It Came from Outer Space

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It Came from Outer Space

film poster by Joseph Smith

Directed by Produced by Screenplay by Story by

Jack Arnold William Alland Harry Essex Ray Bradbury Richard Carlson Barbara Rush

Starring

Charles Drake Joe Sawyer Russell Johnson

Music by Cinematography Editing by Distributed by Release dates Running time Language Box office

Herman Stein Clifford Stine Paul Weatherwax Universal Studios May 25, 1953 (U.S. release) 81 min. English $1.6 million (US rentals)

It Came from Outer Space is a 1953 black-and-white science fiction 3-D film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. It starred Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, and Charles Drake. It was Universal's first film using the 3-D process. It Came from Outer Space was filmed on location in and around the California towns of Palmdale and Victorville and the Mojave Desert.[1]

Contents

1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 Cultural references 6 Further reading 7 References 8 External links

Plot
Author and amateur astronomer John Putnam (Richard Carlson) and schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush) watch a large meteorite crash near the small town of Sand Rock, Arizona. After visiting the crash site, Putnam notices a strange, partially buried object lodged in the large crater; he comes to the realization that it wasn't a meteorite that crashed after all, but an alien spaceship. After a landslide completely covers the mysterious craft, his story is ridiculed by the townspeople of Sand Rock, its sheriff (Charles Drake), and the local media.

Even Fields is unsure about what to believe but agrees to assist Putnam in his investigation. Over the next several days, local people disappear. A few return, but they appear dazed and act distant. Eventually, Sheriff Warren becomes convinced that the large meteorite was involved, and he organizes a posse to hunt down the alien invaders. Alone, Putnam hopes to reach a peaceful solution to the looming crisis, so he enters a nearby abandoned mine, which he hopes will lead him to the now buried spacecraft and its occupants. Putnam discovers that the spacecraft and its occupants crashed on Earth in error. The aliens are benign and plan to stay on Earth just long enough to repair their damaged craft, then continue on their voyage. The aliens true appearance is entirely non-human; they are large, one-eyed, jelly fish-like beings that seem to glide across the ground, leaving a glistening trail that soon vanishes. They are also able to shape shift into human form in order to move among humans to collect their much needed repair materials. They assume the forms of local townspeople they've secretly kidnapped to help them repair their ship. But in doing so, they fail to reproduce the townspeople's personalities, leading to suspicion and eventually to the deaths of two alien crew members. John Putnam manages to seal off the aliens in the mine to protect them from an advancing posse and to give them time to finish their repairs; they do so and leave but not before releasing, unharmed, all of the missing townspeople.

Cast
Actor Role Richard John Putnam Carlson Barbara Rush Ellen Fields Sheriff Matt Charles Drake Warren Joe Sawyer Frank Daylon Russell George Johnson Dave Willock Pete Davis Robert Carson Dugan, reporter Virginia Mrs. Daylon Mullen Kathleen Jane, George's girl Hughes Councilman Paul Fix (uncredited) Robert "Buzz" Posseman Henry (uncredited)

Production
The screenplay by Harry Essex, with input by Jack Arnold, was derived from an original screen treatment by Ray Bradbury; screen legend says Bradbury wrote the original screenplay and Harry Essex merely changed the dialogue and took the credit.[2] Unusual among science fiction films of the era, the alien "invaders" were portrayed by Bradbury as creatures without malicious intent toward humanity. The film has been interpreted[who?] as a metaphorical refutation of the supposedly xenophobic attitudes and ideology of the Cold War. Bradbury said "I wanted to treat the invaders as beings who were not dangerous, and that was very unusual." He offered two story outlines to the studio, one with malicious aliens, the other with benign aliens. "The studio picked the right concept, and I stayed on."[3] He has called the movie "a good film. Some parts of it are quite nice."[4] In 2004 Bradbury published as a single volume four versions of his screen treatment for the film It Came From Outer Space. The uncredited music score for the film was composed by Irving Gertz, Henry Mancini, and Herman Stein. Universal's make-up department submitted two alien designs for consideration by studio executives; the rejected design was saved and then later used as the "Metaluna Mutant" in Universal's 1955 science fiction filmThis Island Earth. The special effects created for the in-flight alien spacecraft consisted of a wire-mounted iron ball, with hollowed out 'windows,' with burning magnesium inside. The Arizona setting and the alien abduction of telephone lineman and two of other characters are fictionalized story elements taken 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 seen at the "meteor" crash site is comedy writer-performer Morey Amsterdam. While the briefly glimpsed extra does indeed resemble Amsterdam, no hard evidence (e.g., cast call bureau records, interviews with Amsterdam) has ever confirmed this is actually him. The most recent DVD re-release of It Came from Outer Space comes with a documentary, "The Universe According to Universal." It was written and directed by David J. Skal and has audio commentary by Tom Weaver, in which Weaver notes the extra's similarity to Morey Amsterdam.

