I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)

Director:

Gene Fowler Jr.

Writer:

Louis Vittes (writer)

Release Date:

October 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The bride wore terror!

Plot:

Aliens from Outer Space are slowly switching places with real humans -- one of the first being a young man about to get married...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Planet | Marriage | Alcohol | Suspicion

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Tom Tryon	...	Bill Farrell
Gloria Talbott	...	Marge Bradley Farrell
Peter Baldwin	...	Officer Frank Swanson
Robert Ivers	...	Harry Phillips
Chuck Wassil	...	Ted Hanks
Ty Hardin	...	Mac Brody (as Ty Hungerford)
Ken Lynch	...	Dr. Wayne
John Eldredge	...	Police Captain H.B. Collins
Alan Dexter	...	Sam Benson
James Anderson	...	Weldon
Jean Carson	...	Helen Alexander Benson
Jack Orrison	...	Officer Schultz
Steve London	...	Charles Mason
Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom	...	Max Grady (bartender) (as Maxie Rosenbloom)

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1959) | USA:Unrated | Sweden:15

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The dogs who attack the undisguised aliens near the end of the film were initially too scared to approach the costumed actors. The dogs were then acclimated to the presence of the suited actors - perhaps too well, for when the time came to shoot the scene of the dogs attacking the aliens, the dogs didn't attack the aliens, but jumped playfully around and on them instead. The dogs were then trained to go for the "breathing tubes" on the alien costumes. Apparently, the actors playing the aliens had to guide the dogs to attack the "breathing tubes."

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: After the newlyweds depart the church, they are driving down a country road. Just as they are about to pass a mysterious alien figure, the shadow of a boom mic can be briefly seen on the road as the camera traverses with the motion of the vehicle.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Woman in Bar: Those guys ain't even giving us a hard look.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Indiana Jones 4: The Return of a Legend (2008) (V)

It's Deeper Than You Think

Another thinly veiled reference to the Communist witch hunt, 'I Married A Monster From Outer Space' is a movie with a cheesy title and a decent story. Aliens have come to Earth to impersonate American men while using a ray-gun on the women (they really don't like hookers). The flip here is that while they ARE taking over the bodies & lives of the men they capture, they're trying to live the way we do. Are they also trying to love? It's almost touching. Even though the classic paranoia sci-fi flick 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' is an obvious influence, the second half is where the two movies diverge. You can almost root for the body snatchers in 'I Married A Monster'.

The B cast never humiliate themselves, but none of them are particularly memorable either. Gene Fowler Jr. (longtime editor, sometime director) leads his actors through the paces in competent fashion. Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbott don't cause too many sparks, but they're not really supposed to. Along with the actual subversion of humanity, this is also an allegory for how newlyweds can quickly grow apart and---okay, I'll say it---alienated. And although this movie is classified as horror/sci-fi, the American Film Institute saw fit to nominate it for their list of 400 great American love stories.

Filled with subtext and double-meanings (as so many overlooked B movies are), the flick accomplishes more by saying less. The F/X are about as dated and obvious as such things get, but they weren't perfect in other '50s genre films either. You might laugh at 'I Married A Monster', but you could do much worse for 78 minutes. This can't be said for half the modern movies out there, but you SHOULD look closer at this one.