It Came from Outer Space

• Directed by Jack Arnold
• June 5, 1953
• Based on Ray Bradbury’s original film treatment “The Meteor“

When an object falls from the sky, strange things begin to happen and the locals become hostile.

It Came from Outer Space is an early 50s science-fiction film that gets about as scary and weird as a movie from that time can get. It contains alien doubles and a strange looking monster prowling the deserts of Southern California.

What it has going for it are strong performances and a better than expected script with a substantive message. What happens in the narrative occurs because of misunderstanding on the part of all involved. The people assume the aliens are evil but seriously what did the aliens expect by shape shifting and sneaking around town? They had to of known people would get suspicious.

The aliens are good if a bit dumb when it comes to the effects of their shapeshifting. They are simply explorers who have crash landed and need to repair their ship. The locals assume the strangers must be dangerous. They become fearful of what they do not understand and apply the worst characteristics their minds can conjure. Not at all uncommon in real life.

The stereotype of the of the black and white alien invasion film is well founded. I’ve enjoyed many saucer movies but they were obscenely common during the 50s. This while it contains an alien spaceship and strange alien creatures is not about invaders but rather explorers who just want to get home.

Amateur astronomer John Putnam (Richard Carlson) who is dating (and unusual for the screen apparently living with) schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush) is the first to respond to the object’s crash as well as the only one to see the UFO. Strange encounters and his own crusade lead him to eventually coming face to fake face with the aliens.

I’m still a little confused why Putnam trust of the aliens enough to not do much of anything initially when he found out that they were shape shifters. He was stuck between a bit of a rock and a hard place, but he didn’t even take any action until his galpal got kidnapped. And they never did explain why they raided his wardrobe. At least not that I can recall. 

It Came from Outer Space is largely shot outside but there are a few moments where they chose to film on an interior set. The events they’re filming take place outside and I have no good reason why they would’ve chosen to do that. That occurred in other films of the era and it just seems like an example of poor craftsmanship.

There is something confusing to me in this. During the final moments of the film the aliens having taken the shape of Putnam is going on about how much effort his people have put into being able to travel to the stars and all that but long story short the whole point of his speech is that he’s going to blow up the Earth because we’re threatening and evil.

How does that make them any better? And they’re capable of lifting off the planet at this point so why resort to suicide with a generous helping of genocide? It’s clear this movie was meant to be deeper than most of the time but that makes absolutely no sense and harms the deeper theme of ignorance leading to problems. 

The cinematography is great. There are some real creative elements done. The monster for the time is quite good and very alien. The only real drawback is the spaceship. It looks like a sparkler or flare dragged in front of the camera with some other shape imposed on it as well.

There are a few questionable moments of narrative logic as I have mentioned but the underlying themes and more intelligent approach help to more than make up for that short coming. It Came from Outer Space is a rare attempt at intelligence for mid 50s science-fiction film. For science-fiction aficionados check this out but other people might not be able to embrace it due to dated special effects mostly. I however enjoyed it and would recommend it!