Reception
It Came from Outer Space was released in June 1953[5] and by the end of that year had accrued US$1.6 million in distributors' US and Canadian rentals,[6] making it the year's 75th biggest earner.[7] The New York Times review noted the adventureis 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."[8] "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 closelystory proves to be good science-fiction for the legion of film fans who like scare entertainment, well done."[9] Since its original release, the critical response to the film has become mostly positive. Bill Warren has written that Arnolds vigorous direction and Bradburys intriguing ideas meld to produce a genuine classic in its limited field.[5] Jonathan Rosenbaum described the film as [A] scary black-and-white SF effort from 1953.[10] Phil Hardys The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction observed Dark desert roads and sudden moments of fear underline Arnolds ability as a director of Science Fiction films, and Essexs/Bradburys lines match his images superbly.[11] However, of the 20 reviews included in a Rotten Tomatoes survey of critics regarding the title, 19% reflect negative reactions.[12] 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."[13] Barbara Rush won the Golden Globe award in 1954 as most promising female newcomer for her role in the film. The film was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Science Fiction Films list.[14]

Cultural references

It Came from Outer Space is one of the classic films mentioned in the opening theme ("Science Fiction/Double Feature") of the musical The Rocky Horror Show and its film adaptation. Excerpts of this film are featured in the movie The Nomi Song. The narration in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "92 Degrees" from the 1986 album Tinderbox contains dialog from this movie.[15]

Further reading

Rux, Bruce. Hollywood Vs. the Aliens. 1997. Frog, Ltd. (North Atlantic Books). ISBN 1-883319-61-7. Strick, Philip. Science Fiction Movies. 1976. Octopus Books Limited. ISBN 07064-0470-X. Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties, Volume One (1950-1957). 1986. McFarland & Company. ISBN 089950-032-3

References
1. Jump up ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/79482/It-Came-from-OuterSpace/articles.html 2. Jump up ^ It Came From Outer Space DVD Commentary by film historian Tom Weaver 3. Jump up ^ Weller, Sam (2005). The Bradbury Chronicles. HarperCollins. p. 191. ISBN 0-06-054581-X.

4. Jump up ^ Bradbury, Ray (2004). Conversations With Ray Bradbury. University Press of Mississippi. p. 60. ISBN 1-57806-641-7. 5. ^ Jump up to: a b Warren, Bill. Keep Watching The Skies Vol I: 19501957, pgs. 121 130, McFarland, 1982. ISBN 0-89950-032-3. 6. Jump up ^ "The Top Box Office Hits of 1953", Variety, January 13, 1954 7. Jump up ^ Gebert, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards (listing of 'Box Office (Domestic Rentals)' for 1953, taken from Variety magazine), St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1996. ISBN 0-668-05308-9. "Rentals" refers to the distributor/studio's share of the box office gross, which, according to Gebert, is roughly half of the money generated by ticket sales. 8. Jump up ^ "It Came From Outer Space (1953) Look Out! The Space Boys Are Loose Again". New York Times, June 15, 1953. Retrieved 2012-03-24. 9. Jump up ^ "Brog". Review from Variety dated May 27, 1953, taken from Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews, edited by Don Willis, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1985. ISBN 0-8240-6263-9 10. Jump up ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "It Came From Outer Space capsule review". jonathanrosenbaum.net. Retrieved 2009-01-01. 11. Jump up ^ Hardy, Phil (editor). The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction, Aurum Press, 1984. Reprinted as The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction, Overlook Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87951-626-7 12. Jump up ^ "It Came From Outer Space (1953)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-0101. 13. Jump up ^ Null, Christopher. "It Came From Outer Space". FilmCritic.com. Retrieved 2010-01-02. 14. Jump up ^ AFI's "10 Greatest Science Fiction Films: The 50 Nominees" 15. Jump up ^ http://kennelco.com/2006/07/

External links

It Came from Outer Space at the American Film Institute Catalog It Came from Outer Space at the Internet Movie Database It Came from Outer Space at allmovie It Came from Outer Space at the TCM Movie Database Suite of the film score re-recorded on "Monstrous Movie Music" label (sound samples available)

