PHANTOM FROM SPACE (1953)

PHANTOM FROM SPACE (1953)

Tagline: His secret power menaced the world!

(Drama, Horror, SciFi) [G]

This movie just says it was “approved” because ratings were for lame people back then. Clearly, that means me, so I slapped an arbitrary G on this. It’s literally not going to scare anyone unless they are Noreen Nash from the movie who was paid to be scared.  

How would you feel if somebody with a crazy helmet with pipes sticking out of it came at you in the dark? And look, I know this sounds... sounds crazy, but there wasn't any head in that helmet.

Directed by W. Lee Wilder this movie is about a spaceship that crashes in Santa Monica (because you know, where else would it land). The alien inside is humanoid but has the power to cloak itself with invisibility to ensure that the budget for this damn thing stays really low. It doesn’t take long before the government involved in pursuing it (which is the last thing you want) and now the alien is in a race against time to get back home, but how many will have to die for it to accomplish its goals? 

Okay, so just like a lot of other movies, how much you enjoy this movie depends on the ideas you bring into it. If you are looking for a cleverly crafted fun little sci-fi blast from the past, you came to the right place. Admittedly the start of this movie is lackluster. Not much is happening and there is just a ton of speculation as to what is going on with this crash landing etc. As we get to about the middle of the film things start to pick up. We finally see this freakin alien dude and his face when they do show it is pretty nuts. The rest of the time he’s invisible and he looks like whatever is in the frame at the time.  

Today the effects it took to make the alien invisible probably look mundane, but pre-green screen and CGI, this stuff took a lot of skill behind the camera to make it work. Yes, even for its day PHANTOM FROM SPACE is low budget, but I’ve seen a lot of these films now from the era and this one is surprisingly effective and interesting for its entire second half. Noreen Nash who plays Barbara Randall is really solid in her role and the rest of the cast is pretty into this thing which makes it come across in a more genuine way. Harry Landers who plays Lieutenant Bowers is really good in this also, which makes a lot of sense, the dude has 92 acting credits and even appeared in QUINCEY M.E. (a massively successful C.S.I. type TV show that ran for 8 seasons). We also get a Rudolph Anders sighting as Dr. Wyatt. Rudolph Anders is probably best known for SHE DEMONS and FRANKENSTEIN (1970). 

Any time you can do something with nothing, you are going to get some credit in my book. Stick a few dozen hotdogs on your head, slap some tempera paint on your face, roll around in the sand and call your movie ATTACK OF THE 78 FOOT ATOMIC ANTENNA CREATURE…then execute it well and I am all about it. PHANTOM FROM OUTER SPACE is simplistic, intriguing, and overall pretty cool in the final analysis. 

I give this movie a 4 out of 7.
 

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