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7:35 a.m. - 2012-09-24
IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
On a lone spaceship far from earth a small crew is menaced by an alien stowaway. The creature seems to be indestructible as it kills off the crew one by one. Before the creature is discovered we see the crew in a relaxed setting having a meal together, joking and discussing their plans. There is also a scene in which the alien surprises one of the crew members in an air vent. Finally the alien is destroyed by opening one of the air locks while the crew members are able to breathe in their cumbersome space suits.

Sounds a lot like Ridley Scott's 1979 sci fi/horror classic "Alien," but it isn't. I've just given a brief outline of the plot of "It! The Terror from Beyond Space," a golden age (1958) sci fi thriller in black and white starring Marshall Thompson.

Thompson plays an astronaut who is the sole survivor from a tragic mission to Mars in which his nine crew members were killed by some unknown entity. How he survived is never made clear. A second team of astronauts sent to rescue him concludes that he is guilty of nine murders but unaccountably do not lock him up or put him under any restraints. Of course once the alien begins attacking this crew, Thompson's character is instrumental in bringing about its destruction.

The movie, made in 1958 is somewhat optimistically set in 1973 and shows a space program advanced enough to land at least two rocket ships on mars. The ships actually land on the planet rather than going into orbit and sending a shuttle craft. For some reason, maybe the Cold War mentality, the second Mars mission comes heavily armed, carrying several pistols, a rifle, gas grenades, and in one scene what looks like a bazooka. None of these weapons prove effective against the alien.

Our first glimpse of the creature show only its feet or clawed hands, but it isn't long before the creature--famed stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan --is revealed as a reptilian biped, looking like a cross between the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Gorn that fought Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series episode. Aside from its immunity to conventional weaponry it survives a powerful electrical shock and brief exposure to the radiation from the ships reactor. It is powerful enough to rip through metal doors and intelligent enough to lie in ambush for the crew members. Its motive in attacking the crew seems to be predation, draining them of all fluids, a possible adaptation to living on a desert planet. An added danger from the creature is that it carries alien bacteria which are resistant to terrestrial antibiotics, though these seem to be transmitted only through wounds from its claws.

The crew contains two women, but in the dining scene they are mere serving maids, pouring the coffee and urging second helpings on their male counterparts. The personalities of the crew members are not as distinct as in the 1979 version, much time that could have been used for character development being spent instead on the soon abandoned mass murder theory that initially makes Thompson a pariah. As in "Alien," the "It!" crew smokes cigarettes in a closed environment, and no one apologizes for lighting up.

The sets are simple, and the movie could easily have been filmed in a silo with the different levels separated by ladders. Space travel is suggested by a model rocket against a not very convincing backdrop of black sky and stars, and some of the narrative is accomplished by two press conferences held on earth in a simple government office.

The special effects, script and acting are not as good as in the Ridley Scott version, but this movie is worth watching for any science fiction fan or followers of the popular Alien series.

 

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