Films directed by Jack Arnold

With These Hands (1950) Girls in the Night (1953) It Came from Outer Space (1953) The Glass Web (1953) Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955) Revenge of the Creature (1955) Tarantula (1955)

1950s

Red Sundown (1956) Outside the Law (1956) The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) The Tattered Dress (1957) Man in the Shadow (1957) The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958) High School Confidential (1958) The Space Children (1958) Monster on the Campus (1958) No Name on the Bullet (1959) The Mouse That Roared (1959)

Bachelor in Paradise (1961) A Global Affair (1964) The Lively Set (1964) Hello Down There (1969)

1960s

Black Eye (1974) Boss Nigger (1975) The Swiss Conspiracy (1976) The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West (1976)

1970s

Works of Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles (1950) Fahrenheit 451 (1953) Dandelion Wine (1957) Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) The Halloween Tree (1972) Death Is a Lonely Business (1985) A Graveyard for Lunatics (1990) Green Shadows, White Whale (1992)

Novels

From the Dust Returned (2001) Let's All Kill Constance (2002) Farewell Summer (2006)

"The Scythe" (1943) "Frost and Fire" (1946) "The Million Year Picnic" (1946) "The Small Assassin" (1946) "I See You Never" (1947) "Fever Dream" (1948) "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl" (1948) "The Long Years" (1948) "Mars Is Heaven!" (1948) "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed" (1949) "The Exiles" (1949) "Marionettes, Inc." (1949) "The Long Rain" (1950) "The Rocket" (1950) "There Will Come Soft Rains" (1950) "The Veldt" (1950) "Ylla" (1950) "Embroidery" (1951) "The Fog Horn" (1951) "Here There Be Tygers" (1951) "The Pedestrian" (1951) "The April Witch" (1952) "A Sound of Thunder" (1952) "The Wilderness" (1952) "The Flying Machine" (1953) "The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind" (1953) "The Meadow" (1953)

Short stories

"The Murderer" (1953) "Sun and Shadow" (1953) "All Summer in a Day" (1954) "The Dragon" (1955) "The Aqueduct" (1979) "Banshee" (1984) "The Toynbee Convector" (1984) "Is That You, Herb?" (2004)

Dark Carnival (1947) The Mummies of Guanajuato (1947) The Illustrated Man (1951) The Golden Apples of the Sun (1953) The October Country (1955) A Medicine for Melancholy (1959) The Day It Rained Forever (1959) The Small Assassin (1962) R Is for Rocket (1962) The Machineries of Joy (1964) The Autumn People (1965) The Vintage Bradbury (1965) Tomorrow Midnight (1966) S Is for Space (1966) Twice 22 (1966) I Sing the Body Electric (1969) Ray Bradbury (1975) Long After Midnight (1976) The Fog Horn & Other Stories (1979) The Last Circus and the Electrocution (1980) The Stories of Ray Bradbury (1980) The Fog Horn and Other Stories (1980)

Collections

Dinosaur Tales (1983) A Memory of Murder (1984) The Toynbee Convector (1988) Classic Stories 1 (1990) Classic Stories 2 (1990) The Parrot Who Met Papa (1991) Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed (1991) Quicker Than the Eye (1996) Driving Blind (1997) Ray Bradbury Collected Short Stories (2001) One More for the Road (2002) Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales (2003) Is That You, Herb? (2003) The Cat's Pajamas: Stories (2004) A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories (2005) The Dragon Who Ate His Tail (2007) Summer Morning, Summer Night (2007) A Pleasure to Burn (2010) The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury (2011)

The Flying Machine: A One-Act Play for Three Men (1953) The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and Other Plays (1972) Pillar of Fire and Other Plays (1975) The Martian Chronicles (1986) The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1986) Fahrenheit 451 (1986) Dandelion Wine (1988) The Veldt (1988)

Plays

Adaptations

It Came from Outer Space (1953) Moby Dick (1956) (screenplay)

"I Sing the Body Electric" (1962) The Electric Grandmother (1982) Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) The Halloween Tree (1993) The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998)

Zen in the Art of Writing (1990) It Came from Outer Space (Book) (2003)

Miscellaneous

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=It_Came_from_Outer_Space&oldid=583662 218" Categories:

English-language films 1953 films 1950s science fiction films Films directed by Jack Arnold Science fiction horror films Films set in Arizona 1950s 3D films American 3D films Works by Ray Bradbury

Source Material: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Came_from_Outer_Space More Info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045920/ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/79482/It-Came-from-Outer-Space/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vl1exNDg4o