Teenagers from Outer Space (aka The Gargan Terror) is a 1957 (released 1959) science-fiction film written, directed and produced by Tom Graeff, who was also responsible for the editing, cinematography and appears as a reporter. It stars David Love (Graeff’s real-life lover), Dawn Bender, Bryan Grant, Harvey B. Dunn (Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls) and King Moody. The film’s score came from stock, composed by William Loose and Fred Steiner. Incidentally the same stock score has been recycled in countless low-budget movies such as The Killer Shrews, and most notably Night of the Living Dead.
In 1956, Tom Graeff was hired as Roger Corman’s assistant on Not of This Earth and also played a minor role. When filming wrapped, Graeff decided to pen a science-fiction feature of his own and look for funding. Securing a modest budget from actor Gene Sterling, Graeff placed an ad in the Hollywood Reporter looking for more investors. The ad was answered by British actor Bryan Pearson, who put up $5000 in exchange for playing the villain, Thor, and casting his wife Ursula Pearson in a small role. Filmed entirely on location in Hollywood in the fall of 1956 and winter of 1957, the low-budget film went through several titles before it was released by Warner Brothers in June 1959. Though the film was profitable, Tom and his investors saw no money from the release. Bryan Pearson eventually sued Graeff to get his original investment back. Teenagers appeared as the lower part of a double bill alongside Godzilla Raids Again, released under the title Gigantis the Fire Monster, and was shown largely at drive-in theaters throughout the country.
In the early 1960s, Teenagers was sold to television, where it played frequently for the next thirty years, noted for its infamous ray gun that turned living things into instant skeletons, an original effect that showed up again in Tim Burton’s film Mars Attacks!.
An alien spacecraft comes to Earth, while searching the galaxy for a planet suitable to raise “gargons,” a lobster-like (but air-breathing) creature which is a delicacy on their homeworld. Thor (Bryan Grant), the lead alien, shows his contempt for Earth’s creatures by vaporizing a dog named Sparky. Crew member Derek (David Love), after discovering an inscription on Sparky’s dog tag, fears that the gargon might destroy Earth’s local inhabitants, making the other spacemen scoff. Being members of the “supreme race”, they disdain “foreign beings,” no matter how intelligent and pride themselves that families and friendships are forbidden on their world. Derek turns out to be a member of an underground which commemorates more humane periods of his world’s history.
Their one gargon seems to be sick in Earth’s atmosphere. While his crewmates are distracted, Derek flees. Eventually, the gargon seems to revive. When the Captain reports Derek’s actions, he is connected to the Leader (Gene Sterling) himself. It turns out that Derek is the Leader’s son, though Derek is unaware of this. Thor is sent to hunt Derek down, with orders to kill to protect the mission…
In 1959, Graeff placed an ad in the Los Angeles Times proclaiming that he was to be called Jesus Christ II, and that God had shown him truth and love. The next year, Graeff filed to have his name legally changed to Jesus Christ II. After this incident and a subsequent arrest, Graeff vanished from Hollywood, fleeing to the east coast. He returned to Los Angeles in 1964 and is credited as an editor on David L. Hewitt’s 1964 ultra low-budget film The Wizard of Mars. In 1968, Graeff took out an ad in Variety, announcing that his screenplay, entitled Orf, was for sale for the unprecedented sum of $500,000. After the ad appeared, he was publicly lambasted by LA Times columnist Joyce Haber. When Graeff insinuated that a number of high profile people were attached to the project (including Robert Wise and Carl Reiner), Haber outed him as “Jesus Christ II”, putting the final nail in his career. Unable to find work, Graeff moved to La Mesa, California, near San Diego. He committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his garage on December 19, 1970.
In a 1993 edition of Scarlet Street magazine. an article by Richard Valley and Jessie Lilley featured interviews with Bryan and Ursula Pearson, who revealed that Graeff and David Love/Chuck Roberts were romantically involved. For over 25 years, major publications, including Leonard Maltin’s movie guide, had erroneously written that Love and Graeff were the same person. Shortly after the article appeared, some trash cinema fans dubbed Graeff the gay Ed Wood.
‘After the fly-by-night production values, the most conspicuous thing about Teenagers from Outer Space is how much more elaborately plotted it is than the typical late-50’s sci-fi B-movie. Though it is only slightly longer than the comparable films AIP and Allied Artists were cranking out at the time (just shy of an hour and a half, as opposed to 75 minutes or less), it tells a much busier, more involved story, and seems to follow the five-act structure of Elizabethan drama rather than the more familiar three-act model favored by most filmmakers. There are three separate climaxes, involving three different aspects of the extraterrestrial threat, and the relatively short running time allows for hardly a minute’s pause along the way. Much of the charm of Teenagers from Outer Space stems from the imbalance between Graeff’s grand ambitions and the paltry resources he was able to bring to bear in furtherance of them.’ 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
‘Pretty standard, low budget late 50s sci-fi fare that moves quickly and is enthusiastically performed by its cast, although I kept expecting Love to burst into song at any point, serenading his new found lady fair Bender about the wonders of earthly love.’ Horror 101 with Dr. Ac
