
During the early years of the science fiction film craze of the 1950s most alien visitors were hostile or extremely dangerous as in The Thing from Another World (1951), The War of the Worlds (1953) and Invaders from Mars (1953). There were a few exceptions to this such as the peaceful Klaatu (Michael Rennie) in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1953) and the benign visitors of It Came from Outer Space (1953) but rarely has a science fiction film depicted aliens trying to recruit a human to be the vocal spokesperson for their group. In Shirley Thompson Vesus the Aliens (1972), directed by Jim Sharman (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), the title character is a disaffected young woman still living at home in the dreary suburbs with her parents and young sister and clearly not the sort of person to represent any group due to her antagonistic, rebellious nature. Nevertheless, Shirley (Jane Hardens) is chosen by extraterrestrials to warn earthlings to stop all wars or they will destroy the planet. And do you think anyone pays attention to her?
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