This Island Earth (1955)

Aliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.

Director:

Joseph M. Newman

Writers:

Raymond F. Jones (story), Franklin Coen (screenplay),

Stars:

Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jeff Morrow	...	Exeter
Faith Domergue	...	Dr. Ruth Adams
Rex Reason	...	Dr. Cal Meacham
Lance Fuller	...	Brack
Russell Johnson	...	Steve Carlson
Douglas Spencer	...	The Monitor of Metaluna
Robert Nichols	...	Joe Wilson
Karl Ludwig Lindt	...	Dr. Adolph Engelborg (as Karl L. Lindt)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | alien | flying saucer | dying planet | doctor | 

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Taglines:

The supreme excitement of our time!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bloodlust in Outer Space

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only woman from Metaluna seen in the film is played by Charlotte Lander, in her only screen appearance, at the control console for the decompression tubes on board the saucer.

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Goofs

The postman is delivering papers to the research lab and pushes the door buzzer which sounds just prior to pressing the button.

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Quotes

Dr. Cal Meacham: What do you think of Mr. Mozart, Exeter?
Exeter: I'm afraid I don't know the gent... My mind must have been wandering. Your composer, of course.
Dr. Cal Meacham: "Our" composer! He belongs to the world.
Exeter: Yes, indeed.

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Connections

Spoofed in Remote Control (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Eine kleine Nachtmusik: 2nd Movement"
(uncredited)
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

Eeeeek!

This was the Star Wars of the 1950's. What movie are these people watching when they say there is no story? This is great escapist fun, filled with flying saucers, aliens, monsters and explosions! Some movies are just meant to be viewed *surprise* as entertainment! Kick back, turn off your brain, relax and watch a fun movie and be entertained by the lumbering bug eyed monsters! Sure, Rex Reason (cool name) is a walking totem pole, and Faith sure does scream a lot, but that's what women did in the 50's when they were being carried away by a scary monster. The effects are pretty good for its time, and the whole picture is a great time capsule about where we were mid-century when space was unexplored, and the flying saucer craze was still going on.