The greatest movie ever!

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

A huge meteor like thing crash lands in the Arizona desert. An amateur astronomer discovers that it was in fact a spacecraft before it is buried by a land slide. As is the way, no one in his town believes him and soon after, various people are replaced by automaton duplicates.This bit of 50's sci-fi was originally released in 3D during the brief craze for the format at the time. Unlike two other studio releases from 1953, War of the Worlds and Invaders from Mars, this one was shot in black and white and was therefore more likely to have been considered an actual b-movie back in the day. In some ways though it is a more thoughtful feature than either of those two and is not a Cold War analogy in the traditional sense, as while it looks at themes of paranoia and xenophobia it tackles them from an opposite angle than was usual. The ugly looking one-eyed alien is at first presented as a killer monster of the unknown but once we get to understand the its perspective more we begin to comprehend that these beings are in actual fact benign creatures that are far more at risk from hostile elements of human society than we are of them. So I am guessing that the underlying message was one of not judging the 'alien' communists too rashly and to instead try to understand rather than attack and to be wary of lynch mob mentalities in your own back yard. A pretty radical message in those years of the so called Red Menace I would have thought.It was the first sci-fi film directed by Jack Arnold who would go on to direct others such as the seminal The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). It also has additional kudos for being based on a story from one of science fiction's greatest writers Ray Bradbury, namely 'The Meteor'. So, there is certainly some talent linked to this one. The Arizona desert setting is also really very good and the alien is a memorable bit of design work for its time, with its point-of-view also imaginatively given via what can best be described as 'giant eye view'. There is also some Theremin music, which seems quite par-for-the-course now but which I am sure was pretty original and super-weird back in 1953. Because the story ultimately doesn't have typical alien villains, the dynamic is less suspenseful than is usual but this is offset by the more original cerebral approach to sci-fi which ensures that the film remains more interesting than many similar efforts from its time in other ways. It maintains the unorthodox approach right to the end too, by ending on a credit sequence (replete with images of the main characters to go along with it) rather than starting with one as was traditional, which again shows that they were actively trying for something different here in several ways.

Some of the best early sci-fi movies about aliens didn't have scenes with scary monsters or ugly creatures. They were built mostly on suspense, anxiety and anticipation. Films such as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" of 1956 had superb scripts and good acting that kept the audience on the edge of their seats through most of the film. Hollywood had difficulty creating its creatures in the early years. They couldn't look amateurishly funny or that would defeat the scare attraction of the film. Some of the early monsters were so bad that they were funny, when finally seen. So, to get around that, the studios usually had good screenplays that incorporated the right music and background sounds to create the suspense and scary aspects. "It Came from Outer Space" introduces an alien of some sort that apparently is quite grotesque. At least, judging from the frightened looks of the people who confront it in this film. Richard Carlson, as John Putnam isn't overpowered by a monster, but at his request, the alien reveals itself to him as it really appears. Only, we in the audience don't get to see it. Well, we do get to see it somewhat from the alien's side of an eyeball looking out. That's a little funny in itself. But the script isn't very good for this film. The music seemed hokey or didn't seem to fit at times. Carlson has to overact to carry the plot along at times. And that just further takes away from the scare factor. The result is the loss of suspense half an hour into the movie, and a rather blasé film that seems to drag on after that. The scare factor is all but gone, and the audience is left just wondering what the alien actually looks like.There are any number of good sci-fi films of the mid-20th century to see. There also are many cheap "B" films that have almost comical monsters. "It Came from Outer Space" comes close to the second group.

There were many outstanding 1950's Sci-Fi films as well as many not so outstanding. This is one of the former. It is profound at times but some of the dialog can be clunky. Yet, there are some thought provoking themes here and it is at its best fictionalizing and chronicling the Flying Saucer craze that was emerging and grabbing some headlines in real life.Adding to the mirroring of public awareness at the time is the notion of perceived outside threats, such as Communism, and the Movie asks us to step back a bit and be a little less paranoid and reactive. One line that can be read as an ominous Eisenhower era conformity plea...after witnessing and reporting his UFO sighting the Man gets this reaction from an authority figure..."he's an odd one...he's more than odd, he is an individual, a Man alone, a Man who thinks for Himself."That seems to be a threat to the establishment. But the irony is if everyone was so conforming and acted as a collective, that could be called Communism. But weren't they the enemy. So while deriding the Reds, we are told we should shut up, and walk in step. That's the hypocrisy.This is a creepy Movie and is a lot of fun at the same time. It has a number of glitzy looking sets with some futuristic designed apparatus. There are parts that are darkly lit with eerie shadowy figures and some piercing Music. Some cloned Zombie-Men and an effective use of SFX that try, and mostly succeed at being otherWorldly. While this is an excellent Movie, it can be seen as a precursor to a Great Movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).

In small-town Sand Rock, Arizona, amateur astronomer Richard Carlson (as John "Johnny" Putnam) and pretty schoolteacher Barbara Rush (as Ellen Fields) are ending a date. She's a Scorpio. He's a Sagittarius. They ready to kiss, but are interrupted by a bright object crashing by a nearby mine. Thinking it's a meteor (sic), they set out to investigate. Judging by its appearance, Mr. Carlson believes "It Came from Outer Space" and contains some form of alien life. Everyone in town thinks Carlson is crazy...Reporters make fun of Carlson with the headline "Star Gazer Sees Martians" and he can't prove his story. Some suggest he's seeking publicity for a new book. Sheriff Charlie Drake (as Matt Warren) appears willing to move in on Ms. Rush, but she sticks with Carlson. After telephone linemen Russell Johnson (as George) and Joe Sawyer (as Frank) have a close encounter on the road, townsfolk begin acting possessed. Beautifully proportioned blonde Kathleen Hughes (as June) makes a pointed appearance...From writer Ray Bradbury, this is one of the more literate science-fiction films of the 1950s. While silly in some respects, the basic story holds up well. With the fact that the movie will be seen in "3-D" on their minds, director Jack Arnold and photographer Clifford Stine create an Earthly desert that looks like another planet. Objects could jump into your seat. The soundtrack music is perfect. Film critics have a political reading for many of these movies, but aliens interrupt sexual thoughts with alarming frequency.******** It Came from Outer Space (5/25/53) Jack Arnold ~ Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Russell Johnson