I Married a Monster From Outer Space

Rating:
Summary: Solid scifi thriller
Review: Despite having one of the worst, most misleading titles in movie history, "I Married a Monster From Outer Space" is a solid, often chilling science fiction movie, with some very good acting and an excellent script. You won't find a mindless us versus them story here, which makes it all the more effective.

Bill Farrell ((Tom Tryon) was having a last drinking spree with some pals, the night before his wedding. But the next day, Bill arrives late to the church, and on the honeymoon he seems strangely preoccupied and distant. His new bride, Marge (Gloria Talbot), is a bit worried by her husband's sudden change, but tries to keep going as if nothing has happened. But a year passes, and Bill is still acting weird -- so, for that matter, are his pals.

One night (after the mystery deaths of a couple of animals), Marge follows Bill into the woods -- only to see a strange glowing alien emerge from his body and enter a spaceship. Terrified, Marge tries to get help, but she has no way of knowing who's an alien and who isn't. And when she learns why the aliens have come, and why they've impersonated human males, she enlists the help of the remaining humans to help her.

"I Married A Monster" is an example of story triumphing over budgets and special effects. While the script isn't flawless (if the aliens can't tolerate alcohol, why doesn't Marge use that as a test?), the gradual buildup of tension, and the feeling of helplessness, is wonderfully done. Things as small as stumbling over a dead cat are imbued with horror, and the "less is more" exposure of the aliens in their true forms adds a great low-key tone to it. The special effects and costumes, though primitive by current standards, are surprisingly convincing.

One of the best aspects of this film is the handling of the aliens. They're not evil, just desperate to perpetuate their own kind. They're not invading for its own sake; they have a motive. But at the same time, they are clearly not acting acceptably, since they also kill off some humans (a young woman at a bar, and a nosy lech). Still, it's hard not to feel a pang when any of the aliens die, or when "Tom" explains their plight. Another nice touch is one of the aliens looking wistfully into a shop window.

Tryon does an excellent job, since he has to play an alien pretending to be a human -- cold, stiff, and a bit off-key. He does it wonderfully, with the right tinge of emotion when it's needed. Talbot does an equally good job. It would be too easy to make Marge an over-the-top hysteric, but she keeps the character reined in, so you can feel her panic.

It's a smart, well-written movie, like "Invasion of the Body-Snatchers" but with more suspense and more three-dimensional aliens. Recommended highly -- don't let the title scare you away.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest film titles of all time!
Review: Despite its lurid, pulp sci-fi title, this is actually a pretty solid
science-fiction/horror movie, with a very good cast and good
direction by Gene Fowler, and competent special effects for a
low-budget genre film of the '50s.

The lovely Gloria Talbott portrays Marge, an average woman who
marries the man of her dreams (Tom Tryon) only to discover that
he is not the man she thought he was--in fact, he's not a man at all,
but a hideous alien who has assumed human shape in order to
breed more of his species! How she deals with this knowledge
makes for a taunt tale of suspense. Who can she trust? Who will
believe her? Will she have to mate with this creature?

She escapes this fate, of course, since this was 1958 and even
human sex, let alone alien sex, was only briefly hinted at, or slyly
suggested, in the movies at that time.

Gloria Talbott's career started out in a promising way, with
featured parts in such A-movies as We're No Angels, with
Humphrey Bogart and Peter Ustinov, but her later career was
mostly in low-budget westerns, TV roles, and horror films like
The Leech Woman, The Cyclops, and Daughter of Dr. Jekyll
(all of them interesting films, by the way.)

Rating:
Summary: Chilling Little Sci Fi Thriller With Very Eerie feel
Review: Hampered with one of the most sensationalistic titles in all movie history this little gem of a thriller has been unfairly dumped in the "Shlock Cinema" bin for too long. Under the terrible title lurks a taut and quite eerie story in the same vein as the classic "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers". I only saw this film for the first time recently and I was very impressed by the good acting,exciting story and eerie feel that was in every frame of the film. It really is one of the finer efforts of the Sci Fi 1950's period and deserves better press than it generally gets.

"I Married A Monster From Outer Space", tells the disturbing story of a young man Bill Farrell (Tom Tryon) who on the eve of his wedding is captured by sinister aliens from a dead world beyond our Solar System . Their purpose is to take over the bodies of a number of earth men so that they can procreate with earth women in the hope of repopulating their dying world. In true bodysnatcher style the men once taken over, are only outwardly as they were but within are actually the aliens who's features are revealed again during things like electrical storms etc. The new bride Marge (Gloria Talbot) begins to realise that something is very wrong with Bill who no longer has any of the old emotions about him. Highly suspicious Marge follows him through the woods one evening only to discover the terrible truth as she witnesses a glowing alien emerging from the outer body of her husband. What in fact is her supposedly loving husband is in reality a fiendish alien with evil intent. The race is then on for Marge to try and alert the townspeople of the terror in their midst. However that proves more difficult as time goes on as more of the men are taken over by the aliens and it becomes difficult for Marge to know who to trust. Eventually the remaining males who have not been taken over rally together and realising the danger in their midst set out to destroy the alien presense. The fiery finale sees the police penetrating the alien space ship where they release the seemingly lifeless bodies of the captured males after which their alien duplicates die a quick death. Marge is then reunited with her "reborn" real husband.

