La nave de los Monstruos 

I’m sure that when someone mentions "Mexican cinema," the first thing that comes to mind is not sci-fi. In fact: science fiction.
The reason why is well explained in this university thesis, which talks about cultural reasons behind it, but also much more.
Things, however, that didn’t prevent the development and production of sci-fi films since 1935.
The push for the genre is thanks to Los Churros, and no, not the famous dessert, but low-budget films that adapted famous American works by setting them in Mexico for a very popular audience.
By taking elements from this genre, a wave of science fiction production started, in which, for the record, our dear and beloved El Santo was certainly one of the major exponents. Or films that mix comedy and sci-fi, with famous comedians from the 50s and 60s and experienced directors like Rogelio A. González, who directed the film I’m about to talk about: La nave de los monstruos from 1960.

And finally, after a long introduction, I get to the point. González directs a film that, as mentioned, not only mixes a sci-fi story with comic moments but also features several musical numbers.
The cast was highly appealing for the time and for the Mexican audience, from the comedian and singer Eulalio González “Piporro” to Ana Bertha Lepe (who we’ll also see with El Santo) and ending with Lorena Velázquez, another well-known face in Mexican cinema.

With all these strange elements, the result is peculiar. Because while it seems natural to think how terrible a film that mixes sci-fi, comedy, and musical moments might be, what you actually see is so absurd that, in my personal opinion, it makes this film a fantastic and fun piece of entertainment, offering a bit of everything. Including two girls in bathing suits.
La nave de los monstruos is engaging from start to finish, with almost no dull moments, and González makes great use of the obviously low budget, giving us (check out the scenes inside the spaceship) some moments of beautiful cinematography. The three main actors play their roles well, making everything work.

The plot, naturally, is very, very simple. Beta and Gamma, along with a robot that looks like it’s made of tin (so much for technology), are two aliens from the planet Venus, traveling through the galaxy in search of males because all men on their planet have gone extinct. Due to a mechanical failure, they end up in Mexico and meet Lauriano, a singing and very cheeky cowboy.
In the spaceship’s cargo hold, there are also specimens of monsters (hence the title, though not great news for the males from other systems, what the heck!) from other planets who, at some point, rebel, just like Beta, who takes control of the spaceship and plans to destroy Earth. It’s up to Lauriano and Gamma to try to stop them.