# This Island Earth (1954)



## Foxbat (Aug 20, 2006)

It's true what they say....good things come to those who wait....

Now, it might not be the best Sci-Fi movie ever made but it's one of my personal favourites - and has caused me to produce much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the past. 

Why? Because it had a limited release on DVD and many copies fell into the hands of dealers who decided to ask ridiculous prices. At it's worst, a copy would have cost you around $550. At best around $70. I might be a collector of movies but I am not a fool and decided not pay these prices in the hope that it would eventually be re-released. And that is exactly what has happened. It will be available on Region 1 DVD from August 22nd 2006 for around $12 (Amazon is taking pre-orders). So get it while it's hot folks!

Now all I need is a release of The Time Travelers and my life will be complete


----------



## steve12553 (Aug 20, 2006)

Foxbat said:
			
		

> It's true what they say....good things come to those who wait....
> 
> Now, it might not be the best Sci-Fi movie ever made but it's one of my personal favourites - and has caused me to produce much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the past.
> 
> ...


 
Good Deal, I've been warming up the Interociter for some strange reason lately. At least now I know why.


----------



## clovis-man (Oct 7, 2010)

*This Island Earth*

I've often (well at least a couple of times) wondered why the story portrayed in the film *This Island Earth* made no sense. Great fodder for the MST3K send-up, but shoot, even the title doesn't seem to fit.

Well, I got my hands on a Barnes & Noble publication from 1994 called *Reel Future*. It provides reprints of a number of stories that were the basis of SF movies/films. As it turns out, the movie in question (1955) was based on a novella of the same name from 1952 by Raymond F. Jones. After reading it, I can say that I now understand why the film was so disjointed but, at the same time, it's hard to understand why anyone would try to make a movie from it.

In the film, bulgey-headed aliens from the far off planet of Metaluna, led by Jeff Morrow in one of his more glamorous roles (much hotter than *Kronos* or *The Creature Walks Among Us*) recruit Earth scientists in elaborate fashion to assist in developing a means to combat a far off alien menace. Then inexplicably they pull up stakes and warp back to their own world just in time to witness its destruction and get all snarky about it. The two humans (Rex Reason and Faith Domergue) in tow act as unwilling witnesses to the event.

In the written story, the common denominator with the movie is the building of an "Interocitor" as an entrance exam in the human recruitment program. The difference is that the aliens only use humans as glorified assembly line workers (There's even a labor dispute). A quote from the alien recruiters: "We do not _require_ your help, any more than your armies had to have the help of some savage tribe to clear their jungles." (In WW II, this happened on islands. So now you know why Earth is referred to as an island.) In the end, Earth is threatened by the villainous aliens because of the bulgey-headed aliens incompetance in strategic thinking in wartime scenarios. I won't go into more detail in case anyone wants to read it afresh.

Suffice to say, a reasonably entertaining film was made from a convoluted and tedious written story. If the filmmakers had been a little more creative than the author, the story might even have made sense. YMMV, of course.


----------



## Dave (Oct 8, 2010)

Threads merged.

I have wondered about the title of the film before. I assumed that it just referred to the Earth being small and insignificant but that WWII parallel makes some sense.


----------



## warstarcerberus (Oct 25, 2010)

did you know the professor from gilligans island was in this and the monster was used in galcitca 1980.


----------



## clovis-man (Oct 26, 2010)

warstarcerberus said:


> did you know the professor from gilligans island was in this and the monster was used in galcitca 1980.


 
Russell Johnson. He also played George the telephone linesman in *It Came From Outer Space*.


----------



## Jayaprakash Satyamurthy (Oct 26, 2010)

I'm pretty fond of this one too, despite the plot holes.


----------



## Captain Campion (Oct 27, 2010)

That's one I used to watch a lot when I was a kid (Saturday afternoon monster/SciFi movies on indepedent stations, etc.).

It was part of the regular rotation (or so it seemed), along with It Came From Outer Space, Them!, and The Mole People.

This was the one where they snatched the scientists as they were flying a plane, right?


