The Silence of Dr Evans (1974) Molchanige doktor Ivens
IMDb meta-data is a runtime of 1 hour and 30 minutes, rated 6.2 by 172 cinematizens.
Genre: Sy Fy; Species: First Contact.
DNA: USSR.
Verdict: Treacle.
Tagline: Now Hiring Ventriloquists.
An airliner develops engine trouble and crashes…onto the top of an a cloaked alien space ship from which humanoid alien anthropologists are observing Earth. One of the survivors rescued by the aliens, violating the prime-time directive, is Martin Evans, aspirant Nobel Prize scientist, and he alone meets the aliens face-to-face. The others have their memories blanked, but he is allowed to keep his, promising never to reveal what he has learned, as long as they don’t ask Evans (see below). See The Flight that Disappeared (1961) for a similar plot ploy; reviewed elsewhere on this blog.
The aliens debate aborting the study now that there has been this unexpected contact, but they decide to stay. (Warning! They do a lot more debating.) While Evans tells no one, his behaviour becomes erratic as he tries to contact the aliens. Eventually one of them succumbs to his blandishments and a romance of sorts develops which he pursues without a second thought for his wife.
Aliens in furious debate!
The police suspect there are illegal immigrants in the woodpile and are soon onto him, but he clams up. He and the alien squeeze try to make a getaway but fail miserably. Car chases were not on the curriculum.
The ominous police, the paranoia of the authorities, the fear of the unknown are all deracinated, but the street signs are in English and his name is Martin Evans. But the language, the manners and mores, the attitudes are Russian.
The conclusion is that these Earthlings are not mature enough to make contact with aliens, because the authorities are clumsy oafs. The setting is supposed to be England, and the implication is that the aliens would do better to seek out peace-loving people…to the East. Yet early on a red star marked Soviet MIG shot down one of the aliens on an away mission. Maybe I missed the point, again.
Since the aliens communicate by telepathy they are expressionless while debating. No one had to learn lines, just stare. That never works. For further proof see Starship Invasions (1977), an Italian Sy Fy feature starring a silent Christopher Lee who at times seems to be thinking about lunch.
It’s slow and talky, and I did not warm to any of the characters. It is so serious, there is not a light moment in it. In this case there was no point in asking Evans.