Monday, 21stJANUARY 2002 ON THE DOUBLE
featuring: IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE.(1953) When a huge object streaks across the sky & smashes into the Arizona desert, amateur astronomer John Putnam (Carlson) initially believes he has witnessed a monstrous meteor crashing to Earth. However, when he, his fiancee Ellen Fields (Rush) & a helicopter pilot investigate the site, Putnam unexpectedly discovers a huge spherical spaceship. Unfortunately, before he can alert his companions, a rock slide buries the vessel at the bottom of the impact crater. Of course, no one believes Putnam's story, but it soon becomes clear that strange creatures are roaming the area. A couple of telephone linemen (Joe Sawyer & Russell Johnson, who went on to play the Professor on Gilligan's Island) inexplicably disappear, only to turn up later under the apparent control of the aliens. When Putnam confronts them, the two ask for his trust & emphasize that the otherworldly visitors will only be on Earth for a short time. As people continue to vanish the sheriff forms a posse to track down the extraterrestrial menace. The aliens take over Putnam's wife-to-be & use her to warn him to keep the townspeople away from the mine where their ship is being repaired. Putnam must outwit the posse & allow the visitors to safely leave the planet.
A fun flick even without the 3-D.Based on a story by Ray Bradbury, It Came from Outer Space is surprisingly entertaining. Capitalizing on post-World War II fears of Communist infiltration & remarkable scientific advances of the time,it effectively mixes elements from horror films of the 1930s & 1940s with the intensely xenophobic American mindset of the early Cold War era. Director Jack Arnold occasionally shows the action from the alien point of view, utilizing a weird, watery visual effect that is decidedly scary. He incorporates an eerie soundtrack too, written in part by Henry Mancini, that helps to accentuate the unsettling scenario. With the possible exception of the stereotypically fearful female lead, the actors are also generally credible. The original theatrical release featured 3-D effects. It's easy to see where these shots would have added a bit of fun (a backyard telescope jutting up to the sky, the thundering avalanche that engulfs the spaceship, etc.), yet the action remains consistently intriguing, inarguably an intelligent & enjoyable adventure. RUSSELL (GILLIGAN'S ISLAND) JOHNSON, JOE (RIN TIN TIN) SAWYER.
THE BRATS(19)
SITTIN’ PRETTY (19)
HIS ROYAL SLYNESS (1920) Harold Lloyd plays two roles in "His Royal Slyness," the Prince of Thermosa and his American look-alike. An American book salesman is persuaded to go to the kingdom of Thermosa to impersonate the Prince. He is greeted by a peasants' revolt before the real prince shows up to claim his throne and princess. The revolution succeeds and the American is elected president of the new republic.
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