This Island Earth (1955)

Nuclear scientist Dr. Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) joins a group of fellow atomic brainiacs at a centre run by the enigmatic Exeter (Jeff Morrow), who turns out to be an alien from the planet Metaluna. Exeter and his cohorts are looking for a way to synthesise uranium so that they can protect their home planet from attack by Zagons, but the large foreheaded aliens also have a back up plan: to make Earth their home and become the master race.The image of a Metalunan Mutant menacing Dr. Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue) is one that has stayed with me since a child, when I collected bubble gum cards featuring scenes from old sci-fi and horror films. Sadly, the film that this unforgettable image came from, This Island Earth, isn't all that great: the first half is incredibly talky and quite uneventful, and the second half is totally pointless, with our hero and heroine visiting Metaluna for ten minutes or so before leaving, having done absolutely nothing!The special effects are also rather disappointing: there's nothing here that Flash Gordon didn't do twenty years earlier, with some iffy matte paintings, dodgy model work, silly communication devices (a triangular screen-really?), and an unconvincing rubbery mutant. The fifties gave us so many genuinely great sci-fi films-Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Incredible Shrinking Man, to name a few-but This Island Earth isn't one of them.

This film is worthy of a higher rating. Apart from including some fine special effects of the times, "This Island Earth" has a good story and a good performance from Jeff Morrow. The acting from the younger leads wasn't so impressive, granted. Regardless, there is much to enjoy. The film includes a rather creepy alien villain! As a 7 year old, I was a bit spooked when I saw the alien for the first time. My late father and I enjoyed "This Island Earth" a few times as my dad was just about old enough to remember this film. The dialogue certainly isn't the worst I have ever heard by a long way. This film has a more intelligent screenplay than the average.

The electronic engineer Dr. Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) is a prominent scientist that is studying industrial application of nuclear energy and also a great pilot. One day, he receives a different condenser and soon his assistant Joe Wilson (Robert Nichols) receives a manual instruction and several components of a sophisticated machine. Carl and Joe build a communication apparatus and a man called Exeter (Jeff Morrow) contacts Carl. He tells that Carl has passed the test assembling the Interocitor and invites him to join his research. The intrigued Carl decides to travel to meet Exeter that sends an unmanned airplane to bring him to an isolated facility in Georgia. He is welcomed by Dr. Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue) but she mysteriously does not recall their love affair in the past. They team-up with Dr. Steve Carlson (Russell Johnson) and they note that the other scientists in the facility have been transformed, having a weird behavior. They decide to flee in a car, but they are attacked by rays and Steve dies. Carl and Ruth also witness the facility blowing-up and they escape in an airplane. However they are pulled up into a flying saucer and realize that Exeter is an alien. Whal is the objective of the aliens? "This Island Earth" is an entertaining sci-fi from the 50's, with a story of aliens that need help from the Earthling scientists in their war against another planet. For a film made sixty years ago, the special effects, the monster, sets and scenarios are great. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Guerra Entre Planetas" ("War Between Planets")Note: On 17 November 2017 I saw this film again.

WE'VE WONDERED ABOUT just how good of a piece of SciFi film this was; for viewing it just seemed to an eluding experience for years. More precisely, this was ever since my younger brother, Bob, (Robert E. Ryan)bought a copy of a record album with (I believe) money received for his 13th Birthday party. That was in May of 1965.THE PARTICULAR 33 1/3 RPM long play record was titled THEMES FROM HORROR MOVIES by one Dick Jacobs & His Orchestra; from Coral Records (a Subsidiary of Decca Records), 1959. Inasmuch as Coral & Decca were both labels owned by MCA (the owner of Universal Pictures), it should have come as no surprise that the chosen selections were excerpts of soundtracks from Universal's output.*BETWEEN THE EXCITING selection from THIS ISLAND EARTH, titled meteors, and the highly dramatic advertising art that decorated the movie posters, lobby cards & the newspaper movie sections, we received an impression that this was a first rate thriller. Added to our expectations was the highly metaphoric title of the movie; which,in itself, brought a feeling of wonderment and eager anticipation to our youthful imaginations.NOW UNDERSANDING THAT expectation seldom approaches reality, we know that so much of what was at play here is good old fashioned Hollywood hype, Madison Street hoopla and manipulating of our emotions.AS FOR OUR long last being able to view the film, we can only say that it is a mediocre production at best. It is a "B" movie, passing as an "A" grade feature. it has a "B" cast with cut rate sets, economic special effects and formula storytelling.WITH ALL THIS negativity, let us interject right here; that the theme music and incidental music was, at least,very good. ONE PARTICULAR SHORTCOMING would be the short time that the story's setting was limited to 'Metaluna'. It seems that the Eartlings had just arrived there; when they were departing on the second leg of the round trip. To quote Groucho Marx's song in ANIMAL CRACKERS, "... Hello, I must be going...!" THAT WE DID, indeed find it somewhat enjoyable would be due to recollecting on the era from which the movie sprang; namely the 1950's. It was during this time, with the Cold War at its coldest and only ten short years since the end of Workld War II, that our neighborhood shows and drive-ins craved this sort of fair to stay going. Basically, countless pictures relied on the simple formula of: the Government/Military + Sciene = Our World Saved! WE HAVE FOUND that many a TV series episode may well have been derived from failed screenplays,that were originally intended for theatrical features, that never got made; which were then scaled down for presentation on the small screen. It appears to us that THIS ISLAND EARTH saw the light of day by taking the reverse route; bring a story intended for a TV Scienvce Fiction anthology series, then padded out for the movie houses.SO, AS WE reluctantly come to a close to another of our delightful reviews, we can all rest assured that we've fulfilled another item on "Red Ryan's Bucket List!"NOTE: In addition to Universal Productions, there were some themes from the British Company, Hammer Films; which were released by Universal. (Get the picture?)