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This Island Earth (film)
Encyclopedia
This Island Earth is a 1955 American science fiction
film
directed by Joseph M. Newman
. It is based on the novel of the same name
by Raymond F. Jones
. The film stars Jeff Morrow as the alien Exeter, Faith Domergue
as Dr. Ruth Adams, and Rex Reason
as Dr. Cal Meacham. The film was one of the first major science fiction films to be made in Technicolor
. In 1996, This Island Earth was also edited down and lampooned in the film Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
.
When initially released, the film was praised by most critics, many citing the special effects, well-written script and eye-popping color (prints by Technicolor) as being its major assets.
The film was one of the last films to use the three-strip Technicolor
filming process. Even during production, the film's special effects were shot on the more conventional Eastman color process, which most studios had already adopted.
Dr. Cal Meacham, a noted scientist, receives an unusual substitute for electronic condenser
s that he ordered. He receives instruction and parts to build a complex communication device called an interocitor
. Although neither Meacham nor his assistant Joe Wilson have heard of an interocitor, they immediately begin constructing it. When finished, a mysterious man named Exeter appears on the interocitor's screen and tells Meacham he has passed the test. His ability to build the interocitor demonstrates that he is gifted enough to be part of Exeter's special research project.
Intrigued, Meacham is picked up the next day at the airport by an unmanned, computer-controlled Douglas DC-3
aircraft with no windows. Landing in a remote area of Georgia, he finds an international group of top-flight scientists already present – including an old flame, Dr. Ruth Adams. Cal is almost immediately suspicious of the odd-looking group of men leading the project.
Cal and Ruth try to flee with a third scientist, Steve Carlson, but their car is attacked and Carlson is killed. When they take off in a small plane
, Cal and Ruth watch as the facility and all its inhabitants are incinerated, and their plane is drawn by a mysterious beam into a flying saucer
. They learn that Exeter and his band are from the planet Metaluna, having come to Earth
seeking uranium deposits as well as scientists to help defend their planet in a war against the evil Zagons. Exeter informs the Earthlings that he is taking them back to his world. Exeter and the Metalunans are attacked by Zagon star ships, carrying meteors, to be used to destroy them and Metaluna. The Metalunan saucer easily avoids each attack, by dodging the oncoming planetoid bombs.
After a mind-bending journey, they arrive to find the planet under full bombardment and falling quickly to the enemy. Metalunan society is breaking down and there is little hope. Their leader, The Monitor, reveals that the Metalunans intend to relocate to Earth and insists that Meacham and Adams be subjected to a Thought Transference Chamber in order to subjugate their free will so they cannot object. Exeter believes this to be immoral and misguided since it constrains their ability to help the Metalunans. Exeter decides to help Cal and Ruth escape, thus revolting against his own kind, before they enter the brain-reprogramming facility.
Exeter is badly injured by a Mutant while the three escape from Metaluna prior to the final destruction of the planet, transforming it into a new star, to light other worlds. The Mutant also boards the craft, but dies as a result of pressure differences on the journey back to Earth.
As they enter Earth's atmosphere, Exeter sends Cal and Ruth on their way in their small plane, but he himself is dying and the ship is nearly depleted of energy. With no other options, Exeter uses the craft's remaining power to fly it out to sea and crash.
* Not credited on-screen.
, the fictional crew of the spaceship Satellite of Love are forced to watch the film as part of an "experiment"; while watching the film, the crew can be seen in silhouette at the bottom of the screen, mocking the action. The film also includes "host segments" (skits with the crew and Mad Scientists), including two scenes with the characters using an Interocitor.
In order to maintain a 73-minute running time and to accommodate several "host segments", "This Island Earth" was edited down by about 20 minutes, removing numerous scenes, some important (like a sequence of the Zagon fleet attacking Metaluna). Consequentially, this makes "MST3K: The Movie" shorter than the original "This Island Earth", or even the average, 90-minute "MST3K" episode.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Joseph M. Newman
Joseph M. Newman
Joseph M. Newman was an American film director most famous for his 1955 film This Island Earth. His credits include episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour....
. It is based on the novel of the same name
This Island Earth (novel)
This Island Earth is a 1952 science fiction novel by Raymond F. Jones. It was first published as a serial in Thrilling Wonder Stories magazine...
by Raymond F. Jones
Raymond F. Jones
Raymond Fisher Jones was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel, This Island Earth, which was adapted into the 1955 film This Island Earth.-Career:...
