Claysaba
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Kaelan Mccaffrey
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Scott LeBrun
Universal Studios could always be counted upon to devise some interesting stories in the sci- fi genre at a time when the genre simply exploded. Also among their undeniable classics during this period are gems like Creature from the Black Lagoon, Tarantula, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. This particular tale (although the final screenplay is credited to Harry Essex, the original treatment by Ray Bradbury was left largely intact) explores that theme of mankind seemingly always fearing and distrusting anything it doesn't understand, and reacting to it with aggression.Likable, earnest Richard Carlson stars as John Putnam, an amateur astronomer in the small town of Sand Rock, Arizona. One night he (and others) witness a "meteor" violently crashing to Earth (in one of the most startling introductions to a film of this kind). The aliens on board stealthily go about abducting local citizens and altering their appearance to look like these people. All they really want is to be able to work on their ship in peace, and leave before too long, but naturally there are humans who don't want to get with the program, like hot tempered sheriff Matt Warren (Charles Drake).Lovely Barbara Rush is Carlsons' appealing leading lady in this extremely well directed, succinct film with as much moody black & white atmosphere as one could ask from this kind of entertainment. One will notice that all we get at the beginning is the title; the cast and crew credits are all saved for the final few minutes - an interesting (but not THAT uncommon) innovation for an older film. There's fine use of stock music from such composers as Henry Mancini, and the cinematography by Clifford Stine is excellent. The aliens are effectively hideous looking in their natural guise, but they begin to be revealed perhaps a bit too soon into the story. The alien P.o.V. shots are pretty cool.As was said, Rush is very appealing, but it's unfortunate that her role keeps requiring her to scream at things: a Joshua tree, a kid in a costume, an undisguised alien (well, at least that one is understandable). The supporting cast is impressive, right down the line: Drake, Russell Johnson, Joe Sawyer, George Eldredge, Bradford Jackson, Dave Willock.Although originally filmed in 3-D, "It Came from Outer Space" works just as fine without it.Seven out of 10.
Scarecrow-88
That old adage of "we kill what we don't understand" can be applied to It Came from Outer Space, another solid classic bit of sci-fi B-movie from director Jack Arnold, with a screenplay inspired by Bradbury's The Meteor. Supposedly a meteor lands in the Arizona desert near a small town, but in fact it is a space ship carrying an alien race quite repulsive to humans. With a smart script that questions our inability to wait before pulling out our guns and firing, and telling us that the aliens aren't always a threat to humankind, It Came from Outer Space tried to provoke our thoughts away from believing that those from outside our world land here to hurt us. Richard Carlson is kind of a B-movie icon for many of us, mainly due to his association with Creature from the Black Lagoon and this film. He is the lone scientist (a "star gazer" in this film, considered by the papers who mock his claim that it was a space ship that landed in the desert, not a meteor as suspected) who tries to speak for the aliens, hoping to convince the sheriff (Charles Drake) that using guns won't solve anything except perhaps hurt those "taken captive" by them in order to use their likenesses in town to secure hardware needed to fix their vessel (and produce a weapon to protect themselves). With Barbara Rush as Carlson's love interest (and eventually kidnapped herself, naturally), and Russell Johnson (of Gilligan's Island fame) as the employee of an electrician (Joe Sawyer) in the cast, this is actually a respected sci-fi film, not relegated to the cheesy conversation of many of its ilk. There are some imaginative first-person perspective shots "seen through the eye" of the alien as it descends upon and spy on humans. The special effects aren't the bright spot of this one: its budget is obviously low as the alien is a rubbery monstrosity that could have been made by Paul Blaisdell, and the ship is basically a ball (probably inflatable). I always find myself engaged in the presentation, though, as it has that Invasion of Body Snatchers meets Day the Earth Stood Still feel to it. Carlson was always reliable and interesting, and he conveys the frustrations/dismay of being dismissed for his claims of the spaceship/alien presence, conflicted, agonizing anxiety at if he should believe in what the race of aliens are telling him regarding peaceful non-threatening motives on earth (just repairs and accidental crash on the planet, not willing to confront the earthlings due to our "shoot first, ask later" response to beings unlike us), and struggle to maintain a posse led by the sheriff when it appears the townsfolk are being kidnapped and possibly in harm's way. The setting in Arizona (actually shot in California) is quite refreshing (THEM also has that, as does Arnold's own Tarantula), and it is used expansively. One good scene I like has Joe's electrician listening to "strange noise" through the power lines with Carlson getting an ear of it, commenting on how the desert has its own voice. The Joshua tree even gets a good bit of ooga-booga use as Rush screams when it is shadowed in darkness, as she believes it is the alien. The zombie-like movements of alien clones of the human locals is quite pod-like, and the simple small town rural sense of place within the enveloping desert landscape does create a bit of "perfect cover" for aliens needing to get their ship in order…or else. The reliable scores of these kinds of 50s sci-fi shows itself effectively here in this film as well.
Claudio Carvalho
In the Arizona desert, the writer and amateur stargazer John Putnam (Richard Carlson) and his girlfriend, the schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush), are in his house planning to get married. Out of the blue, they witness a meteor crash in the desert. They fly to the location with their friend Pete in his helicopter and John decides to go to the bottom of the crater to investigate. John sees a spacecraft but there is a landslide and the ship is covered by earth. John discloses his discovery to Sheriff Matt Warren (Charles Drake), who is his rival and is also into Ellen, and to the inhabitants and they believe he is a daydreamer. John wants to prove his finding and meets his acquaintances Frank Daylon (Joe Sawyer) and George (Russell Johnson) repairing telephone cables on the desert and they find disturbance in the cable. The workers follow the cable and meet an alien that takes the form of George. Soon John and Ellen note that a group of dwellers are acting strange and they believe they have been possessed by the aliens. When Ellen is also abducted by the aliens, John contacts them and discovers their intention. Are they friend or hostile invaders? "It Came from Outer Space" is another delightful sci-fi from the 50's with a story of Ray Bradbury. Years before Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", the writer John Putnam has an encounter with aliens that explains that we are not ready to contact them. The low budget of "It Came from Outer Space" is not a problem since the story is very well constructed. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Ameaça Que Veio do Espaço" ("The Treaten That Came from Space")Note: On 23 August 2015, I saw this film again.
LeonLouisRicci
There were many outstanding 1950's Sci-Fi films as well as many not so outstanding. This is one of the former. It is profound at times but some of the dialog can be clunky. Yet, there are some thought provoking themes here and it is at its best fictionalizing and chronicling the Flying Saucer craze that was emerging and grabbing some headlines in real life.Adding to the mirroring of public awareness at the time is the notion of perceived outside threats, such as Communism, and the Movie asks us to step back a bit and be a little less paranoid and reactive. One line that can be read as an ominous Eisenhower era conformity plea...after witnessing and reporting his UFO sighting the Man gets this reaction from an authority figure..."he's an odd one...he's more than odd, he is an individual, a Man alone, a Man who thinks for Himself."That seems to be a threat to the establishment. But the irony is if everyone was so conforming and acted as a collective, that could be called Communism. But weren't they the enemy. So while deriding the Reds, we are told we should shut up, and walk in step. That's the hypocrisy.This is a creepy Movie and is a lot of fun at the same time. It has a number of glitzy looking sets with some futuristic designed apparatus. There are parts that are darkly lit with eerie shadowy figures and some piercing Music. Some cloned Zombie-Men and an effective use of SFX that try, and mostly succeed at being otherWorldly. While this is an excellent Movie, it can be seen as a precursor to a Great Movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).