----------



## Constantine Opal (Nov 1, 2010)

I just think 'This Island Earth' is a fabulous book/film title, I really do. I loved the film even if it didn't make alot of sense, and I enjoyed the book too. As for MST3K, I appear to be one of only a few Brits that's ever heard of it. No one I know has a clue what I'm on about, and they're just missing out on SO much. 

Still, back to This Island Earth. Whatever the story should have/could have been, it's a nice bit of space fluff on a Sunday afternoon if you fancy watching a 50's B movie about aliens. And I like doing that ALOT.


----------



## Ursa major (Nov 1, 2010)

The _Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie_ (which was contained _This Island Earth_) was on terrestrial TV in the UK.

While watching it, I did have a feeling of _déjà vu_ (the word, interociter, sounded vaguely familiar), so I _may_ have seen the original film (again probably on the TV).


----------



## Constantine Opal (Nov 1, 2010)

Really? I must try and get hold of that. I can only find Region 1 DVD's of MST3K, although Chez Opal does now have DVD players that are multi-regional. Hark at me and my fancy pants technology! NOT.


----------



## clovis-man (Nov 3, 2010)

Not that it's important, but the MST3K version of *This Island Earth* is heavily edited. But since it's all for laughs anyway, it's not all that noticeable. Most of the MST3K humor catalogue is replete with potty humor (almost literally) and sexual innuendo. But I love it anyway.

I will admit to choosing to watch the actual film instead if I have to ponder the option, even though it's hard to resist such lines as "Why that's the nicest weather Earth has ever had!"


----------



## Starbeast (Feb 5, 2012)

_This Island Earth_  is a remarkable film for it's time, with very good special effects (over 2 years in the making). The mutant from the film is so well recognized and has been copied for many years, even in comic books.

And on the lighter side, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 group did an excellent job of poking fun at this movie. My favorite moments are with the Interociter. The first time I watched it with the MST3K commentary, I laughed so hard my eyes were tearing. 

Both versions of this movie are still fun to watch.


----------



## TheTomG (Feb 5, 2012)

Ah I remember watching the original as a wee lad, and enjoying it. And I remember watching the MST3K version at a much older... err I mean wiser... age, and thoroughly enjoying it again.

Must admit I like MST3K. High brow all the way, me.


----------



## mr kite (Feb 5, 2012)

This a great Sci Fi film .
I must admit I have seen it in the shops !
That`s why it is`nt in my collection .
I now have a mission to buy this classic .
Thanks for the nudge Foxbat . 

This is one of those films when I were a kid that slowly dragged you into the brilliant Genre of Sci Fi.


----------



## Foxbat (Feb 5, 2012)

That's a fine picture of the beautiful Faith Domergue, mr kite.

This Island Earth is available in fairly inexpensive SF collection boxed sets now.


----------



## Metryq (Feb 5, 2012)

*Re: This Island Earth*



clovis-man said:


> Suffice to say, a reasonably entertaining film was made from a convoluted and tedious written story.



Say what? The novella made perfect sense. It was the movie that was all over the map. And I had to laugh after reading the blurb on the DVD box about the visual FX taking two years to complete. I think it is more likely that the film got shelved for two years, or ran out of money, being rapidly completed two years later with the cheapest of methods just to get it out the door. It's a good thing I found the disc in a bargain bin. If I had paid some outlandish price to see this vaunted "sci-fi classic with awesome VFX," somebody would have died slowly and painfully for not refunding my money.




The above image is one of the frames showing a car being chased down and shot up by some alien beam weapon. I can guarantee that the beam was made by scratching the film emulsion with the point of a pin—because I did such animation in a film class and know what it looks like. The red tint to the frame may have been done by inking the film directly, after scratching it. Although the "halo" around the scratches looks like the after effects of an optical printer. (Meaning the scratched film was duped with a red gel in the optical printer, and the halo was actually uncontrolled halation that happened to help. But it was certainly not intentionally back-lit animation.)

It's really weird to find such cheaper-than-cheap techniques being used side-by-side with matte paintings and properly animated beams elsewhere in the production. My best guess is that the project was compromised at some point, then finished in a quick and dirty fashion—perhaps missing several scripted scenes. That, at least, would explain the choppy and nonsensical plot.


