It Came from Outer Space
Encyclopedia
It Came from Outer Space is a 1953 science fiction
3-D film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush
, and Charles Drake
. It was Universal
's first film to be filmed in 3-D.
It develops that the aliens are benign beings whose spacecraft has crashed due to malfunctioning components. Their plan is to stay on Earth long enough to replace them, then continue on their voyage. They temporarily control a few humans since they would not be able to mingle inconspicuously with people, and they realize that humans would panic on seeing them. Upon their departure, all returns to normal on Earth.
, with input by Jack Arnold, and was derived from an original screen treatment by Ray Bradbury
(although it is said Ray Bradbury wrote the original screenplay and Harry Essex merely changed the dialogue and took the credit ). Unusual among sci-fi films of the day, the alien "invaders" were portrayed as creatures without malicious intent. The film has been interpreted as a metaphorical refutation of supposedly xenophobic attitudes and ideology of the Cold War
.
"I wanted to treat the invaders as beings who were not dangerous, and that was very unusual", Bradbury said. He offered two outlines to the studio, one with malicious aliens, the other with benign aliens. "The studio picked the right concept, and I stayed on." He has called the movie "a good film. Some parts of it are quite nice."
In 2004, Bradbury published four versions of his screen treatment for the movie as a single volume, It Came From Outer Space.
The uncredited music in the film was by Irving Gertz
, Henry Mancini
, and Herman Stein
.
The Universal make-up department submitted two alien designs for consideration by the studio executives. The design that was rejected was saved and then later used as the Metaluna Mutant in Universal's This Island Earth (1955). The special effects created for the spacecraft in flight consisted of a wire-mounted iron ball, with hollowed out 'windows', and ignited magnesium inside. The Arizona
setting and the telephone lineman occupation of two of the characters are elements from Bradbury's younger life, when his father moved the family to Tucson
.
Urban legend has it that an extra in an army corporal's uniform at the "meteor" crash site is comedy writer-performer Morey Amsterdam
. While the briefly glimpsed man does indeed resemble Amsterdam, no hard evidence (e.g. cast call bureau records, interviews with Amsterdam) has ever confirmed it is actually him.
The most recent of Universal's 2002 DVD release of the movie comes with a documentary, "The Universe According to Universal," written and directed by David J. Skal, and an audio commentary by Tom Weaver, in which Weaver also notes the similarity of Morey Amsterdam.
domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals, making it the year's 75th biggest earner.
The New York Times
review noted “the adventure…is merely mildly diverting, not stupendous. The space ship and its improbable crew, which keep the citizens of Sand Rock, Ariz., befuddled and terrified, should have the same effect on customers who are passionately devoted to king-sized flying saucers and gremlins." "Brog" in Variety
opined that "Direction by Jack Arnold whips up an air of suspense in putting the Harry Essex screenplay on film, and there is considerable atmosphere of reality created, which stands up well enough if the logic of it all is not examined too closely…story proves to be good science-fiction for the legion of film fans who like scare entertainment, well done.".
Since its original release, the critical response to the film has become mostly positive. Bill Warren
has written that “Arnold’s vigorous direction and Bradbury’s intriguing ideas meld to produce a genuine classic in its limited field.” Jonathan Rosenbaum
described the film as “[A] scary black-and-white SF effort from 1953.” Phil Hardy
’s The Aurum Film Encyclopedia
: Science Fiction observed “Dark desert roads and sudden moments of fear underline Arnold’s ability as a director of Science Fiction films, and Essex’s/Bradbury’s lines match his images superbly.” However, of the 20 reviews included in a Rotten Tomatoes
survey of critics regarding the title, 19% reflect negative reactions. FilmCritic.com opines that the film “moves terribly slowly (despite an 80 minute running time) because the plot is overly simplistic with absolutely no surprises."
Barbara Rush won the Golden Globe award in 1954 as most promising female newcomer for her role.
The film was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Science Fiction Films list.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
3-D film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
, and Charles Drake
Charles Drake
Charles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful...
. It was Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
's first film to be filmed in 3-D.
