Pas de cette Terre

One of Corman's most unusual and entertaining features from the 50s. Rubber monsters are totally extraneous to the menace of (the excellent) Paul Birch as the sunglass-wearing alien from Davana who puts a scare in sexy nurse Beverly Garland! Bev hams it up in a slick one-piece for John Haze's amusement and Dick Miller drops by in an excellent bit as a VERY annoying vacuum salesman. The audience mightn't have minded when he died, and here is one of the earliest examples of Corman's very influential use of comedy/horror. Very good script was adapted almost word for word in some scenes for the 80s version -- a tribute to Griffith's skill as a writer of such glib dialogue. A bit more effective production would have helped, but we all know how Corman likes to pinch a penny.

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.

A human-like alien leaves his dying planet to secure earthling blood that his planet needs.

Too bad Corman didn't dump that flying lampshade that apparently sucks the doc's blood. Because that's really the only cheezy element of this otherwise effective monster flick. It's arguably Corman's best. Birch is pretty scary with his deadpan face and perfectly parsed diction. Just don't ask him to take off his glasses. Then too, I wonder what he puts down as eye color. Plus I would give dear Beverly Garland a drive-in Oscar for her sparkly portrayal of nurse Storey. It's a performance far and above the call of a paycheck.

Yes indeed, what I remember from my first viewing decades ago is Dick Miller's vacuum salesman. He's so pesky and obnoxious, horns honked all over the drive-in when he got his. And what about the teen-age cutie who opens the film, even if she doesn't stick around. Too bad. Anyway, Corman sure knew his audience since we boys were hooked right then. Nonetheless, for the less hormonally minded, there's a message in the alien madness-- better watch out earthlings, nuclear war can cause a calamity that only a steady stream of blood can help.

Okay, so the movie's not exactly Oscar bait. Nonetheless, it's got a better-than-usual Corman script, plus good location staging that keep the usual hokey sets to a minimum. Yes indeed, it's still fun to track the Darvana alien, and maybe honk your horn when Miller gets his.

Actually went to see "Attack of the Crab Monsters" but this was much better. The entire movie had a dark quality to it, like you were looking thru Paul birch's very cool wraparound shades (or maybe the theater needed a new projection bulb/ carbon arc light- no, "Crab Monsters" was OK..) The bat creature, as I remember it, was like a small webbed-between-it's-tentacles octopus that did an amazing skull crush. I was usually inured to a lot of those creatures, but I had nightmares for days after that thing. Beverly Garland always added to any movie, and I think from her output of films, she just lived on the sets. So where is it, Roger!!! We want to see it, and I don't think it's ever been on tape or dvd

Roger Corman's NOT OF THIS EARTH is a memorable story about extraterrestrial vampirism.

Paul Johnson (Paul Birch) is a rather odd gentleman, in his dark suit, hat, and thick sunglasses. His speech pattern is different as well, sort of artificial sounding. He's also in search of warm bodies, in order to relieve them of their blood! Police are baffled by the gruesome state of his victims. We quickly learn the reason why Johnson has come to Earth from his home planet. Suffice it to say that it doesn't look good for the humans!

Johnson hires Nurse Nadine Storey (Beverly Garland) to see to his rather bizarre medical needs. Can Nadine figure out what Johnson is up to, before he fulfills his murderous mission?

Original and creepy, this is one of Corman's best efforts, owing much to Ms. Garland's perfect portrayal and Birch's memorable performance.

EXTRA CREDIT: For Jonathan Haze (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) as Birch's lecherous chauffeur / henchman, Jeremy. Watch for Dick Miller as the pushy vacuum cleaner salesman!

Low-budget sci-fi gold!...

Having caught most of horror legend Corman’s more respectable early genre efforts – THE UNDEAD (1957), A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) – I had been aching to check this one out being, by all accounts, the most elusive of the bunch. Having now watched the film on the very same day I acquired it says a lot about my love of fantasy films – when many a renowned mainstream (and, for all intents and purposes, desirable) title still languishes in my collection and which, sometimes, I’ve owned for a good many years already...

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!