Firelight (1964 film)

Firelight is a 1964 science fiction adventure film written and directed by Steven Spielberg at the age of 17. Made on a budget of 500, the film was, in a manner of speaking, Spielbergs first commercial success, as it was shown at a local cinema and generated a profit of 1. I counted the receipts that night, Spielberg has recalled, And we charged a dollar a ticket. Five hundred people came to the movie and I think somebody probably paid two dollars, because we made one dollar profit that night, and that was it.

Firelight follows a group of scientists particularly Tony Karcher and UFO believer Howard Richards as they investigate a series of coloured lights in the sky and the subsequent disappearance of people, animals and objects from the fictional American town of Freeport, Arizona. Among those abducted are a dog, a unit of soldiers and a young girl named Lisa, whose abduction induces a heart attack in her mother. The film has subplots involving marital discord between Karcher and his wife Debbie, and the obsessive quest of Richards to convince the CIA that alien life does not exist. The twist comes as the aliens, represented by three shadows, reveal their purpose to transport Freeport to their home planet Altaris and create a human zoo.Many of the cast for Firelight were from the Arcadia High School productions of Guys and Dolls and I Remember Mama. Spielbergs sister had a leading role. ........

Source: Wikipedia