This Island Earth (1955)

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

Director:

Joseph M. Newman (as Joseph Newman)

Writers:

Raymond F. Jones (story "The Alien Machine"), 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	...	Dr. Steve Carlson
Douglas Spencer	...	The Monitor
Robert Nichols	...	Joe Wilson
Karl Ludwig Lindt	...	Dr. Adolph Engelborg (as Karl L. Lindt)

Storyline

The electronic engineer Dr. Cal Meacham is a prominent scientist that is studying industrial application of nuclear energy and also a great pilot. One day, he receives a different condenser and soon his assistant Joe Wilson receives a manual instruction and several components of a sophisticated machine. Carl and Joe build a communication apparatus and a man called Exeter contacts Carl. He tells that Carl has passed the test assembling the Interocitor and invites him to join his research. The intrigued Carl decides to travel to meet Exeter that sends an unmanned airplane to bring him to an isolated facility in Georgia. He is welcomed by Dr. Ruth Adams but she mysteriously does not recall their love affair in the past. They team-up with Dr. Steve Carlson and they note that the other scientists in the facility have been transformed, having a weird behavior. They decide to flee in a car, but they are attacked by rays and Steve dies. Carl and Ruth also witness the facility blowing-up and ...

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | alien | dying planet | science | human needed to save an alien planet | 

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Taglines:

The supreme excitement of our time!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bloodlust in Outer Space

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Faith Domergue, the pants of her costume were so skintight that she could not wear underwear. A female assistant had to help her put them on and take them off.

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Goofs

The first time Cal and Ruth get in the plane, there is no sound when Cal shuts the door.

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Quotes

[the cat appears]
Dr. Ruth Adams: It's only Neutron. We call him that because he's so positive.
[sic]

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'U' rating. All cuts were waived in 1987 when the film was granted a 'PG' certificate for home video.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Mutants (1996)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A Great Film

I saw this film for the first time when I was about 10 years old and it has always stuck with me and when I saw it was on video I bought it immediately. I think that this is more than a B picture and what people have to remember is the fact that this film was made before all the great advances in special effects. Another thing that made it interesting was the fact that through the first half of the film you really didn't know if Exeter was human or alien. It wasn't until the second half of the film that we did see there was more to this mysterious group. This film is definitely an underrated classic of its era.