Devil Girl from Mars (1954)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

David MacDonald

Writers:

James Eastwood (writer)
John C. Mather (play)

Release Date:

27 April 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Invasion from Outer Space!...Sights too weird to imagine! Destruction too monstrous to escape!

Plot:

An uptight, leather-clad female alien, armed with a raygun and accompanied by a menacing robot, comes...

Plot Keywords:

UFO | Helpless Captives | Inn | Beautiful Woman | Extraterrestrial

Cast

Hugh McDermott	...	Michael Carter
Hazel Court	...	Ellen Prestwick
Peter Reynolds	...	Robert Justin, alias Albert Simpson
Adrienne Corri	...	Doris
Joseph Tomelty	...	Prof. Arnold Hennessey
Sophie Stewart	...	Mrs. Jamieson
John Laurie	...	Mr. Jamieson
Patricia Laffan	...	Nyah

Runtime:

USA:77 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate number not listed) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Danziger Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Patricia Laffan thought her costume was hot and hard to wear.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the "indestructable" robot Chanti leaves the spaceship, a close-up of his feet reveals paint scraping off where the joints of the suit and the boots meet.

Quotes:

Nyah: Today it is you who learns the power of Mars.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Midnight Movie Massacre (1988)

Although science fiction genre is not my cup of tea...

Having read many comments written by various sorts of movie buffs and having checked some original posters and adverts of the movie, one can watch this film with some prefabricated expectations. On the one hand, one may look for an innovative gift from England that includes some aspects of early science fiction genre; on the other hand, being curious of a sexy Martian woman wearing black leather and rousing challenging lusts in men. Yet, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS roused my interest in a slightly different way though science fiction isn't my cup of tea whatsoever.

DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS is, first of all, the movie that beautifully combines the virtues of old cinema with the elements of early science fiction. What we get here is an excellent, psychological insight into the contrast between "Earthmen" and "Martians", between the ability to use the senses and the ability to use the machines; between the ability to love sacrificially and the ability to gather selfishly; finally the contrast between obeying orders blindly and following own's will freely. The accurate representation of this contra-worlds is revealed in the character of the Martian girl Nyah (Patricia Laffan) and the Professor. While she parrots the slogans about the invisible war of the sexes, he experiences the innate war of the senses. These factors are memorably entailed in the old cinema style and charming scenes that portray human feelings like affection, curiosity and fear. That makes DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS convincing for various movie buffs.

Of course this highlighted aspect cannot be treated too seriously, as one of the commentators stated, it's no psychological movie nor any thought provoking story but only a fiction that deals with many shallow effects and odd "space talk" about a super technology of another planet. Nevertheless, this aspect of "earthmen" vs "martians" should not be neglected. Why? Because of a dangerous condensation...

Indeed, the character that is most memorable in this movie is Nyah (Patricia Laffan), not only due to her "Martian origin" nor sexually challenging looks nor even due to her good acting. She remains memorable because of her cold eyes, strict voice, so to say: her strength appeal. That was something extremely important about this new cinematic heroine and must have been very difficult for the actress to portray an alien in this way; yet she crafted the role perfectly. Yet, where does the danger lie? Many modern viewers tend to condense her role to sex appeal only. The earthmen around her are creatures of free will, they are not sex machines that would dream to make love to her. Therefore, it is significant to state here that you cannot watch this movie from today's perspective. Nyah and her robot that some science fiction buffs find ridiculous represent dominance through fear, through intolerance and cold cruelty. Mars vs Earth indicates unbelievable technology of weapons vs old fashioned toys but at the same time tyranny vs freedom. In this respect, we could as well say that this role of Ms Laffan highly refers to the one 3 years earlier in a sword and sandal colossal epic where she could, as well, constitute an object of lust only though there was something different about her role, too. But that's a different story...

The supporting cast include good British talents from beautiful Hazel Court as longing for love Ms Prestwick to Hugh McDermott as strong personality Michael Carter. The aforementioned Professor also does a good job as one who thinks what his brain tells him to think. Together with the performances come other artistic features of the film including cinematography, mood, pace. Although some aspects may irritate you as seriously dated, the mood is impressive. Since the movie is not long and the content is primarily built upon the dialogs and reactions in the particularly scary situations, much of the communication with viewers builds upon image. Consider, for instance, the memorable arrival of the Martians and Nyah's coming out of her spaceship. Therefore, lots of movie buffs will perhaps not find this movie scary; yet they will still find it thrilling.

Just in a nutshell, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS is one the movies of the genre that I see with interest and recommend to the viewers for whom science fiction isn't their cup of tea. Not primarily because of its content, nor sexy/scary Nyah, but a cinematic surprise from England made more than 50 years ago but still impressive in a way.