They Came from Beyond Space (1967)

Scientists investigating an unusual meteor shower in a rural field are possessed by an alien force bent on an ulterior purpose.

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writers:

Milton Subotsky (screenplay), Joseph Millard (novel)

Stars:

Robert Hutton, Jennifer Jayne, Zia Mohyeddin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Hutton	...	Dr. Curtis Temple
Jennifer Jayne	...	Lee Mason
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Farge
Bernard Kay	...	Richard Arden
Michael Gough	...	Master of the Moon
Maurice Good	...	Stilwell
John Harvey	...	Bill Trethowan
Hedger Wallace	...	Alan Mullane (as Geoffrey Wallace)
Luanshya Greer	...	Girl Attendant
Diana King	...	Mrs. Trethowan
Paul Bacon	...	Dr. Rogers
Christopher Banks	...	Doctor - Street
Dermot Cathie	...	Peterson
Norman Claridge	...	Dr. Frederick Andrews
James Donnelly	...	Guard

Storyline

Astronomers investigate a mysterious meteorite shower in a rural English farm field. The rocks which fell, landed in a V-formation. Dr. Richard Arden, preeminent in the field of extraterrestrial study, is not permitted to accompany his colleagues, including his girlfriend Lee Mason, because he is still recovering from the effects of a recent motor accident. The scientists are summarily taken over by some alien force, and others in the area are dying from a mysterious "crimson plague," which covers their bodies with drops of blood. Temple seems the only person immune to both maladies, so if he can discover the reason for this immunity, he may yet foil the alien plan to take earthlings back to the moon for their own sinister purposes.

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Plot Keywords:

silver | alien | farm | plague | alien possession | 

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Taglines:

The turn women into robots ... enslave men ... and make cities into places of terror!

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sie kamen von jenseits des Weltraums

Filming Locations:

Cookham, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the laboratory where they cast the silver cage stands a big clear plastic (or glass) gun. This is the same prop used as the main device in The Projected Man (1966).

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Goofs

Temple is examining charts in his office when Arden comes in to invite him back to the farm where the meteors fell. When the wall is shown again, a large new chart of the moon has appeared.

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Quotes

Lee Mason: Sentiment! I will not have sentiment interfering with our vital work!

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'A' rating. All cuts were waived in 2012 when the film was granted a 'PG' certificate for its premiere DVD release (actually released 17 October 2011).

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Connections

Featured in Movie Macabre: They Came from Beyond Space (1983)

User Reviews

Really Bad Sci-Fi from Amicus

They Came from Beyond Space (1967)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Amicus production has some meteors crashing in a field but when scientist goes to crack into them, an alien race starts taking over their minds. Soon everyone is under the spell of the aliens but thankfully one man (Robert Hutton) has some steel in his head, which keeps him from being infected. I love a lot of Amicus movies and I've often enjoyed their films more than their rival Hammer but there's not too much love that can be shown to this movie, which is pretty to look at but deadly dull in terms of entertainment. The biggest problem is that it appears Francis, usually a top-notch director, falls asleep at the wheel because the movie has a deadly slow pace that doesn't help anything. To make matters worse is the screenplay, which is full of one dialogue scene after another and nothing being said is all that intelligent. The movie moves way too slow to begin with so adding all this dialogue isn't going to help matters. Hutton sleepwalks through his role but to his credit he doesn't have much to work with. Jennifer Jayne isn't that memorable and Michael Gough appears bored out of his mind. The "Swingin' 60's" certainly lends its hand to the visuals of the film, which are quite colorful and nice to look at. The sets aren't that bad either but this doesn't save an otherwise boring film.