THE INTRUDER WITHIN / STARCROSSED

Originally airing as a television movie in 1981, THE INTRUDER WITHIN was written by Ed Waters, directed by Peter Carter, starring Chad Everett, Joseph Bottoms, Jennifer Warren, Rockne Tarkington, Lynda Mason Green, Paul Larsson, James Hayden, Michael Hogan, Mary Ann McDonald, Matt Craven, Ed LaPlante, Mickey Gilbert and Joe Finnegan as The Intruder. THE INTRUDER WITHIN is essentially ALIEN on an oil rig. Drillers on an oil rig off the coast of Antarctica discover that they have accidentally brought up several prehistoric eggs. One of those eggs hatches and grows into an unstoppable creature... The crew must overcome their differences and work together to destroy the intruder... within.

STARCROSSED originally aired in 1985 as a television movie, written and directed by Jeffrey Bloom, starring Belinda Bauer, James Spader, Peter Kowanko, Clark Johnson, Jacqueline Brooks and Chuck Shamata. STARCROSSED tells the story of Mary the Alien (Bauer), who is running from a deadly enemy and trying to hide on Earth. She meets young mechanic Joey (Spader), who helps her get back home so she can fight for the freedom of her people. The film is a more effective sci-fi telefilm than we’re perhaps used to from 1980s TV, though it sustains a bittersweet finale as these star-crossed lovers share their time briefly between worlds far, far apart.

For nearly five decades, composer Gil Mellé innovated in mixing electronic and orchestral music when he wasn’t playing the nuances of modern jazz or enjoying his collection of unique microscopes at home. Mellé had made a mark in the world of jazz as an outstanding baritone saxophonist and composer who was also noted as a painter. In film and television, his music has been extraordinarily notable, if not well preserved, on records and CDs. His TV-movie music in the early ’70s included a trio of high-profile films for television: MY SWEET CHARLIE, THAT CERTAIN SUMMER, and FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY. His most well-known film score was THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, but as an innovator in the use of electronic music in movies of the 1970s and ’80s, Mellé contributed to a many science fiction, fantasy, and horror television and feature film scores, including NIGHT GALLERY (theme and episodes), THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN (original TV-movie), A COLD NIGHT’S DEATH, THE QUESTOR TAPES, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, STARSHIP INVASIONS, WORLD WAR III, and many others. Mellé’s efforts preceded almost everyone else’s experiments in electronic film music and resulted in the first true electronic film score.

Dragon’s Domain Records presents THE INTRUDER WITHIN/STARCROSSED, featuring the world premiere releases of music composed by Gil Mellé for these two projects. The music has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and the liner notes have been written by noted author Randall Larson.