The Space Children

What can you say about a film that features Uncle Fester, Mr. Drysdale, the Professor, Mark McCain and the re-occurring "ornery lady" (Peggy Webber) featured in so many episodes of Dragnet? Well... I really enjoyed it! Russell Johnson is great as a mean, drunken, stepfather and, in a departure from her many roles on Dragnet, Peggy Webber's character is very personable. I think the picture is a great commentary on the type of science fiction that was popular after Sputnik but before the US manned space missions. Is it a "good" movie? Probably not. Is it enjoyable? It was to me! Reminded me of the typical Saturday afternoon movies I enjoyed as a child on TV during the 60s. Had I seen none of those types of movies, my commentary would probably be less favorable. It's not the acting, directing, production quality or even the plot of this picture that I liked - it's merely the nostalgic effect it has. This means, it's not a picture for everyone. It's a short film, so there's little to lose in watching it, which I'll probably do again someday!

The children of some US rocket scientists come under the spell of a strange alien being that seems to want them to sabotage the nations defense!

Another B thriller from director Jack Arnold (who directed the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954), this one is a bit more intelligent than the average drive-in sci-fi fodder. The Space Children is actually an anti-war film kind of in the tradition of The Twilight Zone, the story does indeed resemble a story that one would see on the classic TV series. Arnold lends some steady direction, creating an occasionally eerie atmosphere (who could ever forget that spooky final image of an ill-fated Russell Johnson?) and a decent alien creation. Kudos go to a chilling music score.

The cast isn't half bad, the youths of the film being especially good.

A worth-wild watch for those who like the films of this era.

** 1/2 out of ****

I have yet to see this movie un-mstied but would love to as I think it's a pretty damn good movie. This is one of the rare cases of mst3k being way off the mark in choosing this movie. Don't get me wrong, I loved the episode and their were some great riffs but I couldn't help but think that this movie was not nearly as bad as Mike, Crow and Tom (or any of these reviewers here) made it out to be. I will admit thought that on first watching it I did feel that the kids were being somewhat (but not completely) controlled by the alien but on repeated viewings it does appear that that is certainly not the case. I really need to see the unedited, un-mstied version, this is a b-movie classic in my humble opinion.

Last year I watched TCMs documentary WATCH THE SKIES. Seeing the clips from this movie, I vaguely remembered seeing it but wasn't quite sure. Since Steven Spielberg gushed about it I thought I would search for a copy. I finally found a copy and watched it with my twin brother and a childhood friend of mine. Having seen it, I realize that I did see this movie. My brother and friend also remembered it and we agree that it was probably in the very early sixties. I was at most six years old at the time. When your six you don't concern yourself with the BIG MESSAGE. What I really liked was monsters and aliens. This movie does not feature any exciting encounters with either. I guess the reason I liked it at the time was because kids were the main stars of the picture. They really don't do much, in fact nobody really does much in this picture, but that really doesn't matter. Seeing it again as an adult, I am tempted to roast this movie for it's lack of production values, obvious low budget, lack of action and highly unrealistic storyline. I agree with another reviewer, what is an unemployed drunk doing at a top secret missile facility. Why are children allowed to run all over the place? But why bother? It doesn't really matter. There is a message here no matter how clumsily conveyed. The movie has good nostalgia value and that is probably the real reason I like it.

This was director Arnold’s penultimate of seven horror/sci-fi outings from the same decade and, in retrospect, the least of them. Its focus on children (the title itself is ambiguous – since the kids don’t come from space but rather are ‘possessed’ by aliens into sabotaging a rocket-launching station!) draws parallels to later genre classics such as VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960) and the unrelated THESE ARE THE DAMNED (1963): like the former, the children here are able to influence the actions of their elders and, as in the latter, much of it takes place against a backdrop of remote cavernous surroundings. As for the alien itself, it’s nothing more substantial (or imaginative) than a growing, glowing glob!

Being just 68 minutes long, this undeniably earnest film can’t hope to fulfill its aspiration of being a profound anti-nuclear parable; for one thing, the characters are mere stereotypes – an average American couple with their modest dreams and dilemmas, a bubbly yet cagey neighbor (played by Jackie Coogan, of Chaplin’s THE KID [1921] and TV’s THE ADDAMS FAMILY fame!), another’s a drunken boor who mistreats one of the boys and his mother, plus the requisite number of dedicated but callous scientists and military personnel. Actually, I was wondering all through the picture why the alien didn’t simply possess one of the parents or scientists – surely his attempts at persuading colleagues to halt the missile project would have had greater chance of success, since the children’s clandestine activities merely irritate the hell out of the people at the base engaged in such a secretive operation! That said, unexplained events that occur – such as the driver of a fuel truck losing control of his vehicle or nominal hero Adam Williams losing his voice and the faculty to write when trying to divulge the presence of the alien to his superiors! – come across as creepier when caused by innocent-looking children and, besides, their presence near the test site is more likely to be overlooked than rouse suspicion of any foul play.

In the end, the film is tolerable (the print, then, seemed to be culled from a TV screening – since the picture fades in and out every once in a while, sometimes even in mid-sequence, where the publicity spots may have been inserted – with a good deal of hiss on the soundtrack!) but rather uninspired and, what’s more, is defeated by the low-budget. Though genre expert Arnold had proved time and again what he was capable of doing, it suffers especially in comparison with the two DAMNED films mentioned above or even a third such title, CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED (1964)…which I actually need to re-evaluate myself, but recall being an underrated achievement on my sole viewing of it so far.