Plot
Author and amateur astronomer John Putnam (Carlson) and schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Rush) watch a great meteor crash to earth near the small town of Sand Rock, Arizona. After visiting the crash site, John Putnam notices a strange object at the impact site, and comes to believe the meteor is not a meteor at all, but an alien spaceship. After a landslide covers the mysterious craft, John Putnam's story is ridiculed by the townspeople, the sheriff (Drake), and the local media. Even Ellen is unsure of what to believe at first, but soon agrees to assist John in further investigation. In the following days, several local people disappear. A few return, only to display odd robot-like behavior, and seem distant and removed from their normal selves. Eventually Sheriff Warren also becomes convinced that something more than a meteor is involved, and organizes a posse to root out and destroy the invaders. All alone, John hopes to reach a peaceful solution, entering a mine which he hopes will lead him to the buried spacecraft and its mysterious occupants.It develops that the aliens are benign beings whose spacecraft has crashed due to malfunctioning components. Their plan is to stay on Earth long enough to replace them, then continue on their voyage. They temporarily control a few humans since they would not be able to mingle inconspicuously with people, and they realize that humans would panic on seeing them. Upon their departure, all returns to normal on Earth.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Richard Carlson | John Putnam |
| Barbara Rush Barbara Rush Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures... |
Ellen Fields |
| Charles Drake Charles Drake Charles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful... |
Sheriff Matt Warren |
| Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in over 200 films between 1930 and 1962.He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and died in Ashland, Oregon from liver cancer.... |
Frank Daylon |
| Russell Johnson Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson is an American television and film actor best known as "The Professor" on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island... |
George |
| Dave Willock Dave Willock Dave Willock was an American character actor. Willock appeared in 181 films and television shows from 1939 to 1989. He is probably most familiar to modern audiences from his performance as Baby Jane Hudson's father in the opening scenes of the cult classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?... |
Pete Davis |
| Robert Carson | Dugan, reporter |
| Virginia Mullen | Mrs. Daylon |
| Kathleen Hughes Kathleen Hughes Kathleen Hughes is an American film, stage, and television actress from Hollywood, California.Kathleen's ambition as an actress came from two sources. She saw a film with actor Donald O'Connor, which gave her the idea that acting looked like fun. Also, her uncle was playwright F... |
Jane, George's girl |
| Paul Fix Paul Fix Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981... |
Councilman (uncredited) |
| Robert "Buzz" Henry | Posseman (uncredited) |
Production
The screenplay was by Harry EssexHarry Essex
Harry Essex was a prolific American screenwriter. He was born on 29 November 1910 in New York City. He died on 5 February 1997 in Los Angeles. His career spanned more than fifty years...
, with input by Jack Arnold, and was derived from an original screen treatment by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
(although it is said Ray Bradbury wrote the original screenplay and Harry Essex merely changed the dialogue and took the credit ). Unusual among sci-fi films of the day, the alien "invaders" were portrayed as creatures without malicious intent. The film has been interpreted as a metaphorical refutation of supposedly xenophobic attitudes and ideology of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
"I wanted to treat the invaders as beings who were not dangerous, and that was very unusual", Bradbury said. He offered two outlines to the studio, one with malicious aliens, the other with benign aliens. "The studio picked the right concept, and I stayed on." He has called the movie "a good film. Some parts of it are quite nice."
In 2004, Bradbury published four versions of his screen treatment for the movie as a single volume, It Came From Outer Space.
The uncredited music in the film was by Irving Gertz
Irving Gertz
Irving Gertz is an American composer recognized for his compositions for many fantasy and horror B-movies and TV series of the 1950s and 1960s....
, Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, and Herman Stein
Herman Stein
Herman Stein was an American composer who wrote music for many of the 1950s science-fiction and horror films from Universal Studios...
.
