The Venusian (1954)

A stranger from Venus lands in Britain and forms a bond with a young American woman named Susan North. He comes with a warning to Earth's leaders that they must eliminate all nuclear weapons if the peoples of the solar system to survive.

Director:

Burt Balaban

Writers:

Hans Jacoby (screenplay), Desmond Leslie (story)

Stars:

Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine, Derek Bond

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Patricia Neal	...	Susan North
Helmut Dantine	...	The Stranger
Derek Bond	...	Arthur Walker
Cyril Luckham	...	Dr. Meinard
Willoughby Gray	...	Tom
Marigold Russell	...	Gretchen
Arthur Young	...	Scientist
Kenneth Edwards	...	Charles Dixon
David Garth	...	First Police Officer
Stanley Van Beers	...	General
Nigel Green	...	Second Police Officer
Graham Stuart	...	Police Chief

Storyline

A stranger from Venus lands in Britain and forms a bond with a young American woman named Susan North. He comes with a warning to Earth's leaders that they must eliminate all nuclear weapons if the peoples of the solar system to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | fingerprints | car crash | outer space | anti nuclear | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Venusian

Filming Locations:

MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rich & Rich Ltd., Princess Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The setting of this film is somewhat mysterious. It appears to be England, but the radio has American voices instead of British ones; both the doctor and the barmaid have very English accents, but middle-European names; the police wear uniforms suggestive of eastern Europe (and carry revolvers in a holster); a politician is described as "Secretary of the Interior", a post which does not exist in the British government; there is a reference to "the President", rather than the Prime Minister; and the inn where much of the action takes place seems halfway between an English pub and an Austrian gasthaus.

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Goofs

The distance to Venus is claimed to be "millions of lightyears." The actual distance to Venus is about three light minutes.

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Quotes

Arthur Walker: He's the real thing... Wish I had half that man's knowledge and experience.
Charles Dixon: I usually hate people who know all the answers, but I like him. He makes you feel like a moron, but I like him.

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Connections

Remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

User Reviews

"Devil Girl From Mars" Never Looked So Good

Which B&W sci-fi film of the 1950s features an alien from outer space who comes to Earth to warn mankind of its warmongering ways and becomes involved with a character portrayed by Patricia Neal? Now, before you smugly respond "The Day the Earth Stood Still," the Hollywood sci-fi classic of 1951, let me add that the film in question is a British production and was made in 1954. That film is "Stranger From Venus," a very subpar knockoff of a great classic, and, what's more, even inferior to another British copy of "TDTESS" that also came out in 1954, the camp classic "Devil Girl From Mars." In "Stranger," the alien from Venus (which is said to be "millions of light-years" away from Earth...patent BS!) is played by Austrian actor Helmut Dantine, who gives a very UNsympathetic performance. The "action," for the most part, is confined to a drab-looking inn somewhere in the English countryside, and the movie is very static and never seems to move at all. Whereas "DGFM" features a Martian dominatrix, a ridiculous-looking and lumbering robot, and a very impressive space explosion to cap things off, "SFV" features virtually no FX at all and little in the way of suspense. The only real "effect" to speak of is a "mother ship" disgorging a space flier, accomplished with what looks like a lamp hood and a wooden disc. I am not hyperbolizing when I say that the FX in Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" come off looking like those in "The Matrix" by comparison. Furthermore, director Burt Balaban's work is extremely lackadaisical here, and composer Eric Spear contributes a sappy score that is repeated to distraction. Though competently acted, and presented here in a nice, crisp-looking DVD, this film really is for 1950s sci-fi completists only, and even they will be bored and restless. Anyone out there know how to say "snoozer" in Venusian?