L'uomo dal pianeta X

One of the five sci-fi's I remember every single detail of from my earliest days as a fan. For the genre, I think it's considerably above average. The moor is nicely atmospheric. There's one of every character in the book: the good guy, the bad guy, the local sheriff, the lovely damsel, her father the old professor, etc. The scene where we're looking for the first time through the window of the ship and the visitor peeks out from the other side is easily as good as the three-fingered-hand-on-the-shoulder in War of the Worlds. Nice "character" to the visitor, for whom, like Karloff's Frankenstein, we end up feeling some empathy .

This is wonderful in its own way. An alien has landed in the moors of Scotland and an American reporter comes to visit at the behest of an astronomer who has noticed a planet heading for the Earth. In the mix is a genius scientist who has a few loose screws, played by William Schallert (remember him as Dobie Gillis's teacher and Patty Duke's father, among others). One night the daughter of the scientist is coming back from town when she encounters a space ship. Upon investigating, she sees a face in the window of the ship which terrifies her. The rest of the movie involves a series of efforts to connect with the alien (who is about as unconvincing as is humanly possible). He has no facial movements and a single expression, as if he is paralyzed. They befriend him but Schallert soon screws things up by cutting off the air supply to the poor guy. Schallert seems to think that somehow this creature will make him rich and famous, though we're never sure how that is going to happen. This guy is connected to the planet that is going to launch a full scale invasion. The reporter goes to the local authorities. People have been disappearing and there is a lot of tension. The constable, who looks like he won second place in a Rod Steiger look-alike contest helps out. He is by far the best actor and the most believable character in the movie. All activities from this point on are at best bewildering, but it doesn't matter. Made on a shoestring budget, it's very nice entertainment for those who don't wish to ask any questions.

A shoestring budgetter directed by Edgar Ulmer. One of the first (if not the first) alien invasion films. The little alien, a child-like being with a big, solemn face, is known to Scottish villagers as 'the bogey' and strikes mortal terror into their hearts with his HypnoRay, a laserlike beam which reduces them to easily programmable zomboids. His motives are unclear throughout the film until a hypnoidal Dr. Mears 'spills the beans' near its end. Strong points: eerie atmosphere, production design; moody 'film noir' photography, engaging music score and interesting story. Weak points: muddled script(more plotholes than a Stephen King cemetry); stilted dialogue and wooden acting. Recommended only for diehard 1950s sci-fi fans(like myself)- this film is both a joy and a disappointment.

Having caught this film quite by accident, i felt gripped not only its innate cheesiness but also several little gems of direction and production design. If you can get past the stereotypes (doddery professor, beautiful daughter, brash American newsman), and the awful accents (isn't that policeman Irish, rather than Scottish?!) The Man From Planet X is a very watchable b-movie. The alien reminded me of the last days of the Spirit comic strip and the lonely croft amongst the billowing fog was a very stark image. Add to this the beautifully sleek (although wholly impractical) spaceship, typically 50s in design, some great chiarascuro cinematography (the alley abduction scene), plus that low-pitched camera outside the dungeon, and you've got a very technically engaging movie.

Never mind that the plot's got more holes than a string vest (where did all those soldiers come from?) and the acting and script are as wooden as a Scots pine dresser, enjoy it on a technical level if you can't engage with the human drama. As with many films of this ilk, the denoument was a bit hurried but all in all, this watches as well as (or dare i say, better than) any episode of Dr Who - with which it shares many similarities.

An elderly scientist has discovered that a new planet has somehow changed its orbital path and will soon come dangerously close to the Earth. An American reporter goes to the northern most reaches of Scotland to meet with this professor in hopes that he can tell the world of his findings. Upon arrival he meets the young, beautiful daughter that he knew previously as a gawky child and a Dr. Mears, a scientist that should have been jailed for some past crimes but somehow was not convicted and was staying at the Professor's castle because of their former relationship as teacher and pupil. It is with this exposition that famed B director Edgar G. Ulmer then sends an alien in a small, weird-looking spaceship to this area for the purpose of scouting out another place for his/its own kind. Well, the story takes some interesting, some obvious steps in terms of fleshing out the story, but when the end result is viewed - one should be impressed with several things. First of all, the budget for this film was incredibly small. Ulmer rented out the old sets from Joan of Arc and then transformed them into the castle and Scottish bogs. They are convincing thanks to his heavy use of fog machines. The fog swirls and floats throughout. His special effects are not that bad either for the budget. The alien created looks surprisingly eerie in the fog as it looks through its glass helmet with those glazed, cold, blank eyes. But Ulmer does more than just create an alien that terrifies a region. Ulmer gives the alien a bit of soul. He ends up being a menace, but a question arises that would he have been that same menace if an evil human being had not been involved in trying to communicate with him. Ulmer leaves the answer to you - and it is a stylish, almost profound thing to do in a film like this. Make no mistake, The Man from Planet X is a B picture all the way, but it is a quality B picture with solid, innovative direction, haunting images, good acting from Robert Clarke as the lead, Margaret Field(Sally Field's mom) as the love-interest/daughter, and good-old William Schallert as the conniving Dr. Mears. My favourite performance though is by Roy Engel as a Scottish policeman. He can chew up some scenery!