Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaAn alien agent from the distant planet Davana is sent to Earth via a high-tech matter transporter. There, he terrorizes Southern California in an attempt to acquire blood for his dying race,... Leggi tuttoAn alien agent from the distant planet Davana is sent to Earth via a high-tech matter transporter. There, he terrorizes Southern California in an attempt to acquire blood for his dying race, the result of a devastating nuclear war.An alien agent from the distant planet Davana is sent to Earth via a high-tech matter transporter. There, he terrorizes Southern California in an attempt to acquire blood for his dying race, the result of a devastating nuclear war.
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
- Joe Piper
- (as Richard Miller)
- Davanna Woman
- (as Anne Carroll)
- Davanna Contact (face in the Davanna transporter)
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
- Man
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
- Car Park Attendant
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Recensioni in evidenza
The reason for my review is that I've just watched a doc on TV which deals with censorship in Ireland from 1923 to 1980 and one of the films discussed was "Casablanca", which in my opinion is the greatest film ever made. Though released in 1942, it was not shown until 1945. In those days, Ireland only had one certification, and any film that had content that was deemed "offensive", had to be cut, or was denied a certificate. The offending bit in this case was the portrayal of the Germans, quite rightly, as the villains.
At that time, they were treading a path of strict neutrality and they did not want to show the film in case it led to an anti-German backlash. To give some idea of how rigidly they stuck to this policy, when Hitler committed suicide, the then Irish Prime Minister, Eamonn De Valera, signed the book of condolence at the Germany Embassy in Dublin after Hitler's death
But I digress. Thinking about Irish censorship compared to the UK version and remembering how scared I was watching this X cert double bill, I wonder how scary the uncensored version must have been?
In case anyone is unaware, the film is considered a "Cold War allegory" with the invaders from Davanna representing an attempt by the Russians to take over the world.
This is a truly great, almost unknown B-movie -- why doesn't someone get their hands on a print and put it out on DVD and video again? I had to go to the best video store in San Francisco to find it anywhere in the whole bay area. I don't think it's currently in circulation, and it's very hard to find a copy. Thus, not many people know about the original version of this great flick (which features vampire blood fetishism in the context of alien invaders! I mean, how could you go wrong?). The remake was good, but not as good as the original. I think Allied distributed this for Corman, so there should be prints floating around somewhere, so let's hope a nice one pops up on DVD soon.
Anyway, going back to that opening statement about Corman’s pre-color/Edgar Allan Poe output, NOT OF THE THIS EARTH emerges to be fully deserving of its considerable reputation; indeed, I’d say it’s probably the most satisfying of the four films mentioned above: the others had a tongue-in-cheek, even campy approach – present here only in some amusingly dated jive talk from the youngsters and a goofy mushroom-like floating object used at one point to dispatch a prominent character – whereas this is quite straightforward, and as stark and unrelenting as they come! Besides, the typical alien invasion theme here is ingeniously augmented by the topical concern of paranoia found in Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna’s intelligent script, via its allusions to Nuclear War (the fictional world from which the alien emanates, Davana, is succumbing to interplanetary war a' la THIS ISLAND EARTH [1955]’s Metaluna) and The Red Menace (hypnotized by the extraterrestrial creature, the human victims’ subsequent devotion to his cause is comparable to the emotionless doppelgangers from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS [1956]); apart from this, the alien’s modus operandi – draining Earthlings of their blood – presents the film with a nice twist on the vampire myth! Incidentally, he uses the closet of his bedroom as a teleportation/communication machine between the two worlds, requires to wear sunglasses at all times (because one look into his creepy blank eyes can kill), but is himself vulnerable to loud noises (which proves to be his undoing in the climactic chase). Eventually, a second (female) visitor from outer-space arrives on the scene – but dies shortly thereafter, having unwittingly received a transfusion of infected blood! The film concludes, then, on a satisfactorily ironic note.
Despite the obviously modest budget at hand, the director has assembled a more than adequate cast to fill the main roles: Paul Birch is impressive and memorable as the ‘unearthly stranger’; Beverly Garland makes for one of the most engaging heroines in this type of film; Jonathan Haze’s character as Birch’s lackey is miles removed from his signature role of the geeky florist in THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; Corman stalwart and cult favorite Dick Miller has a delightful bit as a hip but ill-fated vacuum-cleaner salesman. By the way, the atmospheric cinematography (evident even in the poor-quality 16mm print I watched) is by John Mescall – who, years before, had been responsible for nothing less than BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)! Finally, it’s worth noting that NOT OF THIS EARTH was twice remade to much lesser effect – first in 1988 and again in 1995; curiously enough, on both of these, Corman himself would serve as executive producer!
Lo sapevi?
- QuizPaul Birch walked off the film before shooting was completed after having a physical confrontation with Roger Corman. He was quoted as saying, "I am an actor, and I don't need this stuff... To hell with it all! Goodbye!" According to co-star Beverly Garland, Birch objected to the fast pace of the film, the old-fashioned, uncomfortable hard plastic contacts he had to wear, and the film's low budget, which he considered beneath his status. As a result, Birch's remaining scenes were shot with Lyle Latell doubling for Birch.
- BlooperWhen Johnson is being chased by the motorcycle cop, the siren comes on momentarily and then goes off several scenes before it finally comes on to cause the crash.
- Citazioni
Paul Johnson: In the place from which I come, no person would dare sleep in insecure quarters.
- ConnessioniFeatured in 100 Years of Horror: Scream Queens (1996)
I più visti
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Dettagli
- Data di uscita
- Paese di origine
- Lingua
- Celebre anche come
- Not of This Earth
- Luoghi delle riprese
- Hollywood Receiving Hospital, 1350 Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles, California, Stati Uniti(hospital location, now a parking lot)
- Azienda produttrice
- Vedi altri crediti dell’azienda su IMDbPro
Botteghino
- Budget
- 100.000 USD (previsto)
- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 7 minuti
- Colore
- Mix di suoni
- Proporzioni
- 1.85 : 1