This Island Earth (1955) 5.7
Aliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war. Director:Joseph M. Newman |
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This Island Earth (1955) 5.7
Aliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war. Director:Joseph M. Newman |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
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Jeff Morrow | ... | |
| Faith Domergue | ... | ||
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Rex Reason | ... | |
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Lance Fuller | ... | |
| Russell Johnson | ... | ||
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Douglas Spencer | ... | |
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Robert Nichols | ... | |
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Karl Ludwig Lindt | ... |
Dr. Adolph Engelborg
(as Karl L. Lindt)
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Dr. Meacham is chosen along with others by the inhabitants of the planet Metaluna to do research that will help save their dying planet. However, an evil scheme is uncovered by the suspecting Dr. Meacham when he discovers the Metalunan's plan to take over Earth. Dr. Meacham then escapes an exploding Metalunan built Earth lab along with Dr. Adams only to be kidnapped while flying away in a small plane. A flying saucer wisks both the scientists off to Metaluna where they are held accountable for blowing up the Metalunan Earth lab during their escape. They later escape there with the help of Exeter the friendly Metalunan. Metaluna then self destructs and the Doctors make it safely back to Earth, which is saved from Metalunan invasion. Written by <holland@maine.com>
Guess I'll have to watch MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE to find out what is so bad about THIS ISLAND EARTH. The film is intriguingly plotted, beautifully photographed, and has excellent (even by contemporary standards) art direction, costume design and special effects. So what if Rex Reason sounds as if he was dubbed (he always sounds that way), and some of the other performances seem a bit stilted. The Metaluna Mutant was the most memorable outer space monster until ALIEN.
I can only recall one technical error in the film. After the interociter (communicator) has been reduced to molten metal, Rex Reason picks up a Geiger counter and says, "It's no longer radioactive." There IS no set up for this (i.e., when it proved to be radioactive).
I'd certainly rate this film in the top ten of the best science fiction films of the fifties (probably in the top five). It's philosophical, exciting and well made.