The Universal make-up department submitted two alien designs for consideration by the studio executives. The design that was rejected was saved and then later used as the Metaluna Mutant in Universal's This Island Earth (1955). The special effects created for the spacecraft in flight consisted of a wire-mounted iron ball, with hollowed out 'windows', and ignited magnesium inside. The Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
setting and the telephone lineman occupation of two of the characters are elements from Bradbury's younger life, when his father moved the family to Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
Urban legend has it that an extra in an army corporal's uniform at the "meteor" crash site is comedy writer-performer Morey Amsterdam
Morey Amsterdam
Morey Amsterdam was an American television actor and comedian, best known for the role of Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s.-Early life:...
. While the briefly glimpsed man does indeed resemble Amsterdam, no hard evidence (e.g. cast call bureau records, interviews with Amsterdam) has ever confirmed it is actually him.
The most recent of Universal's 2002 DVD release of the movie comes with a documentary, "The Universe According to Universal," written and directed by David J. Skal, and an audio commentary by Tom Weaver, in which Weaver also notes the similarity of Morey Amsterdam.
Response
It Came from Outer Space was released in June 1953 and by the end of that year had accrued US$ 1,600,000 in distributors'Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals, making it the year's 75th biggest earner.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
review noted “the adventure…is merely mildly diverting, not stupendous. The space ship and its improbable crew, which keep the citizens of Sand Rock, Ariz., befuddled and terrified, should have the same effect on customers who are passionately devoted to king-sized flying saucers and gremlins." "Brog" in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
opined that "Direction by Jack Arnold whips up an air of suspense in putting the Harry Essex screenplay on film, and there is considerable atmosphere of reality created, which stands up well enough if the logic of it all is not examined too closely…story proves to be good science-fiction for the legion of film fans who like scare entertainment, well done.".
Since its original release, the critical response to the film has become mostly positive. Bill Warren
Bill Warren
William Bond Warren , better known as Bill Warren, is an American film historian and critic generally regarded as one of the leading authorities on science fiction, horror and fantasy films....
has written that “Arnold’s vigorous direction and Bradbury’s intriguing ideas meld to produce a genuine classic in its limited field.” Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum is an American film critic. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for the Chicago Reader from 1987 until 2008, when he retired at the age of 65...
described the film as “[A] scary black-and-white SF effort from 1953.” Phil Hardy
Phil Hardy (journalist)
Phil Hardy is an English film and music industry journalist. He was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire in 1945 and studied at the University of Sussex, 1964-1969, during which time he was a visiting student at the Berkeley campus of the University of California . At Sussex he started The Brighton Film...
’s The Aurum Film Encyclopedia
The Aurum Film Encyclopedia
The Aurum Film Encyclopedia is a multi-volume reference work on cinema, published in the UK by Aurum Press and edited by Phil Hardy. The first volume, devoted to western films, appeared in 1983, with eight subsequent volumes announced at that time as "forthcoming". However, as of 2007, only...
: Science Fiction observed “Dark desert roads and sudden moments of fear underline Arnold’s ability as a director of Science Fiction films, and Essex’s/Bradbury’s lines match his images superbly.” However, of the 20 reviews included in a Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
survey of critics regarding the title, 19% reflect negative reactions. FilmCritic.com opines that the film “moves terribly slowly (despite an 80 minute running time) because the plot is overly simplistic with absolutely no surprises."
Barbara Rush won the Golden Globe award in 1954 as most promising female newcomer for her role.
The film was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Science Fiction Films list.
Cultural references
- It Came from Outer Space is one of the classic films mentioned in the opening theme ("Science Fiction/Double FeatureScience Fiction/Double Feature"Science Fiction/Double Feature" is the opening song to the original 1973 musical stage production, The Rocky Horror Show as well as its 1975 film counterpart The Rocky Horror Picture Show, book, music and lyrics by Richard O'Brien, musical arrangements by Richard Hartley...
") of the musical The Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
and its film adaptationThe Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
. - The narration in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "92 Degrees" from the 1986 album "Tinderbox" contains dialog from this movie.
- Ranked #92 on Rotten Tomato's Journey Through Sci-Fi (100 Best-Reviewed Sci-Fi Movies)
- This film is mentioned by Para-Medic in the video game Metal Gear Solid 3 after Naked Snake decides to save the game.