Rating: 
Summary: Love That Ambiguity
Review: This film strikes a very interesting balance. On the one hand, it is relatively intelligent for a 1950s alien movie, has half-decent dialogue, and the characters aren't a bunch of shoot first, ask questions later imbiciles. On the other hand, the alien and his ship look hillarious, some of its actions are quite silly (when you learn what its supposed plan is, it is so illogical you can shoot a million holes into it and a much simpler solution to its problems is obvious (see below for mine)), and you can, e.g., see some very obvious backdrops and it makes relentless use of fog machines (although with an explanation). As a result it lives up to neither extreme of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" or "Plan 9 From Outer Space", so while it definitely has a charm all its own and is worth watching, it isn't an absolute classic (cheese or otherwise).Basically, a planet ("X") of mysterious origins is going to pass near the earth. A good scientist, his attractive daughter, a dashing reporter and a bad (but not mad) scientist are in the small English town where the planet will pass nearest to investigate, and they discover a spaceship and its passenger (who happens to have a mind control device) in the moors. The most interesting aspect of the film is that you are never quite sure of the alien's motive. Is it friend or foe? Even the ending manages to cleverly keep this concealed (it helps that it is quite difficult, even after hearing the supposed plan, to quite figure out what the alien hopes to accomplish through its actions). This movie is a fun, entertaining little diversion. SOLUTION TO ALIEN'S PROBLEM (SPOILER WARNING): If your planet is too cold and you have the technology to change it's orbit so it will precisely pass near a warmer, habitable planet, why not just move your planet into a decent orbit?!?!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting movie, worth your while!
Review: This was shot on the cheap, and some of the acting is hammy, as other reviewers have pointed out. But it is indeed atmospheric, and occasionally genuinely creepy-looking. The person who makes this interesting, though, is William Schallert as the villain, Dr. Mears. You may not know him by name, but you've seen him on TV a million times. Schallert has spent much of his career playing genial, inoffensive storekeepers, friendly pipe-smoking dads, wise uncles, nice grandpas, etc. on things like the Patty Duke Show, Dobie Gillis, Matlock, and Highway to Heaven. Here, he does a really bang-up job playing against his usual character. He's a creepy, neurotic, wormy, indecisive, snivelling villain, the total opposite of the usual frenzied Mad Scientist types in science fiction flicks of this era. He's said to have done something awful "during the War," but it's never specified exactly what, which actually makes him more creepy. His evil plot is not to "take over the world," but to use alien tech to make himself a billionaire! He also sports longer hair than most people were allowed in the 1950s (outside of Bible epics), plus a very Beatnik-looking mustache and goatee! One gets the impression that he goes back to his room in the Professor's house and plots using alien tech to take over the stock market while listening to Charlie Parker and Lester Young. This is definitely not the best science fiction flick ever, but it really deserves your attention. The director and the actors do a lot with what they have to work with. One wonders what this movie would have been like if someone had been able to get some serious financial support behind it; with the right budget and a little script rewriting, "The Day The Earth Stood Still" might have had some serious competition in the "brainy sci-fi movie" department. As it stands, Man from Planet X is a cool little movie. Get it and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting movie, worth your while!
Review: This was shot on the cheap, and some of the acting is hammy, as other reviewers have pointed out. But it is indeed atmospheric, and occasionally genuinely creepy-looking. The person who makes this interesting, though, is William Schallert as the villain, Dr. Mears. You may not know him by name, but you've seen him on TV a million times. Schallert has spent much of his career playing genial, inoffensive storekeepers, friendly pipe-smoking dads, wise uncles, nice grandpas, etc. on things like the Patty Duke Show, Dobie Gillis, Matlock, and Highway to Heaven. Here, he does a really bang-up job playing against his usual character. He's a creepy, neurotic, wormy, indecisive, snivelling villain, the total opposite of the usual frenzied Mad Scientist types in science fiction flicks of this era. He's said to have done something awful "during the War," but it's never specified exactly what, which actually makes him more creepy. His evil plot is not to "take over the world," but to use alien tech to make himself a billionaire! He also sports longer hair than most people were allowed in the 1950s (outside of Bible epics), plus a very Beatnik-looking mustache and goatee! One gets the impression that he goes back to his room in the Professor's house and plots using alien tech to take over the stock market while listening to Charlie Parker and Lester Young. This is definitely not the best science fiction flick ever, but it really deserves your attention. The director and the actors do a lot with what they have to work with. One wonders what this movie would have been like if someone had been able to get some serious financial support behind it; with the right budget and a little script rewriting, "The Day The Earth Stood Still" might have had some serious competition in the "brainy sci-fi movie" department. As it stands, Man from Planet X is a cool little movie. Get it and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: An intriguing and subversive little film
Review: Under the guise of a low-budget science-fiction movie, 'The Man From Planet X' (why 'Man'?) is a subversive work featuring typically atmospheric Ulmer visuals. Its starting point seems simple enough: coming from a mysterious planet which is rushing towards Earth, a spaceship ends up in Scotland; various stock characters - professor Elliott and Dr. Mears, scientists with contrasting personalities; prof. Elliott's daughter Enid; Lawrence, a dashing reporter; and, later, a group of anonymous officers and inspectors - try to learn more about the spaceship and its strange-looking pilot. At first sight, the villain (Mears) and the heroes (both Elliots, Lawrence, the officers and inspectors) seem clearly identified, but there's more than meets the eye. The spaceship's pilot, by far the film's most important character, is neither an outright hero nor an enemy; his motivations are never revealed, and the way humans react around him tells a lot about them. If the creature eventually becomes hostile, it's because Mears resorted to violence in order to obtain secrets he planned to use for his sole profit; but this, in turn, is caused by prof. Elliot and Lawrence, who let Mears alone with the creature. Furthermore, fears of a possible invasion are based on assumptions which are never verified, because late in the film both 'enemies' (Mears and the now hostile creature) die and planet X doesn't crush the Earth. The irresponsible choices made by the 'heroes' thus prevent the initial contact with non-humans from bringing interesting information to both races, and what appears to be a semi-happy ending is only, at best, a return to status quo.
