While the MGM/20th Century Fox Midnite Movies series has a number of great offerings from the 1950s through the 1980s, this double feature is, in my opinion, the best of the lot. The reason is that both movies are sci-fi classics from the late 1950s (’57 and ’58 to be specific) and they are presented in quality prints with good sound. While there is old school closed captioning, English subtitles would have been nice but they generally weren’t available when this DVD was released back in 2004. As this is a double feature, I’ll provide a review of each film. While there are a number of versions of these movies out there, this particular set is the one to get. 2 great movies at one low price.
MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD is one of the best sci-fi B movies ever. The story is original, the script by Patricia “Pat” Fiedler is a cut above most movies of this ilk, the monster is different and well executed and it is anchored by a rock solid performance from Tim Holt who here is far removed from the cinematic heights of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS and THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. The other performers aren’t given as much to do but what they are given, they do well. Audrey Dalton is a believable damsel in distress whose hysterics are subdued and realistic while Max Showalter (billed here as Casey Adams) and voiceover and TV veteran Hans Conreid lend able support. The pleasant surprise is child actress Mimi Gibson who avoids being overly cute and seems like a real kid.
The story concerns the discovery of giant prehistoric mollusks in the Salton Sea in California (a real place that is now in sad shape). After being released by an underground earthquake, they rise to the surface and suck the nutrients out of whoever comes near them. They have the ability to proliferate at an alarming rate and must be stopped before they challenge the world (hence the title). This was one of 4 sci-fi/horror films made in 1957 by small outfit Gramercy Pictures that all had screenplays by Fiedler. The others are RETURN OF DRACULA, THE VAMPIRE (also a Midnite Movies double feature) and THE FLAME BARRIER. All are worthwhile. I came late to MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD but better late than never. It’s now one of my B movie faves. The same applies to IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.
One of my most vivid memories as a young child was being taken outside in 1957 by my father to look up at the night sky and watch Sputnik, the first orbiting satellite, move among the stars. It was a magical moment. Three years later I was given THE GOLDEN BOOK OF ASTRONOMY as a birthday present. I was totally captivated. I loved the drawings and illustrations of outer space and had dreams of being an astronaut traveling to different worlds. I still have the book 50 years later but my dreams are somewhat different now.
Which brings me to IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE. I didn’t see the film on its initial release in 1958 but caught up with it on TV in the early 1960s. The depictions of the Martian landscape, the stars, and the futuristic spaceship looked just like the pictures and drawings in my book. The eerie background music drew me in even more and my heart rate went up whenever IT! was on screen. The space walk outside the ship was awe inspiring and I found the ending exciting as well as exceedingly clever. I watched the movie several more times throughout the 1960s enjoying it even more through repeated viewings. That was then.
This is now. Having replaced my old VHS version with this double feature DVD, I am happy to report that I still enjoy IT! just as much but now in an adult way. It’s no longer scary but there is much to admire from the stylistic, inexpensive sets to the somber nature of the dialogue and the serious tone of the actors. Most of the other reviews point out the resemblance of the story to ALIEN so I won’t bother with a story synopsis. I would like to tell you just a little bit about the film’s director Edward L. Cahn known in the trade as “Fast Eddie” for his ability to shoot a film quickly and efficiently.
Cahn began his career directing OUR GANG shorts in the late 1930s and was responsible for some of the classic horror/sci-fi B movies of the 1950s. In addition to IT!, there’s INVISIBLE INVADERS, CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN, ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU, and THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE to name a few. He was almost always able to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and that’s a talent worth celebrating. For me IT! is his masterpiece where all the low budget elements came together to make a film that many others copied and that can still be enjoyed today. Who would have thought that
The Capsule Critic 