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,... Read allAn 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.
- Joe Piper
- (as Richard Miller)
- Davanna Woman
- (as Anne Carroll)
- Man
- (uncredited)
- Car Park Attendant
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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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.
Did you know
- TriviaPaul 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.
- GoofsWhen 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.
- Quotes
Paul Johnson: In the place from which I come, no person would dare sleep in insecure quarters.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of Horror: Scream Queens (1996)
- How long is Not of This Earth?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Le vampire de New York
- Filming locations
- Hollywood Receiving Hospital, 1350 Wilcox Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA(hospital location, now a parking lot)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $100,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 7 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1