It Came from Outer Space (1953)

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 strangely.

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Harry Essex (screenplay), Ray Bradbury (story)

Stars:

Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Carlson	...	John Putnam
Barbara Rush	...	Ellen Fields
Charles Drake	...	Sheriff Matt Warren
Joe Sawyer	...	Frank Daylon
Russell Johnson	...	George
Kathleen Hughes	...	Jane

Storyline

John Putnam is a writer and an amateur stargazer with a new home out in the beautiful Arizona desert, which he enjoys with Ellen Fields, his girlfriend and a local schoolteacher. John is not trusted by the people of the small town near where he lives, certainly not by Sheriff Matt Warren, who feels protective of Ellen, and perhaps something more. One night, John and Ellen see a meteorite crash in the desert. John drags his friend, Pete, out of bed to take him over to the crash site in his helicopter. Once there, John climbs down into the crater. Unfortunately, he does so alone, as Pete and Ellen wait for him. John is the only one who sees the spaceship before a landslide covers it. And John is the only one who catches a glimpse of the hideous thing inside. At first John's story seems mad, until some of the townsfolk begin acting strange - as if they aren't really who they seem to be.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | alien | arizona | sheriff | spacecraft | 

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Taglines:

Fantastic sights leap at you!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fantastic Something, a Hellenic pop duo with a minor UK hit in 1983 (If She Doesn't Smile), adopted their name from a line heard in the movie ("That fantastic something!")

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Goofs

John Putnam kneels and points out blood on a rock to Sheriff Warren. As he stands, he pushes on the rock and the rock indents.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

The credits are at the end rather than at the beginning. They include shots of the characters with the cast names, and the pictures would mean nothing if seen before the film.

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Connections

Spoofed in Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993)

User Reviews

Clothes Encounters

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 fiancée (Barbara Rush), witnesses a meteor crash-landing that turns out to be a spacecraft. No one in the small town believes him until disappearances occur. At one point, Carlson discovers his closet has been ransacked and wardrobe stolen! Arnold uses theremin music to great effect, the photography is eerie, dialog (by Ray Bradbury) poetic, and the alien is a giant large crawling mass with one bulging eye that leaves a snail-like trail in its path. Incognito as humans so as not to terrify earthlings with their unique physicality, 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. In an unconscious insight into social behavior, a scene has Carlson speaking to the sheriff (Charles Drake) while watching a spider on the desert ground ("...Why are you afraid of it? Because it has 8 legs, its mouth moves from side to side, instead of up and down? What would you do if it came towards you?"). The sheriff squashes it. This holds true for animals, as well as people (who have different coloring, etc.), avoiding, harming or destroying, sadly. The classic Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder" (1960) is a fine example: most of the "monsters" in these science-fiction/horror films just look different than humans, we might be "monsters" to them. This is low-key, intelligent, satisfying drama. Russell Johnson, Joe Sawyer, and Kathleen Hughes co-star.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

It Came from Outer Space

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1