It! The Terror from Beyond Space, 1958.
Directed by Edward L. Cahn.
Starring, Marshall Thompson, Shirley Paterson, Kim Spalding, Ann Doran, Dabbs Greer, Paul Langton, Robert Bice, Richard Benedict, Richard Harvey, Thom Carney, Ray Corrigan.
SYNOPSIS:
An alien only known as It terrorises the first manned expedition to Mars.
1973: Col. Edward Carruthers (Marshall Thompson) is the only surviving member of the expedition to Mars, and he is accused of murdering his crew. A rescuing ship arrives to escort Carruthers back to Earth to stand trial. Carruthers denies this allegation, but Commander Col. Van Heusen (Kim Spalding) does not believe him and insists a member of the crew is always watching him. In fact, nobody from Heusen’s crew believes Carruthers as they openly espouse suspicion of their prisoner. In this setup one can already detect the McCarthy context of the film. Allowing Carruthers to roam freely on the spacecraft may make minimal plot sense (honestly, the crew should find a holding bay for him) but it makes allegorical sense; the innocent should wander freely, and to be given the space to dispel such allegations.
While this gives space for such analogous readings much of its “science” has aged badly. One crew member quips: “Mars is almost as big as Texas” which will leave audiences to wonder whether that was an odd dated joke, or a lack of planetological understanding. Either way, it dates the film immediately. More aged moments from a retrospective stance can be found in the arsenal of weaponry – pistols, shotguns etc. – that is used on the spacecraft, and the casual smoking that crew members are engaged in. In short, it’s easy to detect that this is a pre-1969 moon landing film without needing to refer to the Blu-ray cover.
Alongside these scientific inaccuracies are the numerous plot holes that will only raise further questions. It is discovered towards the end of the first act that there is indeed an alien (Ray Corrigan) roaming the spacecraft. Not only does this decimate the tension of the film’s setup, but it also plants the question “How did it get onto the spacecraft initially?” I shan’t go into all the plot holes of this film, for that would be plentiful, it would lead to spoilers, and it would descend this review into a rant, but I shall highlight that It! does have enough issues to rid of any tension, and to undermine the film’s verisimilitude.
The alien lumbers around the spacecraft’s lower level ready to pick on any prey that comes its way. It’s a standard 1950s sci-fi B-Movie beast that bears notable resemblances to Gill-man from Creature from the Black Lagoon. This has a camp charm to it, and cult fans will definitely appreciate it. They may even appreciate it more so when they discover how it eats, and how he survives on Mars (SPOILER: Large lungs for the thin oxygen, and drains its victims fluid via osmosis). However one looks at this, the film’s desire to effectively frighten the audience, or for them accept the alien as a legitimate threat is sorely weakened with its predictable pacing; and the crew’s simplistic ploys to defeat the alien (all brawn with minimal brain).
It! The Terror from Beyond Space has not aged well, and does lack the credibility of other sci-fi films of the same era. Cult film fans may appreciate it, and it may even serve the odd chuckle, but it’s definitely got more historic value than necessary artistic.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Matthew Lee
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