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It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958) DVRip (SiRiUs sHaRe)

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It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958)

In 1973, the first manned expedition to Mars is marooned; by the time a rescue mission arrives, there is only one survivor: the leader, Col. Edward Carruthers, who appears to have murdered the others! According to Carruthers, an unknown life form killed his comrades during a sandstorm. But the skeptical rescuers little suspect that "it" has stowed away for the voyage back to Earth...

Marshall Thompson ... Col. Edward Carruthers
Shirley Patterson ... Ann Anderson (as Shawn Smith)
Kim Spalding ... Col. Van Heusen
Ann Doran ... Dr. Mary Royce
Dabbs Greer ... Eric Royce
Paul Langton ... Lt. James Calder
Robert Bice ... Maj. John Purdue
Richard Benedict ... Bob Finelli
Richard Hervey ... Gino Finelli
Thom Carney ... Joe Keinholz
Ray Corrigan ... It

Director: Edward L. Cahn

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051786/

Codecs: OpenDivX 4 / MP3

A space ship makes a rescue mission to a hostile planet where the crew inadvertently picks up an alien life form that uses the air ducts to conceal itself while moving through the ship. Trapped on board with the creature, the crew battles for survival and eventually defeats the creature by suiting up and blowing the airlocks. Is this the famous 1970s ALIEN? No, its the 1950s IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.

Obviously the creators of ALIEN were significantly influenced by this ultra B flick--and in all honesty the film is actually a somewhat effective thriller with one or two tighten-up-in-you-seat moments. But the real pleasure of IT!, at least for a contemporary audience, are the cheap special effects, ridiculous scenic designs, and 1950s sexist attitudes that pervade the film. How about those two women who are not only doctor and nurse, but also cook and waitress as well? And who would have thought every one in space would smoke like fiends? When the ship blasts off, no one bothers to strap in--they just sit around in things that look suspiciously like lawn chairs. And even more unnerving, the ship's controls look like an under-funded NASA has resorted to radio station salvage! Tack in the occasional odd line ("Every bone in his body is broken, but I don't know what killed him") and you're good to go.

To be frank, I myself don't consider this film far gone enough to actually enter the hallowed halls of cult movie fame; it sorta hangs out in the doorway instead. But it does have its charms--particularly if you're interested in the origins of the movie ALIEN or you're just looking for a mindless popcorn fest the whole family can make fun of together. On those levels it should prove quite satisfactory indeed!

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Out of the fifties 'B' Science-Fiction monster movies, this easily ranks as the best. It's most notable as the film that ALIEN is an unaccredited remake of, thus giving it a certain historical significance.

The intriguing plot is about the rescue of the only marooned survivor (Col. Carruthers) of an ill-fated expedition to Mars. The authorities, pig-headed as usual, falsely assume that he murdered his fellow crew members, so that he'd have more provisions to survive; hence he is being brought back to Earth to face court-martial for murder. (There is also a somewhat interesting plot reversal here: Most movies of this nature usually begin with the ship leaving Earth, enroute to its otherworld destination, while, in this case, the "story" is believed finished, and begins as the characters take-off from the other planet, returning to Earth). As the rescue ship is leaving Mars, a lurking, ominous shadow is seen in the lower compartment. (A frightening, atmospheric moment, accomplished through sheer economy and simplicity).

Carruthers insists of his innocence to his fellow captors, claiming that his original crew mates were slaughtered by a hostile, unseen presence on the desolute red planet, but three-guesses as to their reaction to his unusual plea. Naturally, he can't prove it, and 50's space authorities were not very alien conscience at the time. (As a side-thought, "unseen menace" may remind you of that highly "original" BLAIR WITCH).

As everyone sacks out, a hapless supporting charactor whose name is at the bottom of the casting list (guess what will happen to him?) hears something in the lower compartment. Despite your futile "don't go down there, you jerk!" pleas, he does just that, and is appropriately killed (more like thoroughly obliterated) by the shadowy figure with insatiable blood lust on its mind. In the victim's case, dereliction of duty and sheer cowardliness would have been the wise decision. The scene is actually well-directed (for a change) and develops much suspense, as the entire film surprisingly does.

