building it, and he thought the camera would make it look bigger." Blaisdell himself referred to it as "Beulah" during production. A good portion of Beulah disintegrated due to the shoddy care taken to store it, and whatever was left of it was destroyed in the fire-scene finale of AIP's 1958 film How to Make a Monster. Release history It Conquered the World was released theatrically by AIP in July 1956 on a double bill with The She-Creature. The film originally received an "X" certificate in the UK, meaning that the picture could only be seen by adults. At issue, the scene of the creature being destroyed by a blowtorch was seen as animal cruelty. However, producer Samuel Z. Arkoff convinced the film board that the violence was against an otherworldly person, and not an animal, earning the film its passing certificate. Reception Griffith said, "I asked for my name not to be on that picture, so I was unbilled. Surprisingly, it got good reviews." Variety said "this flying saucer pic is a definite cut above normal, and should help pull its weight at b.o., despite modest budget... It must be admitted that the packed house of moppets at the show caught loved the gore, and continually shrieked avid appreciation. The Lou Rusoff screenplay poses some remarkably adult questions amidst the derring-do.. Corman does a generally good job of mingling the necessary backgroundsetting with fast-paced dialog... Only a few patches of abstract discussion, fail to hold audience attention.... Corman would have been wiser to merely suggest the creature, rather than construct the awesome-looking and mechanically clumsy, rabherized horror. It inspired more titters than terror." Sight and Sound called it "sharp, economical and really frightening". Film historian and critic Leonard Maltin called It Conquered the World "... well acted and interesting but awkwardly plotted". Monthly Film Bulletin found the film exciting. Time Out magazine, however, gave the film a negative review, criticizing its poor special effects. Critic Tony Rayns opined, "You have to see a movie like this to realise that film-makers who feel they have nothing to lose are rarer than you'd think". The Chicago Reader gave the film a generally positive review, saying, "Amazingly, this 1953 [sic] picture isn't half bad". Allmovie gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it an "above-average quickie". Creature Feature gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, praising its campiness. Later