The Bubble

This was not the first polarized 3-D movie by a long shot, as over 50 3-D movies were released in polarized 3-D in 1953 and 1954. Some of those were later downconverted to the inferior red/blue anaglyph format but they were not seen that way upon their initial release.

However, this was the first film widely distributed in a single strip/one projector 3-D process instead of the dual strip/dual projector system used in the fifties.

The film has been compared to an overlong "Twilight Zone" and that is an apt description. The widescreen 3-D is quite good. It's a bit slow, and the film was cut from the original 112m version to 90 mins for a wide 1976 3-D re-issue under the title FANTASTIC INVASION OF PLANET EARTH. Later 3-D video versions cut it further to 75 mins.

Rhino's DVD restores the original title but is the 90 min version, and has been downconverted from polarized to inferior red/blue anaglyph. Still, the red/blue presentation is better than most; and is worth a purchase for 3-D fans. Just don't expect it to look as good as the original polarized glasses version.

I was a teen in the 60's and a big horror movie fan who saw and read anything I could get my hands on regarding horror films, and especially 3D horror films of the 50's. I distinctly remember reading the press releases in the Detroit newspapers that Arch Oboler, one of the technical pioneers of 3D films in the 50's, was in town to supervise the installation of special silver screens for his new 3D process.

It was not new because it used polarized lenses...those had been used in the majority of the 3D films in the 50's. The new process related to the projection of the film. (I don't recall the articles going into much more detail about that process, but now I know it was apparently the first to combine both images on a single filmstrip.)

I was so excited that Oboler himself was in my hometown to supervise the showing I made sure to go see it. I believe it was at the Adams in downtown Detroit.

The 3D was mind-blowing! The beer tray floating out over the audience has still (this is mid 2013) not been topped for jaw-dropping 3D. I have thought of it many times since, and I think the reason it worked so well, and so much better than explosions or other fast-moving moves out of frame, is that the tray moved slow enough to follow and keep in focus by our eyes. (This is similar to holding one finger in front of your face and slowly moving it toward your nose. Your eyes cross slowly as your finger gets nearer.) I remember little else of the film, but I know that I walked out feeling I got my money's worth, just for the 3D alone.

I always wanted to see a 3D Movie and I finally made it. It felt very odd wearing the funny glasses, but all in all it was well worth it. Some of the effects were amazing, especially the scene with the dancer. I liked that a lot. At other times the effect was more disturbing, especially at the beginning where there was an empty seat in the plane that seemed to be hanging in the air and looked really out of place. But sitting in row 10 and actually believing that you can touch something because it seems to be just in front of you is really amazing. The film itself was not really bad although there is not much of a plot. I enjoyed the eerie feeling, acting was adequate but I had the impression that some scenes were missing. The pilot disappears and reappears for no apparent reason and in the end the nightmare ends for no apparent reason. But if you do not expect to much from the plot you should be able to enjoy the experience.

[Also release as: "Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth"]

Director Arch Oboler ("The Twonky") pioneered a new 3-D process called "Spacevision" which used polarized glasses to separate the right-and-left images for the audience. The 3-D effect works remarkable well, especially in a scene involving a serving tray which floats out of the screen and (apparently) right up to the viewer's face.

Oboler obviously made "The Bubble" just to show off "Spacevision"; the plot is practically nonexistent, and the film is littered with scenes that poke objects out of the screen at the audience. In Deborah Walley's first scene, she holds her arms out to the audience and exclaims "Darling!" to husband Michael Cole.

The token plot is about a small town which alien invaders have isolated inside a spherical force field (the bubble of the title). A small plane piloted by Johnny Desmond and carrying newlyweds Michael and Deborah is forced to land during a storm, and the trio end up trapped in the town. The town's citizens act like broken robots, repeating routine tasks over and over, oblivious to everything around them. Olan Soule has a small role as one of the automaton Earthlings. The alleged alien invaders are never shown.

Music by Paul Sawtell and Bert Schefter (the team which provided mucic for "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" and many other 1950s classics). Arch Oboler served as producer, screenwriter, and director -- so he has nobody to blame but himself.

If I recall correctly, this movie, when shown "flat" on TV has some perplexing moments when characters inexplicably move objects toward and away from the camera, apparently for no reason other than to create a 3D effect, like in the old Second City TV skit "Doctor Tongue". If you're looking for a big budget aliens attacking flick like Independence Day in 3D, you'll be disappointed. It's a little more cerebral, creating atmosphere and suspense instead of thrills. In order to appreciate this kind of a movie, you have to be willing to work with it.