The crew finally catches on that they have an unwanted ship crasher on board, and try every possible means at their disposal to eliminate it, but the unknown creature seems to copping an anti-death attitude. Proving to be an even more clever, worthy adversary, 'IT!' also hides out in the ventilation shafts of the ship (now that should ring a bell). Cahn's forceful direction generates considerable tension as the malevolent stowaway works its way up from one level of the confined ship to the next, eventually leaving the remaining characters trapped at the top. The movie's suspense is blunt and right to the point: "IT!' has to kill them or starve, hence they have to kill "IT!" or die. Nothing like those "no two ways about it" choices. Rent it, or check for it on cable if you wish to know the outcome.

For a low-budget quickie, IT! is quite impressive and memorable. The dreaded sense of claustrophobic tension, rendering the characters' helpless entrapment, is highly effective. This is a production in which the limited budget and small sets actually work in favor of the plot's scary ambience. The black & white photography (Yes, it's one of those!) helps to enhance its dark, creepy mood, and the sense of apprehension is quite high. (Modern day color freaks never seem to take that into consideration). The plot is also somewhat cynically ironic: If the creature hadn't stowed away on the ship, Carruthers would have most likely been found guilty of the charges against him.

The intelligent script (see what I mean about "rareity") was penned by noted Science-Fiction author Jerome Bixby (remember Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life")? The picture's taut editing eliminates any extraneous dross. (ALIEN tended to drag in its first hour with its sophomoric dialogue, and why did it have to include that stupid and ultimately counter-productive sub-plot of Ash being a robot, and further dragging the story down to another big bad conspiracy cliche? UNNECESSARY!!!)

Director Cahn astutely keeps the rubber-suited monster off-screen and in the shadows through-out most of the proceedings, keeping your paranoid imagination on constant alert. Unfortunately, perhaps at the studio's commercial insistance, it is a little over-revealed at the climax, but I haven't claimed this to be the perfect masterpiece. The performances, though nothing award-winning, are nevertheless cool enough so that one becomes sincerely concerned as to their fates. Not many movies in recent times ever come close to achieving that. They can be over-produced from here to eternity, and usually only succeed in being gloriously annoying.

This film's story is not really totally original (what is?), for it is based on A.E. Van Vogt's "VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE." All ALIEN fanatics should track down an old used copy to see where the initial influence came from.

As long as you're not craving another CGI wind-ding, you may find it worthwhile. Just don't expect the women to be Ripley precursors. This was still the sock-knitting fifties, sad to say.

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Reportedly the inspiration for "Alien", this tidy, fairly suspenseful little science-fiction thriller tells the story of the doomed first manned expedition to Mars, which leaves one survivor, Col. Carruthers (Marshall Thompson). A second expedition picks Carruthers up and proceeds to bring him back to Earth, where, as the suspect in the deaths of his crew, he will be court-martialed. However, the REAL culprit, a Martian monster (Ray "Crash" Corrigan), has gotten on board the Earthbound ship and starts killing off the crew one at a time.

Nothing great, but certainly acceptable science-fiction entertainment that for the most part does not waste any time. It merely tells the story in a methodical and straightforward fashion without using any flashy gimmicks. It clocks in at a very compact 70 minutes so even if you don't like it or find it boring you won't have to stick it out for long. The creature may be a standard man-in-costume creation, but it's not a bad one. Ultimately, "It! The Terror From Beyond Space" is fairly good of its type and has a pretty good cast (that's veteran character actor Dabbs Greer, who played the aged Paul Edgecomb in the more recent "The Green Mile", as 'Eric Royce').

I liked it well enough.

# The final battle between the monster and crew is being shown at the drive-in during the Bryan Adams’ video "Summer of '69".

# On its initial release, the standard co-feature with this film was Curse of the Faceless Man (1958).

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