La Martienne Diabolique

"Devil Girl From Mars" (1954) looks like a strange cross between "Quatermass Xperiment" (1955) and "Queen of Outer Space."(1958). Then throw in a little of "Mars Needs Women" (1967) and "The Mysterians" (1957) for good measure. So if you don't like any of these films you might consider avoiding contact with "Devil Girl".

This is the earliest film I know of with aliens seeking Earthlings for breeding stock. It is played perfectly straight. Naya (Patricia Laffan) is an emotionless Martian space explorer. She has the Michael Rennie role here, but she is not visiting Earth for reasons that will benefit mankind. Still she is beautiful and her black leather costume and "Ming the Merciless" helmet must have caused quite a sensation back in 1954.

Like Rennie she arrives in a flying saucer with a robot. The saucer looks interesting but Chani the robot looks like a mailbox with a hood ornament.

It's one of a handful of 50's English science fiction films. It's real claim to fame is that it's the adaptation of a radio play. All the action (and there is not very much) takes place on the moors of Scotland and involves a varied collection of Earthlings staying at the remote Bonnie Charlie Inn whose proprietress speaks the immortal line: "While we're still alive, we might as well have a cup of tea".

Actually the film is not nearly as bad as its reputation. The film stock is excellent (at least judging by the 1990 Rhino VHS release) even if it does rely too much on wide master shots, with beautiful Hazel Court as one of the guests a few close-ups would have been nice. The production design and the special effects are more than adequate for the period of the film.

As a radio play the story by necessity adopts the remote house with an unlikely group of strangers dynamic. But it explores new territory by making a woman the invincible extraterrestrial visitor. She is a woman from a planet of women who indulges herself and the viewer with lengthy very humorous lectures on the inferiority of Earthlings. And she even expounds at length about the fusion reactor (probably films first reference to this) that powers her ship.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

An odd little cinematic gift from England -- but don't take it too seriously. The story is set in an isolated English inn where a flying saucer lands and surrounds the area in an invisible force field. From the spacecraft emerges a fifteen-foot-tall robot and an evil Martian woman who announces that the matriarchal Martian society has sent her to select Earth men for breeding purposes. The Martian men have been subjugated ever since they lost a war with the women, and during the intervening centuries the males have grown weak and useless. (American men take note: this could happen to you, too!)

All this is played absolutely straight by the cast. No cutesy sex jokes.

On the negative side: bogus scientific terms saturate Miss Laffan's dialogue. The robot looks too much like a refrigerator with a police light for a head. The entire films is shot on an indoor set, causing it to resemble the original stage production on which it was based (yes, a British sci-fi PLAY!)

On the positive side: The concepts described by the bogus scientific dialogue are key elements in the plot -- which means the viewer has to pay attention to keep up with what's going on. The Scenes of the woman and the robot coming out of the huge spacecraft are flawlessly matted and very impressive -- and so is the robot's demonstration of its death ray. Patricia Laffan (the Martian women) overacts outrageously, but her performance is still enjoyable. Her shiny black outfit is comprised of black boots, short skirt, long cape, and black skullcap. The supporting players do a fine job, including the lovely Hazel Court. Praiseworthy music score by Edwin Astely. The story contains some good concepts. For example, the spacecraft is made of `organic metal' that repairs its own damage. Unfortunately, we don't get any special effects depicting this marvel.

In some ways, this one is more fun to watch than a few of the more well-regarded sci-fi entries. It's available on pre-recorded VHS, and worth the few bucks it costs -- IF your expectations have been properly adjusted. I hope I succeeded in doing this. Let me know if I've succeeded.

Having read many comments written by various sorts of movie buffs and having checked some original posters and adverts of the movie, one can watch this film with some prefabricated expectations. On the one hand, one may look for an innovative gift from England that includes some aspects of early science fiction genre; on the other hand, being curious of a sexy Martian woman wearing black leather and rousing challenging lusts in men. Yet, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS roused my interest in a slightly different way though science fiction isn't my cup of tea whatsoever.

DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS is, first of all, the movie that beautifully combines the virtues of old cinema with the elements of early science fiction. What we get here is an excellent, psychological insight into the contrast between "Earthmen" and "Martians", between the ability to use the senses and the ability to use the machines; between the ability to love sacrificially and the ability to gather selfishly; finally the contrast between obeying orders blindly and following own's will freely. The accurate representation of this contra-worlds is revealed in the character of the Martian girl Nyah (Patricia Laffan) and the Professor. While she parrots the slogans about the invisible war of the sexes, he experiences the innate war of the senses. These factors are memorably entailed in the old cinema style and charming scenes that portray human feelings like affection, curiosity and fear. That makes DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS convincing for various movie buffs.

Of course this highlighted aspect cannot be treated too seriously, as one of the commentators stated, it's no psychological movie nor any thought provoking story but only a fiction that deals with many shallow effects and odd "space talk" about a super technology of another planet. Nevertheless, this aspect of "earthmen" vs "martians" should not be neglected. Why? Because of a dangerous condensation...