Directed by former editor Gene Fowler who was responsible for that other fine effort with a terrible title "I Was A Teenage Werewolf", the eerie atmosphere and sense of fear never lets up for a minute. From the first sinister appearance of the aliens on the side of the road when Bill stops the car for a supposedly dead body lying on the road, through to the various "captures' of the male townsfolk and their transformation into hideous aliens it makes for an exciting story and a quite vivid snapshot of 1950's paranoia. In the leads Tom Tryon, with his stern goodlooks is ideally cast as the sinister alien masquerading as the young husband. He gives a fine performance filled with both menace and a sense of mystery that keeps the viewer alert to what he might do next. Gloria Talbott as Marge has the larger amount of emoting to do here as her situation grows more and more serious and she realises what is going on and that she is actually living with an alien. The presence of the aliens in their own real forms is kept to an effective minimum and their brief appearances during the storms and when they capture the men are quite startling and vividly done. The murder of the young women after she leaves the bar and sees an alien in its real form is one of the scary highlights of the story as well.

"I Married A Monster From Outer Space", is an exciting little film that all sci fi buffs should include in their collection. Despite its obvious low budget the film has much to offer. The musical score, earnest low key performances and eerily staged proceedings make for enjoyable viewing. The aliens depicted are quite original in their construction and the sinister white glow that they appear in is marvellous and creates a quite startling impression. Being a classic of the 1950's paranoia period, many other meanings can be written into alien creatures taking over the bodies of innocent citizens of a small town however I enjoy it as taut, exciting storytelling from the old school of Hollywood filmmaking . Sit back and enjoy Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbott battle the aliens in the cult classic "I Married A Monster From Outer Space".

Rating:
Summary: I Recommended A Movie From Amazon.com.
Review: This is a must-have sci-fi movie that, obviously, has been much overlooked. Not as subtle as Invasion of the Body Snatchers yet bearing many of the same characteristics, IMAMFOS probably has suffered due to its unwieldy title.

A young newlywed woman comes to realize that her husband is not the man she married- (I know, I know) literally. But this movie deals less with wide-scale paranoia than with one woman's struggle for identity, even as she wonders about her husband's (Like, for example, if he and their baby are monsters from outer space.)

One extra level to the movie which is adequately but not sufficiently dealt with is the question of who, really, are the bad guys. The aliens kill to keep their secret, but are almost sympathetic. They impersonate earthmen to carry on their race and may even treat their wives more compassionately AFTER they are taken over by aliens, whereas before they could not wait to leave them and go sit in the local tavern. An interesting twist, and one which could come off as preachy, but manages not to because the story moves at a pretty good clip and there's enough monster action to drown out secondary things like messages or character development. (Ahem.)

IMAMFOS boasts wonderful sci-fi music, a good amount of fine special effects and a shoot-'em up action climax where the members of a small town band together against the invaders. Bonus points for a shaggy hound dog figuring into the proceedings.

See also: It Came From Outer Space; Astronaut's Wife was a semi-remake, but ... yuck.

Rating:
Summary: I Married A Monster From Outer Space
Review: This little gem from 1958 has always been one of my favorites along with The Monster That Challenged The World and Them! The special effects are typical 50's but still great fun. Maltin gives it 2 1/2 stars and I give it 3 simply because I can salivate an extra half a star just in anticipation of it's release. Oh, by the way my next salivation will come when they release The Incredible Shrinking Man, can't wait.

Rating:
Summary: 3 1/2 Stars.Above Average.
Review: This movie is in the same vein as Invasion Of The Body Snatchers but manages to set itself apart by giving you the aliens perspective.
Gloria Talbott,as the lead,isnt very engaging but does an acceptable job.Tom Tryon,on the other hand,does an admirable job,deftly walking a thin line between sympathetic alien and evil fiend.
The story itself moves at a casual pace.This isnt an action packed film but it never slows down to the point where you find yourself getting bored.In fact,there are two scenes of alien/human confrontation between the 30 minute and 50 minute mark that seemed to be thrown in at the last minute in order to keep the viewer from losing interest.
The final battle between the humans and aliens is exciting and features outstanding spfx.I also really dug the look of the creatures.
I would definetly recommend this movie but you have to be interested in the story to make it to the end.If you liked Invasion Of The Body Snatchers then you'll find a lot to like about this film.But if the idea of aliens taking over human bodies doesnt interest you then stay away.