Review: The Man From Planet X
DVD: The Man From Planet X (1951)
I love 1950’s sci-fi movies (along with 1930’s horror movies, 1970’s cop movies and 1980’s action movies) and it was with some surprise to discover that I had never watched The Man From Planet X before now. What better way though to watch it for the first time than with Fabulous Films upcoming DVD release.
Filmed in just 6 days and released into theatres before genre greats The Thing From Another World and The Day The Earth Stood Still, The Man From Planet X is an early example of a genre flick that would sweep through the decade riding on the back of the hysteria created by the Cold War.
Set on the fog covered coast of Scotland, and with only the one dodgy accent to remind you of that fact, a planet has been spotted hurtling towards Earth. Hidden in the fog is an alien spaceship with a small but potentially dangerous alien onboard. When plans for a friendly extraterrestrial greeting go awry, the threat of the incoming planet AND a pissed off alien cause havoc in the local community. Can mankind survive a double threat against its existence?
All the usual 1950’s sci-fi tropes are already in place; man in an alien/monster suit, matte paintings and miniature effects, things flying on wires, alien/monster face looking like it was from a local Halloween store, love interest between 2 characters that is forged through adversity…all of those and more can be found here…which is why I bloody love it! 1950’s sci-fi movies are like stretching out in your ‘slouching clothes’ to me; they may not look great, they may be cheap, but by God they make you feel relaxed and comfortable. The Man From Planet X is my latest pair of socks with a hole in the heel…if we’re keeping up the analogy of slouching clothes.
Despite its lean 70 minute running time, it crams a lot into the story and at no point was I ever tempted to check the remaining running time or fiddle with my phone…a curse of this generations movie watchers. Solid performances from Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Raymond Bond and William Schallert help to keep the premise of The Man From Planet X that little bit more believable…be wary the next time it’s foggy outside!
Fabulous Films are certainly living up to their name and this is definitely a title to look out for when it is released on 24th October 2016.
Review by Dave (host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Fabulous Films.