The performances of veteran actor Jack Elam and young Mickey Hays makes this campy sci-fi western a lot better than it would have been otherwise. Hays has a very expressive face that makes his friendly extra terrestrial character say a lot without speaking a word. Knowing his time on earth would be brief, Hays fulfilled his dream of being in a movie, and that's a triumph, not a tragedy, because he's very sweet and likeable as the visitor to earth whose space craft resembles a giant shoe covered by a giant tarp.
Spouting Shakespeare while drunk, Elam is over the top and delightfully campy, and the townsfolk (with the exception of the children) all believe that his seeing little men is a result of the liquid lunch he consumes. Sheriff Peter Brown, newspaper woman Carol Bagdasarian and recently widowed Dottie West all figure into the story as well which is graced by a fun cameo by Spanky McFarland as the gravel voiced governor. Certainly no Sci fi classic, this is better than expected although the ridiculous opening narration gives the impression that only pre-teen boys would get it's mentality.
Spouting Shakespeare while drunk, Elam is over the top and delightfully campy, and the townsfolk (with the exception of the children) all believe that his seeing little men is a result of the liquid lunch he consumes. Sheriff Peter Brown, newspaper woman Carol Bagdasarian and recently widowed Dottie West all figure into the story as well which is graced by a fun cameo by Spanky McFarland as the gravel voiced governor. Certainly no Sci fi classic, this is better than expected although the ridiculous opening narration gives the impression that only pre-teen boys would get it's mentality.