My choice for a summary line was a toss up between the above and newspaperman John Lawrence's comment to a local constable - "Believe me man, we're in trouble". I found the dialog to improve considerably in the second half when the British authorities came on the scene and delivered their distinctive brand of local colloquialisms. I just about rolled on the floor when the conversation turned to 'boogeys'; I didn't quite know what to make of all that.
Well this might not be one of the best outer space flicks coming out of the Fifties, but it was one of the first and had it's cool share of scientific gobbledy-gook to keep one invested in the story. Of note was the specific gravity of the space object discovered by Lawrence and Enid Elliott (Margaret Field), one-fifth that of steel making it incredibly strong but with tremendous tensile strength. The space creature's first appearance is also a neat shocker if you're not expecting it, sending Miss Elliott into screaming fits as she dashed across the Scottish countryside.
Shot on a virtual shoestring budget in only six days, the set used by director Edgar Ulmer was a hold over from the 1948 Ingrid Bergman film "Joan of Arc". Economizing even further, Ulmer capitalized on additional use of fog to fill in the spaces where there was no set. Considering the obstacles, Ulmer wound up with a product that's not nearly as cheesy as it could have been. The picture even poses a thoughtful question for the viewer to consider after the alien sphere is obliterated and the threatening planet zooms away - was the coming alien invasion a blessing or a curse?
For all that, it was many years after the picture's release that the actor who portrayed the alien was even revealed for his role in the picture. Not only was Pat Goldin uncredited, he wasn't even paid!, according to Turner Classic Movie commentator Ben Mankiewicz. I wonder how many times he had to get in and out of that space suit.
Well this might not be one of the best outer space flicks coming out of the Fifties, but it was one of the first and had it's cool share of scientific gobbledy-gook to keep one invested in the story. Of note was the specific gravity of the space object discovered by Lawrence and Enid Elliott (Margaret Field), one-fifth that of steel making it incredibly strong but with tremendous tensile strength. The space creature's first appearance is also a neat shocker if you're not expecting it, sending Miss Elliott into screaming fits as she dashed across the Scottish countryside.
Shot on a virtual shoestring budget in only six days, the set used by director Edgar Ulmer was a hold over from the 1948 Ingrid Bergman film "Joan of Arc". Economizing even further, Ulmer capitalized on additional use of fog to fill in the spaces where there was no set. Considering the obstacles, Ulmer wound up with a product that's not nearly as cheesy as it could have been. The picture even poses a thoughtful question for the viewer to consider after the alien sphere is obliterated and the threatening planet zooms away - was the coming alien invasion a blessing or a curse?
For all that, it was many years after the picture's release that the actor who portrayed the alien was even revealed for his role in the picture. Not only was Pat Goldin uncredited, he wasn't even paid!, according to Turner Classic Movie commentator Ben Mankiewicz. I wonder how many times he had to get in and out of that space suit.