It Came from Outer Space (1953)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (story)
Harry Essex (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 October 1953 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Terror In 3-D... Reaching From The Screen To Seize You In Its Grasp!...

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Mine | Meteor | Sheriff | Alien | Chasm

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Richard Carlson	...	John Putnam
Barbara Rush	...	Ellen Fields
Charles Drake	...	Sheriff Matt Warren
Joe Sawyer	...	Frank Daylon
Russell Johnson	...	George
Kathleen Hughes	...	Jane
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ralph Brooks	...	Posseman (uncredited)
Budd Buster	...	Tom (uncredited)
Robert Carson	...	Dugan (uncredited)
Ned Davenport	...	Man (uncredited)
Edgar Dearing	...	Sam (uncredited)
Alan Dexter	...	Dave Loring (uncredited)
George Eldredge	...	Dr. Snell (uncredited)
Paul Fix	...	Councilman (uncredited)
Whitey Haupt	...	Perry (uncredited)
Robert 'Buzz' Henry	...	Posseman (uncredited)
Bradford Jackson	...	Bob, Dr. Snell's assistant (uncredited)
Warren MacGregor	...	Toby (uncredited)
Kermit Maynard	...	Posseman (uncredited)
Virginia Mullen	...	Mrs. Daylon (uncredited)
Dick Pinner	...	Lober (uncredited)
William Pullen	...	Deputy Reed (uncredited)
Dave Willock	...	Pete Davis (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Arnold

Writing credits
Ray Bradbury		(story)
Harry Essex		(screenplay)

Produced by
William Alland	....	producer

Original Music by
Irving Gertz		(uncredited)
Henry Mancini		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Clifford Stine

Film Editing by
Paul Weatherwax

Art Direction by
Robert F. Boyle		(as Robert Boyle)
Bernard Herzbrun

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman
Ruby R. Levitt

Costume Design by
Rosemary Odell

Makeup Department
Joan St. Oegger	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist
Jack Kevan	....	makeup execution (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph E. Kenney	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Glenn E. Anderson	....	sound
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound

Special Effects by
Roswell A. Hoffmann	....	special photographic effects (as Roswell A. Hoffman)
David S. Horsley	....	special photography

Visual Effects by
Roswell A. Hoffmann	....	visual effects optical printing (as Roswell A. Hoffman)

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	music supervisor
Dr. Samuel Hoffman	....	musician: theremin (uncredited)

Other crew
Milicent Patrick	....	xenomorph design (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1993) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Cinema Classics (199?) (USA) (video)
• GoodTimes Home Video (199?) (USA) (video)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Filmiseppo (1954) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1993) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2004) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Atomic Monster (USA) (working title)
Strangers from Outer Space (USA) (working title)
The Meteor (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1953) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #16454)

Filming Locations:

Dead Man's Point, Lucerne Valley, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Although credited to Harry Essex, most of the script, including dialogue, is copied almost verbatim from Ray Bradbury's initial film treatment.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: John follows Frank and George into the alley. Frank and George stand inside a doorway and warn John to leave them alone. While they talk there is a shadow of the boom mic moving around on the left wall, inside the doorway.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Modern Marvels: It Came from Outer Space (#13.15)" (2007)

Holds Up Well

This is director Jack Arnold's first science-fiction effort and one of the earliest to use a desert setting. Richard Carlson is very believable as an astronomer who, along with his fiancee, witnesses a meteor crash-landing that turns out to be a spacecraft. No one in the small town believes him until they start disappearing. Arnold uses theremin music to great effect, the photography is eerie, dialog (by Ray Bradbury) poetic, and the alien a terrifying large crawling mass with one bulging eye that leaves a snail-like trail in its path. The aliens are not bent on destruction - an interesting precursor to Steven Spielberg's expensive "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977)- even its main titles are at the End. This is low-key, intelligent, satisfying drama. Co-starring are Barbara Rush (she's a babe), Russell Johnson (likewise), Charles Drake, Joe Sawyer, Kathleen Hughes (who's tantalizing in a cameo).