Rating:
Summary: An intriguing and subversive little film
Review: Under the guise of a low-budget science-fiction movie, `The Man From Planet X' (why `Man'?) is a subversive work featuring typically atmospheric Ulmer visuals. Its starting point seems simple enough: coming from a mysterious planet which is rushing towards Earth, a spaceship ends up in Scotland; various stock characters - professor Elliott and Dr. Mears, scientists with contrasting personalities; prof. Elliott's daughter Enid; Lawrence, a dashing reporter; and, later, a group of anonymous officers and inspectors - try to learn more about the spaceship and its strange-looking pilot. At first sight, the villain (Mears) and the heroes (both Elliots, Lawrence, the officers and inspectors) seem clearly identified, but there's more than meets the eye. The spaceship's pilot, by far the film's most important character, is neither an outright hero nor an enemy; his motivations are never revealed, and the way humans react around him tells a lot about them. If the creature eventually becomes hostile, it's because Mears resorted to violence in order to obtain secrets he planned to use for his sole profit; but this, in turn, is caused by prof. Elliot and Lawrence, who let Mears alone with the creature. Furthermore, fears of a possible invasion are based on assumptions which are never verified, because late in the film both `enemies' (Mears and the now hostile creature) die and planet X doesn't crush the Earth. The irresponsible choices made by the `heroes' thus prevent the initial contact with non-humans from bringing interesting information to both races, and what appears to be a semi-happy ending is only, at best, a return to status quo.
Rating:
Summary: Fun flick
Review: While i have to define this movie as cheesy, i mean it in the nicest way. This film was about as low budget a shoot as ive seen and yet it is well acted enough to make it a pretty good watch. As Planet X approaches the Earth a space ship arrives with a strange visitor. Due to abuse at the hands of a rather crazy scientist we never know if the stranger would have been friendly given nicer treatment. After escaping his tormenter the alien begins preperations to help his race take over earth. Not a classic but a fun movie to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: GROOVY 50s SCI FI
Review: With little fanfare, MGM has quietly transferred a handful of great B films to DVD that they not too arbitrarily categorize as "Midnight Movies." The nice looking digital prints are in their original theatrical format and appear as if they were taken from original material. The discs come with no substantial extras but care has been lavished on the box art, often reflecting the lurid lobby cards and posters of their initial release. Even acknowledging the B category, these are for the most part well-crafted and, well, adequately acted. Two titles that deserve to be a double feature are "THE MAN FROM PLANET X" and "IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE." One of the first alien invasion films, "Man from Planet X" was released in 1951 to an Eisenhower era audience that was abuzz and awash with "flying saucer" urban legends and alleged sightings. This atmospheric, sometimes unnerving black and white film was shot on the old sets of Ingrid Bergman's "Joan of Arc" with one major change -- a fog machine in full throttle. Two other classic alien films, "War of the Worlds" and "The Thing" began production about the same time this film was made. In "It! The Terror From Beyond Space" the invasion is turned inside out and upside down. Here, a monster from Mars wreaks havoc on the human crew of invaders to an alien planet.
Rating:
Summary: GROOVY 50s SCI FI
Review: With little fanfare, MGM has quietly transferred a handful of great B films to DVD that they not too arbitrarily categorize as "Midnight Movies." The nice looking digital prints are in their original theatrical format and appear as if they were taken from original material. The discs come with no substantial extras but care has been lavished on the box art, often reflecting the lurid lobby cards and posters of their initial release. Even acknowledging the B category, these are for the most part well-crafted and, well, adequately acted. Two titles that deserve to be a double feature are "THE MAN FROM PLANET X" and "IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE." One of the first alien invasion films, "Man from Planet X" was released in 1951 to an Eisenhower era audience that was abuzz and awash with "flying saucer" urban legends and alleged sightings. This atmospheric, sometimes unnerving black and white film was shot on the old sets of Ingrid Bergman's "Joan of Arc" with one major change -- a fog machine in full throttle. Two other classic alien films, "War of the Worlds" and "The Thing" began production about the same time this film was made. In "It! The Terror From Beyond Space" the invasion is turned inside out and upside down. Here, a monster from Mars wreaks havoc on the human crew of invaders to an alien planet.
|
