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:

mind control | airplane shot down | radioactive eyes | brainwashing | axe murder | 

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Taglines:

It Will Steal Your Body And Damn Your Soul!

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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

Even after being occupied by Gor, Steve thinks Sally is imagining things when she tells him about Vol.

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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

Featured in Nightmare Theatre's Late Night Chill-o-Rama Horror Show Vol. 1 (1996)

User Reviews

not a bad film at all

This film has a reputation as one of the all-time stinkers, a reputation that it in no way deserves. How many stars should i give it? At least eight, but should I go as high as nine? Or even ten? Arguably it DOES deserve ten stars, as it compares favorably with such fifties sci fi classics as "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" (a definite "ten" film in my book). I've seen most of the John Agar science fiction films and i'm quite impressed with them. The man does reign as one of the great sci fi film icons of the fifties and sixties. Most of his sci fi films follow a formula. The idea is to contrast the charming Mr. Agar, the epitome of Midwestern normality, with the outrageous, literally out-of-this world goings-on featured in these pictures. And this formula almost always works. This time it's disembodied brains from outer space, a "good" brain and an "evil" one. The evil one ends up residing in Agar's body, so the actor ends up giving TWO performances in essence. He acts as his usual self, and as a maniacal power-crazed version of himself. (Picture McLean Stevenson playing the role of an out-and-out villain.) "Arous" has developed a cult following, but for all the wrong reasons. It shouldn't be noteworthy for being bad. It should be remembered as a very successful example of fifties-style formula science fiction.