. The film stars Jeff Morrow as the alien Exeter, Faith Domergue
Faith Domergue
-Early life and career:Born in New Orleans, Domergue was adopted by Adabelle Wemet when she was six weeks old . Adabelle married Leo Domergue in 1926, when Faith was 18 months old. The family moved to California in 1928 where Domergue attended Beverly Hills Catholic School and St...
as Dr. Ruth Adams, and Rex Reason
Rex Reason
Rex Reason is an American actor.He is the brother of actor Rhodes Reason, who is two years younger...
as Dr. Cal Meacham. The film was one of the first major science fiction films to be made in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. In 1996, This Island Earth was also edited down and lampooned in the film Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 theatrical adaptation of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, produced and set between seasons 6 and 7 of the show. It was released by Gramercy Pictures and Best Brains with distribution held by Universal Pictures...
.
When initially released, the film was praised by most critics, many citing the special effects, well-written script and eye-popping color (prints by Technicolor) as being its major assets.
The film was one of the last films to use the three-strip Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
filming process. Even during production, the film's special effects were shot on the more conventional Eastman color process, which most studios had already adopted.
Plot
The first half of the film closely follows the plot of the novel, then diverges to a much simpler version that leaves out the more "intellectual" aspects.Dr. Cal Meacham, a noted scientist, receives an unusual substitute for electronic condenser
Capacitor
A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electrical component used to store energy in an electric field. The forms of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two electrical conductors separated by a dielectric ; for example, one common construction consists of metal foils separated...
s that he ordered. He receives instruction and parts to build a complex communication device called an interocitor
Interocitor
The interocitor, also spelled interositor is a fictitious multi-functional device featured in the 1955 science fiction film This Island Earth. The device arrives in kit form as an intelligence test for scientists who might prove helpful to an alien race.- This Island Earth :The Interocitor is an...
. Although neither Meacham nor his assistant Joe Wilson have heard of an interocitor, they immediately begin constructing it. When finished, a mysterious man named Exeter appears on the interocitor's screen and tells Meacham he has passed the test. His ability to build the interocitor demonstrates that he is gifted enough to be part of Exeter's special research project.
Intrigued, Meacham is picked up the next day at the airport by an unmanned, computer-controlled Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
aircraft with no windows. Landing in a remote area of Georgia, he finds an international group of top-flight scientists already present – including an old flame, Dr. Ruth Adams. Cal is almost immediately suspicious of the odd-looking group of men leading the project.
Cal and Ruth try to flee with a third scientist, Steve Carlson, but their car is attacked and Carlson is killed. When they take off in a small plane
Aeronca Sedan
The Aeronca 15AC Sedan is a four-seat, fixed conventional gear light airplane which was produced in the United States between 1948 and 1951. Designed by Aeronca for personal use, the Sedan also found applications in utility roles including bush flying...
, Cal and Ruth watch as the facility and all its inhabitants are incinerated, and their plane is drawn by a mysterious beam into a flying saucer
Flying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
. They learn that Exeter and his band are from the planet Metaluna, having come to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
seeking uranium deposits as well as scientists to help defend their planet in a war against the evil Zagons. Exeter informs the Earthlings that he is taking them back to his world. Exeter and the Metalunans are attacked by Zagon star ships, carrying meteors, to be used to destroy them and Metaluna. The Metalunan saucer easily avoids each attack, by dodging the oncoming planetoid bombs.
After a mind-bending journey, they arrive to find the planet under full bombardment and falling quickly to the enemy. Metalunan society is breaking down and there is little hope. Their leader, The Monitor, reveals that the Metalunans intend to relocate to Earth and insists that Meacham and Adams be subjected to a Thought Transference Chamber in order to subjugate their free will so they cannot object. Exeter believes this to be immoral and misguided since it constrains their ability to help the Metalunans. Exeter decides to help Cal and Ruth escape, thus revolting against his own kind, before they enter the brain-reprogramming facility.
Exeter is badly injured by a Mutant while the three escape from Metaluna prior to the final destruction of the planet, transforming it into a new star, to light other worlds. The Mutant also boards the craft, but dies as a result of pressure differences on the journey back to Earth.
As they enter Earth's atmosphere, Exeter sends Cal and Ruth on their way in their small plane, but he himself is dying and the ship is nearly depleted of energy. With no other options, Exeter uses the craft's remaining power to fly it out to sea and crash.
