover! Flying Saucers Invade Our Planet! But wait—there’s safety in numbers. So run, don’t walk, to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and watch Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) with a lively crowd of movie buffs.
The Museum stays open till 9 p.m. on Friday, June 6, to show you this prime example of vintage 1950s sci-fi cinema. Ray Harryhausen—the stop-motion animation wizard who brought the Gwangi to life in last month’s First Friday feature—ups the ante as his animated saucers wreak havoc in the nation’s capitol. This scenario prompted one reviewer to dub the flick Earth’s Historic Landmarks vs. Ray Harryhausen.
The story follows Dr. Russell A. Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife (Joan Taylor) as they attempt to launch rockets into space from an isolated military base. “Project Sky Hook” turns ugly after an alien spaceship makes an unannounced visit and is immediately mistaken for a giant skeet by the military. The aliens later contact Dr. Marvin and reveal their plans to take over the Earth in less than 60 days. The good doctor uses this time to develop a weapon that proves all too effective, as landmark after landmark is destroyed by crashing saucers.
Don’t miss the movie that inspired Tim Burton’s 1996 hit Mars Attacks. Resident B-movie connoisseur Steve Harvell rates this “one of my 20 most watched videos of all time.”
First Friday runs
from 5 to 9 p.m. The feature begins at 7 p.m. and is preceded by a film
short from the A/V Geeks archives. Admission is free. Additionally, the
Museum Store offers after-hours shopping, and the Acro Café serves
up light fare, as well as beer and wine. The Museum is located in downtown
Raleigh at 11 West Jones St. Parking is available on the street and in
surface lots along Wilmington and Edenton streets. For more information,
contact Steve Popson at 919/733-7450, ext. 379.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.
| Home | What's New? | Visitor Info | Calendar | Exhibits |
| Education | Research | Museum Store | Join Us! | |
| Search | Fun Stuff | Site Map | Staff Directory | Links |