Not of This Earth (1957)

An alien agent from the distant planet Davana is sent to Earth via a high-tech matter transporter. There, he terrorizes Southern California in an attempt to acquire blood for his dying race, the result of a devastating nuclear war.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay) (as Charles Griffith), Mark Hanna (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, Morgan Jones

Cast

Cast overview:
Paul Birch	...	Paul Johnson
Beverly Garland	...	Nadine Storey
Morgan Jones	...	Harry Sherbourne
William Roerick	...	Dr. F.W. Rochelle
Jonathan Haze	...	Jeremy Perrin
Dick Miller	...	Joe Piper (as Richard Miller)
Anna Lee Carroll	...	Davanna Woman (as Anne Carroll)
Pat Flynn	...	Simmons
Barbara Bohrer	...	Waitress
Roy Engel	...	Sgt. Walton
Tamar Cooper	...	Joanne
Harold Fong	...	Speciman
Lyle Latell	...	(scenes deleted)
Gail Ganley	...	Girl
Ralph Reed	...	Boy

Storyline

An alien agent from the distant planet Davana is sent to Earth via a high-tech matter transporter. There, he terrorizes Southern California in an attempt to acquire blood for his dying race, the result of a devastating nuclear war.

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Plot Keywords:

pay phone | blood | alien | outer space | binocular microscope | 

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Taglines:

Somewhere in this world stalks a thing that is...

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Emisario de otro mundo

Filming Locations:

1725 Camino Palermo, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Los Altos Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Birch walked off the film before shooting was completed after having a physical confrontation with Roger Corman. He was quoted as saying, " I am an actor, and I don't need this stuff... To hell with it all! Goodbye!" According to co-star Beverly Garland, Birch objected to the fast pace of the film, the old-fashioned, uncomfortable hard plastic contacts he had to wear, and the film's low-budget, which he considered beneath his status. As a result, Birch's remaining scenes were shot with Lyle Latell doubling for Birch.

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Goofs

When Johnson is being chased by the motorcycle cop, the siren comes on momentarily and then goes off several scenes before it finally comes on to cause the crash.

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Quotes

Paul Johnson: In the place from which I come, no person would dare sleep in insecure quarters.

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Connections

Referenced in Atomic Brain Invasion (2010)

User Reviews

NOT OF THIS EARTH (Roger Corman, 1957) ***

Having caught most of horror legend Corman’s more respectable early genre efforts – THE UNDEAD (1957), A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) – I had been aching to check this one out being, by all accounts, the most elusive of the bunch. Having now watched the film on the very same day I acquired it says a lot about my love of fantasy films – when many a renowned mainstream (and, for all intents and purposes, desirable) title still languishes in my collection and which, sometimes, I’ve owned for a good many years already...

Anyway, going back to that opening statement about Corman’s pre-color/Edgar Allan Poe output, NOT OF THE THIS EARTH emerges to be fully deserving of its considerable reputation; indeed, I’d say it’s probably the most satisfying of the four films mentioned above: the others had a tongue-in-cheek, even campy approach – present here only in some amusingly dated jive talk from the youngsters and a goofy mushroom-like floating object used at one point to dispatch a prominent character – whereas this is quite straightforward, and as stark and unrelenting as they come! Besides, the typical alien invasion theme here is ingeniously augmented by the topical concern of paranoia found in Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna’s intelligent script, via its allusions to Nuclear War (the fictional world from which the alien emanates, Davana, is succumbing to interplanetary war a' la THIS ISLAND EARTH [1955]’s Metaluna) and The Red Menace (hypnotized by the extraterrestrial creature, the human victims’ subsequent devotion to his cause is comparable to the emotionless doppelgangers from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS [1956]); apart from this, the alien’s modus operandi – draining Earthlings of their blood – presents the film with a nice twist on the vampire myth! Incidentally, he uses the closet of his bedroom as a teleportation/communication machine between the two worlds, requires to wear sunglasses at all times (because one look into his creepy blank eyes can kill), but is himself vulnerable to loud noises (which proves to be his undoing in the climactic chase). Eventually, a second (female) visitor from outer-space arrives on the scene – but dies shortly thereafter, having unwittingly received a transfusion of infected blood! The film concludes, then, on a satisfactorily ironic note.

Despite the obviously modest budget at hand, the director has assembled a more than adequate cast to fill the main roles: Paul Birch is impressive and memorable as the ‘unearthly stranger’; Beverly Garland makes for one of the most engaging heroines in this type of film; Jonathan Haze’s character as Birch’s lackey is miles removed from his signature role of the geeky florist in THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; Corman stalwart and cult favorite Dick Miller has a delightful bit as a hip but ill-fated vacuum-cleaner salesman. By the way, the atmospheric cinematography (evident even in the poor-quality 16mm print I watched) is by John Mescall – who, years before, had been responsible for nothing less than BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)! Finally, it’s worth noting that NOT OF THIS EARTH was twice remade to much lesser effect – first in 1988 and again in 1995; curiously enough, on both of these, Corman himself would serve as executive producer!