Review: "This Island Earth" (1954)
About.com Rating
The Story
Cal Meacham (Reason) walks away from his plane knowing he should have crashed. His jet was dead and out of control, but at the last minute it was grabbed and safely landed by--something, some unknown force.
More strangeness waits at his lab.
A mysterious supply catalog arrives, with plans for a powerful machine he's never heard of: an Interociter. Meacham doesn't hesitate to build one. Through his Interociter, Meacham finds himself talking to Exeter (Morrow), a scientist possessed of advanced technology. The plans, Exeter explains, were a membership test for a group of exceptional scientists. Meacham passed.
Fascinated yet suspicious, Meacham joins up. An unmanned plane flies him, surprisingly, to rural Georgia. There he's brought to Exeter by an old flame, Dr. Ruth Adams (Domergue), who seems not to know him. Exeter tells him that his group's goal is to end war, but Meacham notices that everyone is working on atomic energy.
Adams confirms they don't know what their research is being used for. They try to escape in an old airplane, but Exeter is suddenly ordered to evacuate--with Meacham and Adams. Exeter launches his spaceship; on the way out he pulls in the fleeing scientists, plane and all.
As they approach Exeter's home planet, Metaluna, Meacham and Adams understand Exeter's true need for atomic power: Metaluna is being sapped by constant enemy bombardment.
Its only hope is power for a defense screen, but most of their scientists are dead.
Exeter might have persuaded them, but Metaluna's ruler reveals his plan to invade Earth and orders the humans brainwashed. Alone on an alien world, Meacham and Adams must fight their way past hideous mutants back to their only hope of escape--Exeter's spaceship.
Assemble your Interociter...
Exeter would have only one rival for Most Compelling Alien of the Fifties; that would be Klaatu (The Day the Earth Stood Still). The differences between the two are profound. From the moment he appears, Klaatu is an arresting presence, an advanced being even at his most humane. Exeter, in contrast, comes from a technologically advanced culture, but he is very human: emotional, powerless to resist fate, but resilient and optimistic in the face of total destruction, a symbol of ethical perseverance. Side by side they serve as a reminder that humanity can aspire to more than one goal. One question the film doesn't answer: Were there more Exeters on Metaluna, or was he unique?
As with Klaatu, the performance of Exeter is crucial. Morrow strikes the right note: His dignified, soulful portrayal lays this alien bare for the audience. At first, This Island Earth slyly packages itself as Meacham's story; but bit by bit Exeter takes over the film from this square-jawed, deep-voiced, two-dimensional scientist-cum-hero. Reason and Domergue do a fine job with their forgettable roles; nonetheless Exeter is much the more interesting character. (The supporting cast includes poor Russell Johnson in another role later overshadowed by his unfortunate three-hour tour.)
Story-based effects
The art direction and special effects--always trumpeted as two and a half years in the making--are superb, and not just for 1954. Tremendous effort went into communicating the scale of destruction on Metaluna, which is mutilated by meteors remote-controlled from enemy spacecraft. (Brilliantly, the barely glimpsed Zahgon ships look harsh and alien even from the standpoint of the Metalunans.) Yet the creators had the sense to remember that the purpose of effects is setting. The people behind today's effects-obsessed science fiction dreadnoughts need to see This Island Earth immediately.
I'll mention Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie only to say this: If you've seen it and think you've seen This Island Earth, you haven't. First, it's cut to fit the format; you lose evocative material on Metaluna and important exposition on Earth. Second, the pathos evaporates when played for laughs. Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein are both good movies, but they're not the same.
- This Island Earth
- Not Rated
- Starring Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason
- Directed by Joseph Newman
- Based on the novel by Raymond F. Jones
- 86 Minutes
- Originally released 1954
The Story
Cal Meacham (Reason) walks away from his plane knowing he should have crashed. His jet was dead and out of control, but at the last minute it was grabbed and safely landed by--something, some unknown force.
More strangeness waits at his lab.
A mysterious supply catalog arrives, with plans for a powerful machine he's never heard of: an Interociter. Meacham doesn't hesitate to build one. Through his Interociter, Meacham finds himself talking to Exeter (Morrow), a scientist possessed of advanced technology. The plans, Exeter explains, were a membership test for a group of exceptional scientists. Meacham passed.
Fascinated yet suspicious, Meacham joins up. An unmanned plane flies him, surprisingly, to rural Georgia. There he's brought to Exeter by an old flame, Dr. Ruth Adams (Domergue), who seems not to know him. Exeter tells him that his group's goal is to end war, but Meacham notices that everyone is working on atomic energy.
Adams confirms they don't know what their research is being used for. They try to escape in an old airplane, but Exeter is suddenly ordered to evacuate--with Meacham and Adams. Exeter launches his spaceship; on the way out he pulls in the fleeing scientists, plane and all.
As they approach Exeter's home planet, Metaluna, Meacham and Adams understand Exeter's true need for atomic power: Metaluna is being sapped by constant enemy bombardment.
Its only hope is power for a defense screen, but most of their scientists are dead.
Exeter might have persuaded them, but Metaluna's ruler reveals his plan to invade Earth and orders the humans brainwashed. Alone on an alien world, Meacham and Adams must fight their way past hideous mutants back to their only hope of escape--Exeter's spaceship.
Assemble your Interociter...
Exeter would have only one rival for Most Compelling Alien of the Fifties; that would be Klaatu (The Day the Earth Stood Still). The differences between the two are profound. From the moment he appears, Klaatu is an arresting presence, an advanced being even at his most humane. Exeter, in contrast, comes from a technologically advanced culture, but he is very human: emotional, powerless to resist fate, but resilient and optimistic in the face of total destruction, a symbol of ethical perseverance. Side by side they serve as a reminder that humanity can aspire to more than one goal. One question the film doesn't answer: Were there more Exeters on Metaluna, or was he unique?
As with Klaatu, the performance of Exeter is crucial. Morrow strikes the right note: His dignified, soulful portrayal lays this alien bare for the audience. At first, This Island Earth slyly packages itself as Meacham's story; but bit by bit Exeter takes over the film from this square-jawed, deep-voiced, two-dimensional scientist-cum-hero. Reason and Domergue do a fine job with their forgettable roles; nonetheless Exeter is much the more interesting character. (The supporting cast includes poor Russell Johnson in another role later overshadowed by his unfortunate three-hour tour.)
Story-based effects
The art direction and special effects--always trumpeted as two and a half years in the making--are superb, and not just for 1954. Tremendous effort went into communicating the scale of destruction on Metaluna, which is mutilated by meteors remote-controlled from enemy spacecraft. (Brilliantly, the barely glimpsed Zahgon ships look harsh and alien even from the standpoint of the Metalunans.) Yet the creators had the sense to remember that the purpose of effects is setting. The people behind today's effects-obsessed science fiction dreadnoughts need to see This Island Earth immediately.
I'll mention Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie only to say this: If you've seen it and think you've seen This Island Earth, you haven't. First, it's cut to fit the format; you lose evocative material on Metaluna and important exposition on Earth. Second, the pathos evaporates when played for laughs. Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein are both good movies, but they're not the same.
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