----------



## mr kite (Feb 5, 2012)

Foxbat said:


> That's a fine picture of the beautiful Faith Domergue, mr kite.
> 
> This Island Earth is available in fairly inexpensive SF collection boxed sets now.


 
Or £3.99 at Amazon 
She was a fine looking women .
Kinda a 50`s Scully . 
Uncanny or what.









And thats a cracking Avatar you have there Foxbat.


----------



## clovis-man (Feb 5, 2012)

mr kite said:


>


 
Ah, yes. Faith Domergue. Yet another product of the Howard Hughes casting couch. She really couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. But, in the days of my youth, I have to admit to being quite interested in the scene in which she and Rex Reason jump into the pond. Not the jumping in part, but the getting out part.


----------



## Starbeast (Feb 5, 2012)

Foxbat said:


> That's a fine picture of the beautiful Faith Domergue, mr kite.


 
At times I couldn't keep my eyes off of her in the movie, no matter what was going on.



mr kite said:


> She was a fine looking women .
> Kinda a 50`s Scully .
> Uncanny or what.


 
I disagree old chum, Faith had big dreamy eyes, no freckles and black hair.


----------



## Foxbat (Feb 6, 2012)

*Re: This Island Earth*



Metryq said:


> Say what? The novella made perfect sense. It was the movie that was all over the map. And I had to laugh after reading the blurb on the DVD box about the visual FX taking two years to complete. I think it is more likely that the film got shelved for two years, or ran out of money, being rapidly completed two years later with the cheapest of methods just to get it out the door. It's a good thing I found the disc in a bargain bin. If I had paid some outlandish price to see this vaunted "sci-fi classic with awesome VFX," somebody would have died slowly and painfully for not refunding my money.


 
I know this film has its faults but I think I was only about ten years old the first time I watched it. It utterly blew me away and left me wild eyed and hungry for more Science Fiction. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this movie (plus The Time Travelers and War Of The Worlds) are the ones chiefly responsible for my love of SF (especially 50s and 60s SF). 

Even all these years later when I see faults that my younger eyes never noticed, I cannot help but feel a certain tenderness towards this film. Frankly, it made me the fool I am today


----------



## mr kite (Feb 8, 2012)

Starbeast said:


> At times I couldn't keep my eyes off of her in the movie, no matter what was going on.
> 
> 
> 
> I disagree old chum, Faith had big dreamy eyes, no freckles and black hair.


 You know I can`t resist a redhead Starbeast


----------



## steve12553 (Feb 11, 2012)

I've always been a big fan of the film. As to the special effects I was very impressed. If it took 2 years to do them and the film was released in 1954, the techniques are 61 years old now. No computers. Nothing digital. Several generations of film ago. You would have a hard time topping them with what was available. Sixty years from now most of the CGI effect films will be recognized as the garbage they are because they don't translate into interactive hologram very well. But there will still be those of us around appreceating the old classics because they were done with the best skills available at the time.


P.S. I fell in love with Faith Domergue the first time I saw her in a film also.


----------



## Foxbat (Feb 11, 2012)

Perhaps we should start a Faith Domergue Appreciation Society


----------



## clovis-man (Feb 11, 2012)

Foxbat said:


> Perhaps we should start a Faith Domergue Appreciation Society


 

Well, if you're going to do that, I think you'd have to get in line behind some other beauteous brunettes of the time, e.g., Barbara Rush (*When Worlds Collide*, *It Came From Outer Space*), Julia Adams (*Creature From The Black Lagoon*) and Ann Robinson (*War of the Worlds*).


----------



## steve12553 (Feb 12, 2012)

clovis-man said:


> Well, if you're going to do that, I think you'd have to get in line behind some other beauteous brunettes of the time, e.g., Barbara Rush (*When Worlds Collide*, *It Came From Outer Space*), Julia Adams (*Creature From The Black Lagoon*) and Ann Robinson (*War of the Worlds*).


 
Wonderful choices. They were the second most important part of the movies. (Right after the monsters in my elementary school mind)


----------