Indeed, the character that is most memorable in this movie is Nyah (Patricia Laffan), not only due to her "Martian origin" nor sexually challenging looks nor even due to her good acting. She remains memorable because of her cold eyes, strict voice, so to say: her strength appeal. That was something extremely important about this new cinematic heroine and must have been very difficult for the actress to portray an alien in this way; yet she crafted the role perfectly. Yet, where does the danger lie? Many modern viewers tend to condense her role to sex appeal only. The earthmen around her are creatures of free will, they are not sex machines that would dream to make love to her. Therefore, it is significant to state here that you cannot watch this movie from today's perspective. Nyah and her robot that some science fiction buffs find ridiculous represent dominance through fear, through intolerance and cold cruelty. Mars vs Earth indicates unbelievable technology of weapons vs old fashioned toys but at the same time tyranny vs freedom. In this respect, we could as well say that this role of Ms Laffan highly refers to the one 3 years earlier in a sword and sandal colossal epic where she could, as well, constitute an object of lust only though there was something different about her role, too. But that's a different story...

The supporting cast include good British talents from beautiful Hazel Court as longing for love Ms Prestwick to Hugh McDermott as strong personality Michael Carter. The aforementioned Professor also does a good job as one who thinks what his brain tells him to think. Together with the performances come other artistic features of the film including cinematography, mood, pace. Although some aspects may irritate you as seriously dated, the mood is impressive. Since the movie is not long and the content is primarily built upon the dialogs and reactions in the particularly scary situations, much of the communication with viewers builds upon image. Consider, for instance, the memorable arrival of the Martians and Nyah's coming out of her spaceship. Therefore, lots of movie buffs will perhaps not find this movie scary; yet they will still find it thrilling.

Just in a nutshell, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS is one the movies of the genre that I see with interest and recommend to the viewers for whom science fiction isn't their cup of tea. Not primarily because of its content, nor sexy/scary Nyah, but a cinematic surprise from England made more than 50 years ago but still impressive in a way.

No one drawn by the title will be disappointed with tall, amazonian Patricia Laffan in the title role of this nonsense in which Oscar-winning wartime documentarist David MacDonald shows the same respect for matriarchal aspirations he later did in 'Petticoat Pirates'. The title is misleading, though, since dressed in leather by Ronald Cobb to resemble a particularly ferocious principal boy, Martian warrior Nyah is plainly all woman.

The Danzigers seem to have read about 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' rather than actually seen it since Nyah is plainly Klaatu and Gort rolled into one; and her pet robot merely an afterthought.

Enlivened by a dramatic percussive score by Edwin Astley and a cast of familiar faces (too bad Nyah was seeking men, since Hazel Court & Adrienne Corri are by far the most impressive specimens). It also marks an interesting overlap of careers on the set of veteran cameraman Jack Cox - who shot 'The Lady Vanishes' - and child actor Anthony Richmond, who later shot 'Don't Look Now'.

A couple things upon which we can all agree: At the time of this production, Patricia Laffan had an absolutely wonderful set of gams, and those gams were very nicely displayed by her Martian costume. Another thing we can all agree upon is that within the parameters of this very genteel English 'Invasion Literature' flick, there is a window into some of the kinky thoughts lurking within the very genteel English writer who penned this yarn.

Certainly, this is the one of the quietest and perhaps dullest of the Alien Invader films of the 1950's...the opening credits telegraph this when they tell the audience that this film was based upon the PLAY of the same name. That fact alone, that somewhere upon the British Stage in the early 1950's, someone produced a play titled 'Devil Girl From Mars', is a thing very amusing to contemplate.

So yes, this film is quite talkative, and filled with recognizable stage play types as our cast of characters, and containing a prominent subplot involving a romantic and perhaps redeemable escaped murderer...these are the elements that keep this extra-terrestrial tale unduly Earth-bound. Worse, there appears to be a kind of gentlemen's agreement in effect between the eponymous Devil Girl and her earthly opponents to avoid any serious attempts to overcome the other, until the last moments of the film. And after about the first 20 minutes of the story, it is impossible to stop one's mind from repeating the question: Why doesn't the Devil Girl simply liquidate these annoying people since they are of no use to her?

But weaknesses aside, it is impossible to hate a 1954 British B-movie about an outer-space dominatrix with fabulous gams wearing shiny black leather and visiting Earth in search of male breeding stock. And besides giving her credit for great gams, I should also credit Ms. Laffan for giving what is actually a very good performance, radiating intelligence and menace, and seeming to be both simultaneously prim and lusty.

Also of interest to scifi fans would be the flying saucer design, which is interesting, and the robot, which is not bad. Additionally, Gerry Anderson worked on this pic, as a sound editor, thus beginning his long career in British celluloid scifi.

As I said previously, this opus began it's life as a stage play. The same thing is true of the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show,' which also featured a black clad quasi-dominatrix from outer space, stuck in the English countryside. I have to think that the Devil Girl helped pave the way for Dr. Frankenfurter.