Cast
- Jeff Morrow as Exeter
- Faith DomergueFaith Domergue-Early life and career:Born in New Orleans, Domergue was adopted by Adabelle Wemet when she was six weeks old . Adabelle married Leo Domergue in 1926, when Faith was 18 months old. The family moved to California in 1928 where Domergue attended Beverly Hills Catholic School and St...
as Ruth Adams - Rex ReasonRex ReasonRex Reason is an American actor.He is the brother of actor Rhodes Reason, who is two years younger...
as Cal Meacham - Lance Fuller as Brack
- Russell JohnsonRussell JohnsonRussell David Johnson is an American television and film actor best known as "The Professor" on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island...
as Steve Carlson - Douglas SpencerDouglas SpencerDouglas Spencer was an American film actor. Starting in the mid 1930's and going through the 40's, he appeared in dozens of films as an extra, then cameo roles and uncredited roles. He worked as a Stand-In and in Production Departments...
as The Monitor - Robert Nichols as Joe Wilson
- Karl L. Lindt as Dr. Adolph Engelborg
- Robert Williams* as Webb
- Coleman FrancisColeman FrancisColeman C. Francis was an American actor, writer, producer, and director perhaps best-known for his film trilogy consisting of The Beast of Yucca Flats , The Skydivers , Red Zone Cuba , all three of which were filmed in the general Yucca Mountain, Nevada area and used preoccupation with light...
* as Express delivery man - Charlotte Lander* as Metaluna woman at decompression chamber
- Marc Hamilton* as Metaluna inhabitant
- OrangeyOrangeyOrangey, a red tabby cat, was a talented animal actor owned and trained by the well-known cinematic animal handler Frank Inn.Orangey had a prolific career in film and television in the 1950s and early 1960s and was the only cat to win two Patsy Awards , the first for the title role...
* as Neutron, the cat
* Not credited on-screen.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
This Island Earth is the film-within-the-film in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (or MST3K: The Movie). As in the television seriesMystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, the fictional crew of the spaceship Satellite of Love are forced to watch the film as part of an "experiment"; while watching the film, the crew can be seen in silhouette at the bottom of the screen, mocking the action. The film also includes "host segments" (skits with the crew and Mad Scientists), including two scenes with the characters using an Interocitor.
In order to maintain a 73-minute running time and to accommodate several "host segments", "This Island Earth" was edited down by about 20 minutes, removing numerous scenes, some important (like a sequence of the Zagon fleet attacking Metaluna). Consequentially, this makes "MST3K: The Movie" shorter than the original "This Island Earth", or even the average, 90-minute "MST3K" episode.
Other references
- A brief homage to This Island Earth is seen in E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
(1982). E.T. turns the TV on during a showing of the film, at the scene when Cal and Ruth are being abducted by the aliens and Cal says "They're pulling us up!" - In the film ExplorersExplorers (film)Explorers is a 1985 family-oriented science-fiction fantasy film written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante. It was the first feature film for both Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix.It was filmed in 70mm color with 6-track sound, and runs for 109 minutes...
, "This Island Earth" is mentioned in a line of dialogue: "I just got this new tape of This Island Earth. It's got this great saucer landing...And it's got, no, it's got this big mutant, with this, like, two brains." A short clip from the end of the film when Exeter is taking Cal and Ruth back to Earth, is shown in reference to Wolfgang, Ben, and Darren returning to Earth. - The 1988 video game Zak McKracken and the Alien MindbendersZak McKracken and the Alien MindbendersZak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is a graphical adventure game, originally released in October 1988 , published by LucasArts . It was the second game to use the SCUMM engine, after Maniac Mansion...
contains key references to this movie, such as large-headed aliens disguised as humans, communications through interstellar teleconferencing, and an airplane pulled into a flying saucer. - Shock rock metal band GWARGWARGwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
`s 4th album, 'This Toilet EarthThis Toilet EarthThis Toilet Earth is the fourth album released by rock/heavy metal/punk band Gwar. Released in 1994, this album was to be one of their oddest and most bittersweet albums. It was the first Gwar album to be censored , due to their gain in popularity as a result of MTV exposure...
' and its companion short form movie 'Skulhedface' contain numerous references to this movie, including, among other things, the title, an alien with an oversized brain posing as a human, and communication between aliens using an interstellar teleconference device. - New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Misfits included a song tribute entitled "This Island Earth" on their 1997 albumAlbumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
American PsychoAmerican PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
. - Steve HackettSteve HackettStephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
included a song called "Turn This Island Earth" which was inspired by the film on his 2011 album "Beyond the Shrouded Horizon". - On page 11 of chapter 3 in the graphic novel WatchmenWatchmenWatchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
, a poster advertising This Island Earth is seen in the foreground.
Book
This Island Earth is a 1952 science fiction novel by Raymond F. Jones. It was first published as a serial in Thrilling Wonder Stories magazine. It was the basis for the film This Island Earth.- This Island Earth (1952), Raymond F. Jones,