This Island Earth (1955)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Joseph M. Newman

Writers:

Raymond F. Jones (story)
Franklin Coen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The supreme excitement of our time!

Plot:

Aliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Alien | Kidnapped | Flying Saucer | Doctor

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jeff Morrow	...	Exeter
Faith Domergue	...	Dr. Ruth Adams
Rex Reason	...	Dr. Cal Meacham
Lance Fuller	...	Brack
Russell Johnson	...	Steve Carlson
Douglas Spencer	...	The Monitor of Metaluna
Robert Nichols	...	Joe Wilson
Karl Ludwig Lindt	...	Dr. Adolph Engelborg (as Karl L. Lindt)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charlotte Lander	...	Metaluna woman at decompression console

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | West Germany:12 | UK:PG

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

A print of this film was loaned to MGM where another science fiction spectacle, Forbidden Planet (1956), was being prepared.

Goofs:

Plot holes: When Cal and Ruth are on the ship, some of the aliens are leaving the compression tubes in preparation for Metaluna's atmosphere. Cal and Ruth then go into the tubes to undergo the same process. But, if Cal and Ruth were not yet compressed, and the aliens were, they should not logically be able to be in the same room at the same time, as the pressure would not be hospitable to one group or the other.

Quotes:

Dr. Cal Meacham: I feel like a new toothbrush.
[after being enclosed in a clear tube]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dennis Muren Interview (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Movement 2)

Eeeeek!

This was the Star Wars of the 1950's. What movie are these people watching when they say there is no story? This is great escapist fun, filled with flying saucers, aliens, monsters and explosions! Some movies are just meant to be viewed *surprise* as entertainment! Kick back, turn off your brain, relax and watch a fun movie and be entertained by the lumbering bug eyed monsters! Sure, Rex Reason (cool name) is a walking totem pole, and Faith sure does scream a lot, but that's what women did in the 50's when they were being carried away by a scary monster. The effects are pretty good for its time, and the whole picture is a great time capsule about where we were mid-century when space was unexplored, and the flying saucer craze was still going on.