It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)

The first manned expedition to Mars is decimated by an unknown life form which stows away on the rescue ship.

Director:

Edward L. Cahn

Writer:

Jerome Bixby (screenplay)

Stars:

Marshall Thompson, Shirley Patterson, Kim Spalding

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marshall Thompson	...	Col. Edward Carruthers
Shirley Patterson	...	Ann Anderson (as Shawn Smith)
Kim Spalding	...	Col. Van Heusen
Ann Doran	...	Mary Royce
Dabbs Greer	...	Eric Royce
Paul Langton	...	Lt. James Calder
Robert Bice	...	Maj. John Purdue
Richard Benedict	...	Bob Finelli
Richard Hervey	...	Gino Finelli
Thom Carney	...	Joe Kienholz
Ray Corrigan	...	It

Storyline

In 1973, the first manned expedition to Mars is marooned; by the time a rescue mission arrives, there is only one survivor: the leader, Col. Edward Carruthers, who appears to have murdered the others! According to Carruthers, an unknown life form killed his comrades during a sandstorm. But the skeptical rescuers little suspect that "it" has stowed away for the voyage back to Earth...

---

Plot Keywords:

alien | spaceship | rescue mission | voice over narration | monster | 

---

Taglines:

$50,000 by a world renowned insurance company to the first person who can prove that "It" is not on Mars now!

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dabbs Greer was usually cast in westerns and was cast against type in this movie.

---

Goofs

The talk used to distract the monster includes talk from dead characters.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Spokesman at Press Conference: Ladies and gentlemen of the press: As you know, the first attempt to send a spaceship to the planet Mars was made six months ago. We knew that that ship, the Challenge 141, had reached its destination, but that's all we knew. Teleradio communication with Mars ceased immediately and we were forced to assume that the ship and crew had been lost. The man in charge of this expedition was a man who had become known to the world as the first man to be shot into space, the man who ...

---

Connections

Referenced in Burying the Ex (2014)

User Reviews

Superb Science Fiction

I have read about the inadequacies of this film, the low budget, the weak story, the lack of tension, and the somewhat rather lame alien creature. All are untrue(well to a degree I confess). This film is an edge of your seat thriller about an alien on Mars that stows away on a rocket before it leaves for Earth again. On board, the crew have Colonel Carruthers(accused of killing his 9 member crew from a previous mission) basically imprisoned, waiting for him to "tell the truth" about what happened to his men. The central strength of the film lies with the script and the three dimensional characters created by the actors. Yes, some of them are stereotyped. We have the Colonel faced with the loss of his honor, the Colonel of the new rocket bold , brazen, and strong, the faithful biologist, and so on. The actors really give these characters depth as we see them interplay with each other, and fight their very real fears of the alien presence on board. The creature itself is frightening in its way and does not detract from the credibility of the film. For much of the film, there is a high level of tension as we see the crew members try and try to destroy the creature but to no avail. The special effects are not great, but really only suffer with exterior shots of the rocketship flying through space at a glacial pace. In fact, there is a scene of two men walking ever so slowly down the side of the exterior of the ship as it flies through space. It looks ludicrous as you might imagine. Flaws and all, this was a very good film.

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios (us)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1958 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Terror from Beyond Space

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vogue Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1