Plot:
Fighter planes on patrol spot flying saucers. All around the world, people from all walks of life are seeing the same type of saucers.
Various government offices are investigating the upswing in unexplained flying objects. The military is even given permission to open fire at any UFOs that could endanger them.
In the desert, Dr. Russell Marvin and his wife, Carol, are heading to secret rocket base. Russell is working on sending rockets into space to gather data about outer space. A UFO buzzes their car. Being a dedicated scientist, Russell won’t acknowledge it as a UFO without investigating it.
They arrive at the Skyhook base. In the lab, Carol begins transcribing her husband’s notes, when they discover the tape recorded picked up the noise from the saucer. The next rocket is about to launch. General Hanley arrives trying to get the launch postponed after receiving some new data. He learns that Carol got married the night before.
The final countdown begins. The rocket takes off. Hanley reveals the previous rockets have been discovered all over the world. Russell ponders that something shot them down. He admits to Hanley about the saucer they saw earlier and the tape of saucer sounds. Russell receives word the rocket has lost contact with the control room.
They see the remains of rocket 11 falls from the sky. The very next day, rocket 12 is to be sent up. Russell can’t delay the last rocket.
At the launch site, cameras are being readied. Hanley leaves the control room to get a better view of the launch. An observation tower spots an incoming UFO. After landing, several heavily armored slow moving aliens leave. The troops on fire on them for all the good it does. They manage to wound one. But, the rest are protected by the saucer’s force field. The aliens vaporize the troops and retrieve the injured alien.
Russell and Carol are in his underground lab. All the lines of communication have been destroyed. The rocket collapses and explodes.
The aliens start shooting at various buildings as the lumber and lurch about.
Russell and Carol are trapped in the underground bunker.
The UFO flies away with one prisoner, General Hanley. A 1950s style disco ball translates the alien language into English. Apparently, the aliens communicated with Russell. General Hanley isn’t given any time to ponder that due to the aliens use some brain-scanning ray which allows us to see his brain through his head.
In the bunker, Russell tries using the radio until the power dies. The tape recorder’s batteries are dying; they hear the alien message about arriving at the Skyhook base.
The newspaper headlines assault us. What destroyed the base? Russell and Carol are the only two survivors. They take the tape to Washington D.C. Russell explains the situation to the military, which agree but are waiting for higher level government approval before scheduling any kind of meeting. They place Russell under observation.
At the hotel, Russell attempts to contact the aliens. They give him coordinates and a time to meet. Carol pleads with him not to go. Doesn’t she know you can’t force a Rugged Man of Science?
He heads out. Carol calls Major Huglin. They try to keep Russell from leaving the hotel. The parking attendant tries to stop Russell. But, you can’t stop a Rugged Man of Science. He slugs the attendant and drives off.
Major Huglin and Carol chase after him. By the time Russell arrives at the saucer a cop is following the cars. Carol pleads with Russell not to go to the saucer. A booming from the voice invites all of them inside the saucer.
The aliens have been destroying the rockets, didn’t know they were primitive probes. They are the last survivors of a dead planet. Their fleet is all over the Earth. They want to meet with Earth’s leaders. To demonstrate their power, a saucer sinks a destroyer. Earth is to surrender to save the planet from being damaged. Who would want to rule over a completely environmentally ruined world?
The cop is drained by the disco ball. Russell, Carol, and the Major learn the aliens can drain the knowledge out of any human with the Infinitely Indexed Memory Bank. They are shocked to discover General Hanley as a brain-drained zombie. The aliens want Russell to set up a conference with the leaders of Earth.
Later, Russell meets with the military men again. They doubt that nuclear weapons could be used. Russell has an idea for a new kind of weapon to use. They give him as much support as possible.
At the lab, Russell is working on some type of sonic gun. But, they can’t get it powerful enough. One of the other men on the project mentions another theory which gives Russell a new idea. They begin trying to develop a way to disrupt the saucers’ magnetic fields. When they begin testing, they see a foo light flying around the lab. After shooting it down, they discover it has been spying on them. The scientists head to Washington D.C.
A saucer rushes to the lab. The scientists manage to excape before the aliens search the lab. Russell wants to test the new gun. More aliens search the lab.
The gun is affecting the saucer. A lone alien manages to disintegrate Russell’s assistant. Major, Carol, and Russell head out.
An alien manages to destroy magnetic gun. Russell examines the dead alien, discovering it is ancient humanoid looking being. A saucer quickly destroys an approaching bomber before torching the lab.
Russell, Carol, and the Major run from the saucer that has set the forest on fire. A saucer drops two bodies from it: the cop and General Hanley.
Russell and Carol meet with the military again. They have been studying the alien armor. The military has been able to interpret the aliens’ own tongue. They know the plan of attack. Russell’s magnetic interference gun has a flaw a very short range.
The aliens broadcast al over the planet. They world will have 8 days of disasters before they attack.
The aliens create a large solar flare which affects the Earth’s weather patterns. Heavy storms buffet the planet. Washington is to be evacuated. Russell keeps working on his interference gun.
Russell wants Carol to leave the city. He has to stay to keep working because he’s a Rugged Man of Science.
Stock footage of natural disasters assaults us: floods, etc… The world is crippled with dealing with these catastrophes. Washington has most of the population still there.
Air raid sirens sound. Weapons are being readied for the attack. Jets are taking off. Saucers are coming in.
Carol is still in Washington trying to find Russell. The saucers are as thick as flies over DC.
Random people are panicking. The hordes of people are scattering.
Russell has all of the trucks with the interference guns go after the saucers. The saucers are shooting at random buildings. The interference guns are able to knock some of the saucers down. Carol eventually finds Russell. There is no time for the touching reunion, though. They rush to the White House.
A saucer is able to destroy one of the interference guns. It lands and aliens rush for the White House. Russell’s crew arrives. The guns manage to cripple the saucer. Several more saucers have crashed.
A saucer crashes into the Washington Monument. Some of the wreckage crushes some of the panicking populace.
Several of the guns are destroyed by the saucers. Russell and Carol try to get to the Capital. Several of the pillars have been destroyed before the saucers have crashed.
At the Capital, a saucer has landed and the aliens are fighting the soldiers. The interference gun is used on these saucers. A saucer crashes into the dome of the Capital.
Later, on a beach, Russell and Carol are on an actual honeymoon. The Skyhook project will be rebuilt with Russell as the head. They watch the tide as they ponder the possibility of Earth having to battle another group of aliens.
