Le pionnier de l'espace

Cocky astronaut goes into space and disobeys direct orders from his brother, turns into a one-eyed standing pile of glop, and tears the necks of cows and humans for their blood. Premise of film is totally ridiculous, but everyone involved seems so earnest. That doesn't necessarily(and particularly in this case) mean they are good. The film is very cheaply made with some of the most improbable space flight footage ever shot. Marshall Thompson(from It! The Terror Beyond Space) plays the monster's overbearing, hard-working, tougher than nails brother who frequently throws out one cliche after another. Listening to him call his superior 'Skipper' had me laughing from the get go(okay, thought I would use some well-worn cliches). Thompson is the best the film has to offer in terms of acting. He is stoically adequate at best. Marla Landi is the monster's Italian love interest and looks at least effective in some Capri slacks. The scientific mumbo jumbo churned out is spectacularly immense, with scientific sounding names and theories bombarding the viewer repeatedly. Certainly not a good film(nor anywhere near it), the film does have a unique charm(albeit not over-powering)and does manage to keep the viewer awake throughout the 78 minutes of running time. And some of the scientific premises put forth have some interesting possibilities as well. Do watch out, though, for the pervasive corny dialogue. It gets pretty thick folks!

I also saw this movie in 1959 as an 8-year-old. I went to the theater with my "older" friends, they were like 11-12. The movie scared the wits out of me; I hid my view behind the person sitting in front of me, my friends never let up on making fun of me. This was the first time I had gone to the movies with non-adults...big mistake! The monster was scary and creepy. It haunted me for years. In fact, I probably had some persistent subliminal turmoil over the movie. Fast forward to 2008 and I found the DVD to rent. I watched again, and guess what? The movie is still scary! It's pretty high-camp and was made on a limited budget, but the creepiness is still there. I suppose the fact that the back line story is believable makes it even more scary. Watching it with my wife probably exorcised some demons. Funny how movies can move us, positively or negatively. All my 60 years I can still rehash this event when I was eight. Still the scariest movie I ever saw. I dig it.

A not too exceptional fifties science fiction film involves an impulsive astronaut who can't follow orders. The up side is that it has allowed the program to go ahead by leaps and bounds; the down side is that he is out of control. On a dangerous mission, he breaks through the earth's atmosphere and finds himself in orbit. While there, he passes through some space dust which coats his ship and him. The ship comes down, an automatic parachute breaking the fall (sort of hard to swallow) and when it is found, Dan is gone. We finally get to see him. He is in a monster suit that is impenetrable (actually it's his skin). He also has a lust for as many pint of bloods as he can get his hands on. He goes on a killing rampage. Hs brother, who warned him about his lack of coach-ability (spoilsport), is trying to save him while other work to do him in. He ransacks a blood bank and siphons several innocent people. The movie shots of space are better done than most, but the acting is stiff and uninspiring, with dull sets and little real action.

Marshall Thompson plays a naval officer whose brother, a hot shot test pilot, manages to get about 250 miles above the earth. Said brother then returns looking like something that crawled out of the La Brea Tar Pits. This creature goes on a rampage, seeking blood from humans and cows. It returns to its senses, somewhat, at the finale, and explains what happened in space.

But getting to the finale is a chore, because there is mostly talk, and too many people acting unwisely. For example, the creature breaks into a blood bank at night, tears off a door, and creates a lot of noise. A nurse goes to investigate, and walks calmly past the smashed-in door, without bothering to get help first. Some people deserve to have their blood drained.

Supposedly set in New Mexico, the mostly British cast do a decent job disguising their accents, but their uniforms and spelling ("authorised") give them away.

A first rate little sci-fi story, told on a modest budget. Air Force office Marshall Thompson (star of 'It! The Terror from Beyond Space', and 'Fiend Without a Face') is the Earth-bound brother of an undisciplined test pilot who yearns to be be the 'first man into space'.

While testing a new rocket plane, the pilot kicks in all his reserve power and takes his ship right out of the atmosphere. Please note that this not a far-fetched idea in view of the fact that the X-15 had special attitude rockets along the fuselage to allow it to maneuver in the near vacuum of the upper atmosphere!

In space the pilot encounters a strange cloud of meteoric particles that smashes through his canopy and envelopes both his ship and his spacesuit-clad body in a flexible, asbestos-like coating. The material alters his physiology, changing him into creature that can survive in the low pressure of the upper atmosphere but NOT in the killing pressure at sea level.

He returns to Earth as a hideous monster (good makeup), gasping as his lungs struggled with the pressure that he's now unsuited for. In his dazed and desperate mental condition, the monster commits acts of violence, using the razor-sharp edges of his rough coating to slash his victims flesh.

While trying to track down the monster, Thomas and a scientist discuss the possibility of using the strange substance on the wreckage of the rocket plane as a heat shield for future space craft. Nice thinking, there.

All in all, a film with more to think about than to laugh at, unlike so many other low budget 1950s films.