It Came from Outer Space (1953)

A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert, and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strange.

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (story), Harry Essex (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Carlson	...	John Putnam
Barbara Rush	...	Ellen Fields
Charles Drake	...	Sheriff Matt Warren
Joe Sawyer	...	Frank Daylon
Russell Johnson	...	George
Kathleen Hughes	...	June

Storyline

John Putnam is a writer and an amateur stargazer with a new home out in the beautiful Arizona desert, which he enjoys with Ellen Fields, his girlfriend and a local schoolteacher. John is not trusted by the people of the small town near where he lives, certainly not by Sheriff Matt Warren, who feels protective of Ellen, and perhaps something more. One night, John and Ellen see a meteor crash in the desert. John drags his friend, Pete, out of bed to take him over to the crash site in his helicopter. Once there, John climbs down into the crater. Unfortunately, he does so alone, as Pete and Ellen wait for him. John is the only one who sees the spaceship before a landslide covers it. And John is the only one who catches a glimpse of the hideous thing inside. At first John's story seems mad, until some of the townsfolk begin acting strange - as if they aren't really who they seem to be.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | arizona | sheriff | alien | schoolteacher | 

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Taglines:

Amazing sights the human eye has never before seen!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atomic Monster

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Universal make-up department submitted two alien designs for consideration by the studio executives. The design that was rejected was saved and then later used as the Mutant in Universal's This Island Earth.

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Goofs

When John, Ellen, and Pete return to the airfield in the helicopter, they have a brief conversation with rotor noise in the background; yet neither the main rotor shaft (behind them) nor the tail rotor are moving.

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Quotes

[first lines]
John Putnam: [off-screen] This is Sand Rock, Arizona, of a late evening in early spring. It's a nice town, knowing its past and sure of its future, as it makes ready for the night, and the predictable morning. The desert blankets the earth, cooling, resting for the fight with tomorrow's sun. And in my house near the town, we're also sure of the future. So very sure.

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Crazy Credits

The credits are at the end rather than at the beginning. They include shots of the characters with the cast names, and the pictures would mean nothing if seen before the film.

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Connections

Featured in The American Nightmare (2000)

User Reviews

Effective Chiller About Psuedo-Friendly Aliens

An astronomer-stranger realizes that what is believed to be a meteor is in reality a space ship. No one believes him. Richard Carlson plays this laughed at John Putnam with conviction and integrity. Carlson tries to discover the truth, with the aid of his girl friend, and slowly they learn that indeed an alien presence has landed in the desert. The story has many similar plot elements found in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and some new twists all its own. For the most part, the plot is pretty cohesive, and the acting acceptable. Charles Drake as a no brain lawman might be the one major exception. Russel Johnson, the professor of Gilligan's Island fame, has a small part as well. The alien presence seems to not want to harm humanity but only to leave, but is willing to harm to meet its end. All in all a pretty good atmospheric sci-fi chiller from the Golden Age.