STRANGER FROM VENUS is Britain's answer to THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, and it isn't very good. This is a film which has dated very badly since first release, considering that 95% of its running time consists of middle-aged blokes sitting around in pubs and having philosophical debates.
It's all very highbrow and intellectual, of course, but this also has the side effect of making it completely non-cinematic. There's very little incident in this film and no action, danger, or real excitement. All the good bits were done better in the Michael Rennie film, and really, things only pick up in the last ten minutes and then bang, it's suddenly all over. The low budget is always more than obvious.
The concept of the film - an alien visits earth to condemn mankind for what they're doing to the planet - is overtly familiar and the script can add nothing new to the debate. Patricia Neal does well in a leading role and there are bit parts for John Le Mesurier and Nigel Green, but the leading cast is for the most part lacklustre, and there's very little to interest even the viewer with an interest in British science fiction of the 1950s.
It's all very highbrow and intellectual, of course, but this also has the side effect of making it completely non-cinematic. There's very little incident in this film and no action, danger, or real excitement. All the good bits were done better in the Michael Rennie film, and really, things only pick up in the last ten minutes and then bang, it's suddenly all over. The low budget is always more than obvious.
The concept of the film - an alien visits earth to condemn mankind for what they're doing to the planet - is overtly familiar and the script can add nothing new to the debate. Patricia Neal does well in a leading role and there are bit parts for John Le Mesurier and Nigel Green, but the leading cast is for the most part lacklustre, and there's very little to interest even the viewer with an interest in British science fiction of the 1950s.