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:

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

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 Steve and Dan are standing by the jeep at the end of the road, the boom's reflection is visible in the windshield. Also, when Steve and Sally are in the convertible, it is visible in the in the wing window.

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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 Aliens: The Definitive Guide: What to Expect (2013)

User Reviews

Meet Gor! He's a real pain in the brain.

Generally speaking there are two types of Sci-Fi movies from the 1950's. First and foremost you have the timeless and indisputable classics. These are the highly influential milestones that everybody knows and appreciates, like "The Day The Earth Stood Still", "Forbidden Planet", "This Island Earth" and a selected few others. Secondly you have the massive overload of low-budgeted, insignificant but tremendously amusing campy B-movies. These movies handle about the weirdest and most grotesque alien invasion stories and feature the craziest monster designs and special effects. The majority of those films are long forgotten and very obscure by now, but if you happen to stumble upon a cheap DVD version, you're guaranteed to have a great time! "The Brain from Planet Arous" is such an irresistible camp oldie. The plot is preposterous, the titular monster is a ludicrous creation and the script is chock-full of slightly perverted undertones and insinuations. Dig this: the eminent scientist Steve March and his assistant head out to the remote area of Mystery Mountain because there are unusual fluctuations in the radioactivity measurements. Once there, they run into an evil alien from the planet Arous that goes by the name of Gor. Gor is in fact a gigantic floating brain with a pair of evil penetrating eyes who promptly kills the assistant and possesses the body of Steve. Gor wants to do very sexist things to Steve's fiancée Sally, but his main objective nevertheless remains dominating the entire universe. His hobbies include burning people's faces and causing planes to explode in open air. Luckily, for our planet's sake, Arous also sent a good alien named Vol to prevent Gor from executing his fiendish plans. In order to stay close to Gor, Vol possesses the body of Steve's loyal dog George! Now, through this brief plot description it's probably clear already why "The Brain from Planet Arous" isn't ranked amongst the biggest Sci-Fi classics of the 50's decade, but it's definitely great entertainment. The film is fast-paced and doesn't suffer from dullness at all. Genre expert Nathan Juran ("The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "20 Million Miles to Earth") assures a tight direction and John Agar is the B-movie veteran actor at your service. There are numerous memorable highlights to be found here, like watching how Agar painfully struggles with his black contact lenses or the meeting of the world leaders gathered in a small office in Indian Springs; Nevada. The abrupt ending leaves many questions unanswered (like how is Steve every going to talk his way out of what happened) and the whole thing only gets sillier if you think about it, but "The Brain from Planet Arous" definitely comes warmly recommended to all tolerant fans of Sci-Fi nonsense.