IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)

Tagline: Exploding from the eye of the universe. It came to rule the world in a kingdom of fear! How can you escape!..from a sight you cannot see!... From a force, you cannot feel!... From a fear, you cannot face!

(Sci-Fi, Horror, Eyeball Alien) [G]

Note – This movie did not originally have an MPAA rating, but I am pretty sure it would have been a G. At the very worst, maybe a PG. This movie was also called “Atomic Monster”. 

I tell you from its size and its appearance this thing come from outer space. I even have reason to believe that there's some form of life in it.

In this one John Putnam is out one night just putting the moves on his girlfriend Ellen Fields and bam, something lands in the Arizona desert from outer space. Why? Because it has to, or we don’t have a movie. John decides to investigate and sees the spacecraft before it is buried by a landslide. When he goes into the town of Sand Rock nearby, no one believes him about the alien's spacecraft, but as the residents start acting weird, it becomes apparent something sinister is happening. Can John and Ellen save the town, or will no one be able to stop the madness? 

First off, I live in Arizona and there is no town here called “Sand Rock”. Secondly, the movie was actually filmed in the desert of California, not Arizona, but it’s cool when the area a movie is supposed to take place is in your home state. It should also be noted that originally this movie was released in 3D and the credits come at the end of the movie, not the beginning. In the ’50s that was pretty rare. 

Acting-wise this movie is very solid. It features Richard Carlson as John Putnam (pretty much the main character). Carlson was famous for several sci-fi flicks that included THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and THE MAGNETIC MONSTER. Russell Johnson (ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, THIS ISLAND EARTH) is also in this one and gets quite a bit of screen time. By the way, in case you were wondering, Johnson’s career in Hollywood spanned 47 years from 1950 to 1997. Barbara Rush plays Ellen Fields who is in the lead female role. Barbara Rush is also famous for WHEN WORLD’S COLLIDE. Born in 1927, as of the writing of this review she is still around at the age of 95 which is awesome. Kathleen Hughes is also in this one as Jane. She is most famous for this movie, but she was also in 1955’s CULT OF THE COBRA. She like Barbara Rush is also still around and is just 1 year younger. The cast really holds this movie together, but honestly, the alien(s) and the designs aren’t bad either.

Pacing wise there are a few parts that feel slow, and that may be in part due to the fact that the story does drag a bit over an 81 minute run time that could have been handled 20 minutes or more earlier. Admittedly I am not a huge fan of Ray Bradbury’s, (who actually penned most of the script) and wish this movie had the aliens being a bit more aggressive, but it’s still a solid story and it does keep my interest for its entire run time. 

The score and lighting all work and this is definitely a movie I could see myself watching again. Having said that I have to land this at a 4 out of 7 for me. The build-up promised more than we ended up with by the time the credits started rolling. Not shockingly whenever I see Russell Johnson in any movie I automatically expect the “Gilligan’s Island” song to come on at any minute. 

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