The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)

Gor, a powerful criminal brain from the planet Arous, assumes the body of scientist Steve March. Through March, he begins to control the world by threatening destruction to any country ... See full summary »

Director:

Nathan Juran (as Nathan Hertz)

Writer:

Ray Buffum (screenplay)

Stars:

John Agar, Joyce Meadows, Robert Fuller

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Agar	...	Steve March
Joyce Meadows	...	Sally Fallon
Robert Fuller	...	Dan Murphy
Thomas Browne Henry	...	John Fallon (as Thomas B. Henry)
Ken Terrell	...	Colonel in Conference Room (as Kenneth Terrell)
Henry Travis	...	Colonel Frogley
E. Leslie Thomas	...	General Brown
Tim Graham	...	Sheriff Wiley Pane
Bill Giorgio	...	Russian

Storyline

Gor, a powerful criminal brain from the planet Arous, assumes the body of scientist Steve March. Through March, he begins to control the world by threatening destruction to any country challenging his domination. Another brain, Val, works with March's future wife Sally to defeat Gor. Val explains that Gor will be vulnerable when he is forced to leave March at intervals to re-energize. Gor's vulnerable spot, the Fissure of Orlando, is described in a note left by Sally in Steve's lab.

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Plot Keywords:

brain | psychotronic film | mind control | airplane shot down | radioactive eyes | 

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Taglines:

Fantastic! Fearsome!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Augen des Satans

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$58,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marquette Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Nathan Juran insisted on being billed as "Nathan Hertz" (Hertz was Juran's middle name), apparently because he was embarrassed by this film's low budget and poor quality.

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Goofs

When Sally brushes up against the sheriff's body, she slightly pulls away the decay makeup on his face and his eye opens for a brief second..

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Quotes

[first lines]
Steve March: Checks out alright. I don't understand it. Hey, Dan, it doesn't make any sense.
Dan Murphy: Mmhmm.
Steve March: I said it doesn't make any sense. The Geiger counter's been going on and off all morning. And the nucleometer checks right along with it.
Dan Murphy: Oh, you talk like a man with rocks in your head. Radioactivity's a constant thing. Either it's there...
[the Geiger counter goes off]
Steve March: Oh, yeah?

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Connections

References The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

User Reviews

This film could have been better if....

The first time I ever saw or heard of BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS, I was twelve and it was shown on "Creature Features." When I first saw it, I thought it was kind of cheap, but I enjoyed it. Years later I heard of its bad reputation but I had my memories of it not being all that bad. Seeing it again as an adult, I actually found much the films ludicrousness entertaining. Not just that, I was surprised by the films slightly unusual premise: the alien brain named Gor bent on taking over the Earth is a criminal. The rest of the Arousians are like Vol- a policeman from Arous sent to arrest the evil Gor - basically peaceful. It's slightly unusual for a film from this period for the alien invader to be portrayed as not representative of his race. The idea of alien police man stalking an alien criminal (as a previous commentator in this forum has noted) has turned up in few science fiction novels. This plot also shows up in the excellent 1987 thriller THE HIDDEN.

While the films special effects are cheap, they are no better or worse than those in most other programmer films made on this budget from the same period. The film does has some really ludicrous moments already mention by previous reviewers. Some complaints mentioned in this forum are unjustified and seem to be the result of straining. Like the commentator who complained about bodies not decaying. It's absurd, but it is the kind of mistake that turns up all the time even in "good" movies.

One of the films main problems is John Agar. As film historian and 50's science fiction expert Bill Warren has pointed out, John Agar tries, but he can't pull it off. When he becomes possessed and tries to be evil, he comes across more as comical than menacing. If a much better actor was cast, perhaps this film might be more highly regarded. I think a good example would be to compare Agar's performance to that of Lew Ayers in DONOVAN'S BRAIN (See my entry on that film). DONOVAN'S BRAIN has a similar theme: evil disembodied brain bent on world conquest takes over the body of a scientist. Ayers was convincing, Agar is not.

Perhaps the strangest thing about this film is that when it first came out, reviewers dismissed it as a "routine programmer" "conventional science fiction" and "just another double bill shocker." Regardless of what you think of this film, I'm sure you will agree those words certainly don't apply to BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS.

Till next time...Your Old Pal Jim.