IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
1953 B&W (3D) 81 min. Universal Studios
Dir. Jack Arnold
Richard Carlson – John Putnam
Barbara Rush – Ellen Fields
Charles Drake - Sheriff
Russell Johnson - George
Kathleen Hughes - Jane
Joe Sawyer - Frank
Screenplay by Harry Essex, Story by Ray Bradbury
DVD by Universal Studios
http://www.universalstudios.com/homeYou know, every now and then your little brother does something that almost makes you sorry for all the horrors that an older brother can dole out over a lifetime of abuse. Almost. And one of those moments occurred for me on Christmas morning when it became clear my brother had decided to get me some DVDs, and that one of them was IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. Another one was ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., but that’s a tale for another time. With two movies like that in my fist and shredded gift-wrap at my feet, I almost got a tear of brotherly emotion in my eye. Almost. Then I remembered when the little bastard snuck up behind me, clonging me in the noggin with one of those hard metal garden rakes. Not a flimsy leaf rake, the hard metal one. Dad was surprised it didn’t bend, even so. In any case, this was an excellent gift and elicited an apology on my behalf for telling him that rabbit droppings were chocolate flavored Trix. Why? Because this is a GREAT movie, and there’s no denying it.
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is based on a story by Ray Bradbury, who wrote an extensive treatment for the film, and is one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. It deals with an alien ship that accidentally crashes to Earth. In order to effect repairs on their ship, the aliens are forced to take over human forms. Even though this is a pretty common plotline in science fiction today, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE was the first movie to use this theme and it’s still extremely effective, even without the added thrills a pair of 3D glasses would give you. It was the first 3D science fiction movie produced, and the first 3D wide screen feature as well. The production values, direction, acting and writing are all top-notch in this one; it makes me wonder what the hell happened to Hollywood.
The film opens with amateur astronomer John Putnam and fiancé the tender morsel Ellen Fields stargazing outside his house near Sand Rock, AZ. A huge fireball streaks through the air and crashes near an old mine several miles away. We see the enormous fiery crash and tons of rocks are thrown into the air! And, at the bottom of the smoking crater, a colossal glowing ball of hexagons! One of them slides open, revealing the interior of an alien ship! The power goes black, we hear breathing…but not human breathing. We get our first view of the Xenomorph, a hideous alien. Alien point of view shot-we see the world through a shimmering, pulsing enormous single eye! The alien leaves a glittering trail as it passes through the hostile desert.
The next morning, Putnam and Ellen have hired a helicopter to investigate the crater. Putnam descends into the crater and clearly sees the alien ship. Something is moving inside! Then the doorway slides shut and an avalanche buries the ship beneath even more tons of rock. Putnam barely escapes, but climbs out and tells Ellen and the pilot what he saw. The sheriff and local newspaperman arrive and scoff at Putnam’s story. Putnam and Ellen fly back to the pilot’s base, another nearby town. Putnam calls an expert, Professor Snell from the observatory.
As Putnam and Ellen drive back to Sand Rock, something is watching them. It seems to follow them along the phone lines. They suddenly see an alien in the road and screech to a halt. They see nothing, but the shimmering, pulsing Eye watches.
Later, the military and media are checking the crater. Putnam meets Snell, who tells him it is an ordinary meteor crater. There is no radioactivity, Snell’s assistant informs them. The sheriff, who looks after Ellen like she was a daughter, warns Putnam to leave her out of his wild stories in case it threatens her job as a teacher.
Ellen and Putnam drive back to town and stop where they saw the alien earlier. They see nothing, but run into Frank (Joe Sawyer) and George (Russell Johnson) who are linemen for the phone company. Frank says there are strange noises on the wire. Putnam listens briefly, but the eerie sound fades. He asks the linemen to keep an eye out for anything strange, like hideous aliens looking to take over their shapes.
Frank and George are driving back to town; George has a hot date with Jane. They see a Xenomorph in the road and brake quickly. Frank and George exit the truck in fear and flee the pulsing, shimmering Eye! A thick fog engulfs a screaming George.
