Test space rockets exploding at liftoff and increased reporting of UFO sightings culminate in a direct attempt by alien survivors of a dead, extra-galactic civilization to invade Earth from impervious flying saucers, using ray-weapons of mass destruction.

2 quirky Manhattanites crash into each other cute at an ophthalmologist’s office. Peter is a grouchy cartoonist/author whose vision is failing, divorced mother Theresa is also reluctant to plunge into a relationship right now. It’s not love at first sight – both have their eyes dilated, plus Peter constantly lampoons women in his work, which book seller Theresa knows well. Loosely based on James Thurber’s drawings “The War Between Men & Women,” and Thurber’s life, the film features animated sequences.

When the first manned flight to Venus returns to Earth, the rocket crash-lands in the Mediterranean near a small Italian fishing village. The locals manage to save one of the astronauts Colonel Calder, the mission commander. A young boy also recovers what turns out to be a specimen of an alien creature. Growing at a fantastic rate, it manages to escape and eventually threatens the city of Rome.

A young scientist’s experiment goes awry when he creates a monster from a radioactive isotope and finds that the creature consumes energy to grow in size and terrorize the nearby town.