Strong and Moving!

Instant Favorite.

Fresh and Exciting

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I think they should have thrown out the first 30 minutes of this film. What a waste of color film. After that, the film was very good. Exeter was good. Faith D., the leading lady was great. The monster was well done. I like the photography. It was imaginative for the 1950's. What did the rest of you think of the first 30 minutes?

THIS ISLAND EARTH is satisfying on every level (at least, it always has been for ME, but what do I know, right?), making it yet another of those gems from The Golden Age of Science Fiction Films. The science is plausible enough for Science FICTION; the performances are without flaw; the Aliens are most definitely ALIEN; the Special Effects are indeed SPECIAL; and the Monster just happens to be one of the Greatest ever conceived (in my own, ever humble, opinion). I've been treating myself to marathons of Old Movies (Science Fiction and Horror, mostly) over the past month or so and I found myself being drawn irresistibly into this movie, something that rarely happens; I even picked up on the names of the stars from CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON ("Adams" and "Carlson") and I want a Metaluna Mutant model more than ever. THIS ISLAND EARTH takes me back to a Time that never was (for ME: the 1950s) and an alien planet long gone. Who could ask for more...?

Superior 1950's sci-fi. Looks like Universal was aiming for A-status with this excellently mounted production. The effects are quite good for the time, and a long way from Roger Corman's drive-in cheapos. Seems that far off planet Metaluna is under a guided meteor barrage from evil planet Radon(?) and needs help from our atomic scientists to harden their planetary shield. Trouble is they're not inviting our guys; instead they're hijacking them with greenish beams of light. Good thing the Metalunans look like us except for white-topped foreheads that almost reach the ceiling. They even have shapely women that I could have used more of. Then too, unlike the usual space invaders, high-domed Exeter turns out to be a pretty nice guy. We understand his motives once we see Metaluna's surface being used for target practice by the evil Radons. Those effects on Metluna's surface, especially with the tiny figures running, struck me as rather dream-like. Then too, the Technicolor and photography are slickly combined, producing a glossy look unusual for 50's sci-fi. And what about that mutant. His bared-brain noggin is enough to scare Frankenstein. Good thing he moves like a garden slug. A lot of these period sci-fi's had lessons for the nuclear peril of that Cold War decade. However, I didn't pick up any pointed subtext here. The 80-minutes looks to be simple entertainment all the way through. Anyhow, the acting, especially the authoritative Morrow and Reason, is much better than expected, while the whole package survives in highly deliverable fashion. So catch it if you haven't already.

I've been hoping for a Blue Ray release of this film for years. Last night I found a used DVD copy at Amoeba in Hollywood. When my friend and I watched it on my new Panasonic plasma, through my Oppo player, the 3D indicator came on screen prompting us to switch to 3D. Lo and behold, the picture came on in 3D!! Not every scene is 3D but at least half is. The explosions and battle scenes are 3D and all the space travel shots, too. No mention of this in any review I've ever seen. BTW, I saw this film in Irving, TX with my mom and soon-to-be step-father in 1955 when it was first released. Vaguely remember the 3D glasses. Mom loved the movie even though is scared the crap out of her!