Not of This Earth (1957 film)
Encyclopedia
Not of This Earth is a 67-minute, 1957 American
black-and-white
science fiction film
written by Charles B. Griffith
and Mark Hanna
. It was produced and directed by Roger Corman
for Los Altos Productions and distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.
The film depicts the dark deeds of an alien intruder who hides under the name of Mr. Johnson. After a nuclear war, the people of his home planet Davanna suffer from an incurable blood disease. Johnson's mission is to test the blood of humans on its usefulness for his dying kind.
Johnson hires nurse Nadine to look after him in his house. Her boss Dr. Rochelle is under Johnson's hypnotic spell after he found out about his patient's peculiar blood cell structure. Johnson's plans are disturbed by the sudden appearance of a woman from Davanna. She asks him for an instant transfusion because her physical condition has decreased rapidly. Johnson breaks into Rochelle's office, but by accident he steals a probe of a rabid dog. The Davanna woman collapses in the street and dies at the hospital. Nadine's friend, police patrol man Sherbourne, tries to question Rochelle, but the doctor is speechless under Johnson's spell. Johnson kills Rochelle for cautionary reasons, but Nadine, the next person in danger, manages to call the police. Johnson flees in his car, followed closely by Sherbourne on his motorcycle. When Sherbourne rings his siren, Johnson, distracted by the sound, drives the car off the road and dies in the crash.
After Johnson's funeral, Sherbourne and Nadine stand by his grave, which bears the inscription "Here lies a Man who was not of this Earth". While Sherbourne expresses mild compassion for Johnson, whose driving force was the rescue of his planet and its populace, Nadine refuses any kind of pity. They leave the gravesite. A mysterious man appears at the site, walking straight towards the viewer. Like Johnson, he wears the same sunglasses and carries the same distinctive case (which contains transfusion equipment).
with Attack of the Crab Monsters
.
Some releases ran 71 minutes. These copies did not include extra material; instead, the distributor edited certain footage twice into the film, for instance a diaogue between Johnson and a representative from Davanna, which appears as a pre-title sequence and again some minutes later into the film. This version circulated on US TV stations
, 16 mm copies and on bootleg DVDs
and videotapes
.
"Corman's most enjoyable science fiction film" – Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film.
"Marvellous" – The Aurum Film Encyclopedia – Science Fiction.
"[…] although not nescessarily first rank, [Not of This Earth] still belongs, bearing its low budget in mind, to the best science fiction films of the Fifties." – Lexikon des Science Fiction Films.
as a single DVD. Foreign DVD releases exist in Spain
(as Emisario del otro mundo) and Germany
(as Die Außerirdischen).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
science fiction film
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...
written by Charles B. Griffith
Charles B. Griffith
Charles B. Griffith was a Chicago-born screenwriter, son of Donna Dameral, radio star of Myrt and Marge...
and Mark Hanna
Mark Hanna
Marcus Alonzo "Mark" Hanna was a United States Senator from Ohio and the friend and political manager of President William McKinley...
. It was produced and directed by Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
for Los Altos Productions and distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.
The film depicts the dark deeds of an alien intruder who hides under the name of Mr. Johnson. After a nuclear war, the people of his home planet Davanna suffer from an incurable blood disease. Johnson's mission is to test the blood of humans on its usefulness for his dying kind.
Plot
After a nuclear war, the people of the planet Davanna suffer from an incurable blood disease. One of its citizens is sent to earth to examine the blood of the human species on its usefulness for Davanna's dying race. The intruder has adopted the name Mr. Johnson, conspicuous only for his oversensitive ears and his sunglasses, which he wears even in the dark. The sunglasses hide his blank, white-eyed stare which kills his victims by burning their visual organs and brains.Johnson hires nurse Nadine to look after him in his house. Her boss Dr. Rochelle is under Johnson's hypnotic spell after he found out about his patient's peculiar blood cell structure. Johnson's plans are disturbed by the sudden appearance of a woman from Davanna. She asks him for an instant transfusion because her physical condition has decreased rapidly. Johnson breaks into Rochelle's office, but by accident he steals a probe of a rabid dog. The Davanna woman collapses in the street and dies at the hospital. Nadine's friend, police patrol man Sherbourne, tries to question Rochelle, but the doctor is speechless under Johnson's spell. Johnson kills Rochelle for cautionary reasons, but Nadine, the next person in danger, manages to call the police. Johnson flees in his car, followed closely by Sherbourne on his motorcycle. When Sherbourne rings his siren, Johnson, distracted by the sound, drives the car off the road and dies in the crash.
After Johnson's funeral, Sherbourne and Nadine stand by his grave, which bears the inscription "Here lies a Man who was not of this Earth". While Sherbourne expresses mild compassion for Johnson, whose driving force was the rescue of his planet and its populace, Nadine refuses any kind of pity. They leave the gravesite. A mysterious man appears at the site, walking straight towards the viewer. Like Johnson, he wears the same sunglasses and carries the same distinctive case (which contains transfusion equipment).
Production notes
The film was released in the USA on the bottom half of a programmed double billDouble feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
with Attack of the Crab Monsters
Attack of the Crab Monsters
Attack of the Crab Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film, written by Charles B. Griffith and produced and directed by Roger Corman via Los Altos Productions, on contract for distribution by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. The plot follows a scientific expedition...
.
Some releases ran 71 minutes. These copies did not include extra material; instead, the distributor edited certain footage twice into the film, for instance a diaogue between Johnson and a representative from Davanna, which appears as a pre-title sequence and again some minutes later into the film. This version circulated on US TV stations
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
, 16 mm copies and on bootleg DVDs
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and videotapes
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
.
Reception
"[Shows] much imagination, good humour and sheer joy in filmmaking" – Geoff Andrew, Time Out."Corman's most enjoyable science fiction film" – Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film.
"Marvellous" – The Aurum Film Encyclopedia – Science Fiction.
"[…] although not nescessarily first rank, [Not of This Earth] still belongs, bearing its low budget in mind, to the best science fiction films of the Fifties." – Lexikon des Science Fiction Films.
Remakes
- Not of This EarthNot of This Earth (1988 film)Not of This Earth is a 1988 remake of the 1957 science fiction-horror Not of This Earth. The film was directed by Jim Wynorsky. The film was made as a result of a wager where Wynorsky bet he could remake the film in the same budget and schedule as the 1957 version by Corman.This film starred Traci...
(1988), directed by Jim Wynorsky and starring Traci LordsTraci LordsTraci Lords , also known as Traci Elizabeth Lords and Tracy Lords, is an American film actress, producer, film director, writer and singer...
. - Not of This Earth (1995), directed by Terence H. Winkless and starring Michael YorkMichael York (actor)Michael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
.
DVD releases
Not of this Earth is available as a regular DVD in the US (as part of the Roger Corman's Cult Classics Triple Feature DVD box) and in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a single DVD. Foreign DVD releases exist in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(as Emisario del otro mundo) and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(as Die Außerirdischen).