Putnam and Ellen decide they have explored long enough and go back along the road. They find the abandoned phone company truck, and follow the glitter trail into the desert. The Eye is watching. George appears, acting strangely. Putnam sees an arm sticking out from behind a rock. George tells them Frank is fine. They leave. Putnam thinks Frank is dead. They decide to go for help.
Frank wakes and sees George. George wakes and sees himself! The alien tells them they can assume other forms and not to be afraid. They will not be harmed.
Putnam and Ellen go to the sheriff and bring him back to the site, but the truck is gone and there is no sign of Frank or George. The sheriff is angry. Ellen is in trouble with the school for missing work, dammit!
Later, Putnam sees Frank and George getting equipment in town. He follows them down an alley and confronts them. The aliens warn him to stay away. They have crashed on Earth accidentally and need time to repair the ship. If they are interfered with, there will be horrible consequences! The Xenomorphs assure him the others are safe.
Some prospectors have been working the old Excelsior mine. They remark that the mine is making strange sounds since the meteor crashed through into the lower levels. They wonder if a cave in is imminent. They go in to investigate, and the Eye closes in! The alien fog engulfs them!
Putnam gets a message to see the sheriff. Frank’s wife and George’s girlfriend Jane (Kathleen Hughes-hotter than Rangoon in July and twice as sultry) are concerned. The boys aren’t acting themselves and have taken their clothing! The women leave, and Putnam gives the sheriff the message from the aliens. He agrees to wait and give the aliens time, but he’s not happy about it. Not only are the miners missing; no one can find Prof. Snell or his assistant, either. They find the observatory truck at the crater. No one is there.
Ellen is driving through the desert. There’s someone in the road! It’s Frank! He gets into the car and orders Ellen to drive to the mine. Ellen has been taken by the Xenomorphs!
Putnam is at the Sheriff’s when he gets a phone call. The aliens have Ellen! They drive to the crater. Putnam sees Ellen and follows her to the mine. The aliens speak from the darkness. They are repairing their ship. The humans are safe, unless they are interfered with. They need only a few more hours and will leave. Putnam refuses to believe them unless the aliens reveal themselves. The aliens know humans would be horrified by their appearance and would try to destroy them, even though they “have brains and souls and are good.” Putnam insists, and the Xenomorph reveals itself! Putnam reels back in shock and horror. He wanders back to the sheriff in shock, and tells him the aliens are in the mine. The sheriff agrees to wait, and they go back to town. There is a glitter trail in Putnam’s house, and his clothes are gone! The trail fades as he watches.
Putnam and the sheriff see Frank on the street, and the sheriff, having lost all patience with the situation, starts to confront the alien, but Putnam restrains him and Frank flees. The sheriff angrily rounds up men for a posse. Putnam steals the sheriff’s car and speeds away to warn the aliens! Frank is driving back to the mine when the posse blocks the road and shoots him! The truck crashes and burns.
Putnam arrives at the mine and enters. He sees Ellen, who almost lures him to his death in a deep chasm. The aliens believe he has brought the mob upon them. She attacks him with an alien death ray! He shoots her and she falls into the chasm, disappearing into the underground river at the bottom. The posse nears the mine.
Putnam finds the aliens working on their ship. One of them has his form! They have aimed their power source into the earth! Their only hope to escape the mob is to cause worldwide calamity! Putnam convinces them to give him one last chance to stop the mob. They aim the source back into the ship. He takes Ellen and the other captives back through the mine to stop the posse. The aliens morph back into their hideous shapes.
The humans exit the mine and dynamite the entrance to seal it off from the mob.
The posse arrives to find everyone safe. The earth begins to shake, and the ship exits the crater and flies into space! The aliens have gone, but one day, when the time is right, they’ll be back.
This is just a tremendous movie, and the DVD is loaded with some great extras: The Universe According to Universal, an original documentary on IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. Feature commentary with film historian Tom Weaver. Photograph and poster gallery. Theatrical trailer. Production notes. Cast and Filmmakers. The commentary is really interesting, I watched about half an hour and plan on finishing it. Great stuff about the locations and miniatures, and lots of behind the scenes trivia.
And even though this is most definitely NOT a B Movie, on the Official Afa Dollah B Movie Rating Scale, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE gets: A BIG THUMBS UP, BABY! Check this one out!