This Island Earth is a 1955 science fiction film directed by Joseph M. Newman. It is based on the novel of the same name by Raymond F. Jones. The film stars Jeff Morrow as the alien Exeter, Faith Domergue as Dr. Ruth Adams, and Rex Reason as Dr. Cal Meacham. The film was one of the first major science fiction films to be made in Technicolor. In 1996, This Island Earth was also edited down and lampooned in the film Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie.
When initially released, the film was praised by most critics, many[who?] citing the special effects, well-written script and eye-popping color (prints by Technicolor) as being its major assets.
Many critics[who?] cite the special effects as the strongest element in This Island Earth, which were ground breaking for their time and are considered by many film buffs to be comparable to modern special effects.
The film was one of the last films to use the three-strip Technicolor filming process. Even during production, the film's special effects were shot on the more conventional Eastman color process, which most studios had already adopted.[citation needed]
Taglines:
- The supreme excitement of our time!
- Two mortals trapped in outer space... challenging the unearthly furies of an outlaw planet gone mad!
Plot
Dr. Cal Meacham, a noted scientist, receives an unusual substitute for electronic condensers that he ordered. They are un-Earthly in their ability to carry overloads of electricity; he sends a letter to the company that supplied the parts, and receives a package which appears to be a catalog. He begins ordering parts from it, and eventually is given a kit to build a very complex communication device called an interocitor. When the device is finished, Meacham receives a message on it: a mysterious man named Exeter appears on the interocitor's screen and tells him he has passed the test he was given. His ability to build the interocitor demonstrates that he is gifted enough to be part of the special research project Exeter is running.
Intrigued, Meacham accepts an invitation to visit Exeter's facility, and is picked up the next day at the airport in a strange computer-controlled Douglas DC-3 aircraft with no windows. Arriving at the facility, Meacham finds an international group of top-flight scientists already present – including an old flame, Dr. Ruth Adams. But Cal is almost immediately suspicious of the odd-looking group of men leading the project.
Cal and Ruth decide to slip away from the facility, but as they take off in a small plane, they watch as the facility and all its inhabitants are incinerated, and their plane is drawn up inside a flying saucer.
It is then that Cal and Ruth learn that Exeter and his band are aliens from the planet Metaluna, come to Earth seeking scientists to help them defend their planet in the war against the evil Zagons. Though they protest, Exeter informs them that he is taking them back to his war-torn planet, in the hope that they can do something to aid it.
Adams, Meacham and Exeter confront a mutant.
After a mind-bending journey, they arrive to find the planet under full bombardment and falling quickly to the enemy. Metalunan society is breaking down and there is little hope. The leader of Metaluna, The Monitor, reveals that the Metalunans intend to relocate to Earth and insists that Meacham and Adams be subjected to the Thought Transference Chamber in order to subjugate their free will when they object to this plan. Exeter believes this to be immoral and also misguided since it sets up unconscious barriers in the minds of the subjects and thus constrains their ability to help the Metalunans. Exeter decides to help Cal and Ruth escape, thus revolting against his own kind, before they enter the brain-reprogramming facility.
The three make their escape from Metaluna and begin the journey back to Earth, observing the final destruction of the planet shortly before they leave its star system. However, a mutant creature has somehow boarded the craft. Cal manages to overpower it, but not before it badly wounds Exeter. As they enter Earth's atmosphere, Exeter sends Cal and Ruth on their way in their small plane, but he himself is dying and the ship is nearly depleted of energy. With no other options open to him, Exeter uses the craft's remaining power to fly it out to sea and then allow it to crash.
Cast
* Not credited on-screen.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
This Island Earth title card in
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
This Island Earth is the film-within-the-film Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (or MST3k: The Movie). As in the television series, the fictional crew of the spaceship "Satellite of Love" are forced to watch the film as part of an "experiment"; while watching the film, the crew can be seen in silhouette at the bottom of the screen, mocking the action. The film also includes "host segments" (skits with the crew and Mad Scientists), including two scenes with the characters using an Interocitor.
In order to maintain a 73-minute running time and to accommodate several "host segments", This Island Earth was edited down by about 20 minutes, removing numerous scenes, some important (like a sequence of the Zagon fleet attacking Metaluna). Consequentially, this makes MST3k: The Movie shorter than This Island Earth, or even the average, 90-minute MST3K episode.
External links
