It Came from Outer Space (1953)

Some of the best early sci-fi movies about aliens didn't have scenes with scary monsters or ugly creatures. They were built mostly on suspense, anxiety and anticipation. Films such as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" of 1956 had superb scripts and good acting that kept the audience on the edge of their seats through most of the film. Hollywood had difficulty creating its creatures in the early years. They couldn't look amateurishly funny or that would defeat the scare attraction of the film. Some of the early monsters were so bad that they were funny, when finally seen. So, to get around that, the studios usually had good screenplays that incorporated the right music and background sounds to create the suspense and scary aspects. "It Came from Outer Space" introduces an alien of some sort that apparently is quite grotesque. At least, judging from the frightened looks of the people who confront it in this film. Richard Carlson, as John Putnam isn't overpowered by a monster, but at his request, the alien reveals itself to him as it really appears. Only, we in the audience don't get to see it. Well, we do get to see it somewhat from the alien's side of an eyeball looking out. That's a little funny in itself. But the script isn't very good for this film. The music seemed hokey or didn't seem to fit at times. Carlson has to overact to carry the plot along at times. And that just further takes away from the scare factor. The result is the loss of suspense half an hour into the movie, and a rather blasé film that seems to drag on after that. The scare factor is all but gone, and the audience is left just wondering what the alien actually looks like.There are any number of good sci-fi films of the mid-20th century to see. There also are many cheap "B" films that have almost comical monsters. "It Came from Outer Space" comes close to the second group.

That old adage of "we kill what we don't understand" can be applied to It Came from Outer Space, another solid classic bit of sci-fi B-movie from director Jack Arnold, with a screenplay inspired by Bradbury's The Meteor. Supposedly a meteor lands in the Arizona desert near a small town, but in fact it is a space ship carrying an alien race quite repulsive to humans. With a smart script that questions our inability to wait before pulling out our guns and firing, and telling us that the aliens aren't always a threat to humankind, It Came from Outer Space tried to provoke our thoughts away from believing that those from outside our world land here to hurt us. Richard Carlson is kind of a B-movie icon for many of us, mainly due to his association with Creature from the Black Lagoon and this film. He is the lone scientist (a "star gazer" in this film, considered by the papers who mock his claim that it was a space ship that landed in the desert, not a meteor as suspected) who tries to speak for the aliens, hoping to convince the sheriff (Charles Drake) that using guns won't solve anything except perhaps hurt those "taken captive" by them in order to use their likenesses in town to secure hardware needed to fix their vessel (and produce a weapon to protect themselves). With Barbara Rush as Carlson's love interest (and eventually kidnapped herself, naturally), and Russell Johnson (of Gilligan's Island fame) as the employee of an electrician (Joe Sawyer) in the cast, this is actually a respected sci-fi film, not relegated to the cheesy conversation of many of its ilk. There are some imaginative first-person perspective shots "seen through the eye" of the alien as it descends upon and spy on humans. The special effects aren't the bright spot of this one: its budget is obviously low as the alien is a rubbery monstrosity that could have been made by Paul Blaisdell, and the ship is basically a ball (probably inflatable). I always find myself engaged in the presentation, though, as it has that Invasion of Body Snatchers meets Day the Earth Stood Still feel to it. Carlson was always reliable and interesting, and he conveys the frustrations/dismay of being dismissed for his claims of the spaceship/alien presence, conflicted, agonizing anxiety at if he should believe in what the race of aliens are telling him regarding peaceful non-threatening motives on earth (just repairs and accidental crash on the planet, not willing to confront the earthlings due to our "shoot first, ask later" response to beings unlike us), and struggle to maintain a posse led by the sheriff when it appears the townsfolk are being kidnapped and possibly in harm's way. The setting in Arizona (actually shot in California) is quite refreshing (THEM also has that, as does Arnold's own Tarantula), and it is used expansively. One good scene I like has Joe's electrician listening to "strange noise" through the power lines with Carlson getting an ear of it, commenting on how the desert has its own voice. The Joshua tree even gets a good bit of ooga-booga use as Rush screams when it is shadowed in darkness, as she believes it is the alien. The zombie-like movements of alien clones of the human locals is quite pod-like, and the simple small town rural sense of place within the enveloping desert landscape does create a bit of "perfect cover" for aliens needing to get their ship in order…or else. The reliable scores of these kinds of 50s sci-fi shows itself effectively here in this film as well.

In the Arizona desert, the writer and amateur stargazer John Putnam (Richard Carlson) and his girlfriend, the schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush), are in his house planning to get married. Out of the blue, they witness a meteor crash in the desert. They fly to the location with their friend Pete in his helicopter and John decides to go to the bottom of the crater to investigate. John sees a spacecraft but there is a landslide and the ship is covered by earth. John discloses his discovery to Sheriff Matt Warren (Charles Drake), who is his rival and is also into Ellen, and to the inhabitants and they believe he is a daydreamer. John wants to prove his finding and meets his acquaintances Frank Daylon (Joe Sawyer) and George (Russell Johnson) repairing telephone cables on the desert and they find disturbance in the cable. The workers follow the cable and meet an alien that takes the form of George. Soon John and Ellen note that a group of dwellers are acting strange and they believe they have been possessed by the aliens. When Ellen is also abducted by the aliens, John contacts them and discovers their intention. Are they friend or hostile invaders? "It Came from Outer Space" is another delightful sci-fi from the 50's with a story of Ray Bradbury. Years before Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", the writer John Putnam has an encounter with aliens that explains that we are not ready to contact them. The low budget of "It Came from Outer Space" is not a problem since the story is very well constructed. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Ameaça Que Veio do Espaço" ("The Treaten That Came from Space")Note: On 23 August 2015, I saw this film again.

Jack Arnold directed this Ray Bradbury story that stars Richard Carlson as astronomer John Putnam, who, along with his girlfriend Ellen Fields(played by Barbara Rush) witness a meteor crash in the desert of Arizona. They go to investigate, and John discovers that it is a spaceship, not a meteor that has crashed, along with a strange-looking alien. Unfortunately, he's the only one that does, and the suspicious local sheriff(played by Charles Drake) is highly skeptical. When two local telephone pole workers(played by Joe Sawyer & Russell Johnson) are replaced by alien lookalikes, John knows that something sinister is happening, and must be stopped... Early science fiction tale is rather good, though does show its age in some ways(a bit melodramatic at times!) Overall though, entertaining and thoughtful.