It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)

1950's Sci-Fi has its merits and its faults.  It's merits include its exuberance for space travel as well as a fascination with what the future holds for humanity.  The faults include all those little things one does not do while traveling in a rocket: smoke a cigarette, fire a pistol, play chess, serve coffee from a carafe, etc.  It! contains an abundance of both.

The story begins when a rescue ship lands on Mars to pick up the sole survivor of the first manned expedition to the planet.  They suspect he murdered the rest of his crew...or did he?

For the most part, director Edward L. Cahn [Invisible Invaders, Zombies of Mora Tau] does a great job with an O.K. script.  He gets solid performances from all of his actors and the ship design is pretty good for 1950's Sci-Fi.  Cahn also has a great eye for composing a scene and, thankfully, chose not to show the full space alien until about half way through the movie.  I've definitely seen a lot worse creatures  [Curse of the Swamp Creature, anyone?] but the "terror from beyond space" is simply a guy in a suit. Nothing less and certainly nothing more.

Cinematographer Kenneth Peach [The Cisco Kid, Lassie] is also to be commended.  The film looks really good and stands with the best of the time period.  The soundtrack is also classic 1950's Sci-Fi adventure and serves the movie well.

So, if you're a fan of films from the 1950's, definitely give this one a try.  Its naivety about space travel is endearing and often funny.  Its acting is strong enough to keep things interesting.

RATING: Good.

For more info check out the film's entry in IMDB.

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