Now here's a fantastic hidden gem from the almighty B-movie emperor Roger Corman! Arguably even his finest directorial accomplishment of the 1950's, unless of course you fancy laughably inept monster movies like "Attack of the Crab Monsters" or "Creature from the Haunted Sea". "Not of this Earth" is an exceptionally atmospheric and solidly scripted Sci-Fi tale, with remarkably strong acting performances and even a handful of visuals and sequences that are genuinely shocking considering the time it was made. The eerily charismatic Paul Birch depicts an atypical alien ambassador from the planet Davana,on an attempted mission to rescue the population that is slowing dying following the results of a devastating nuclear war. He names himself Mr. Johnson and follows a 6-step program in order to fulfill his mission, which includes daily blood transfusions and selecting earthly specimens (like street bums and random Asian guys) to teleport across space through a closet door in his house. He hired the lovely Beverly Garland as a private nurse and also employs a lowlife thug as his servant/chauffeur. Johnson's deadliest weapons are hidden behind a thick pair of sunglasses and near the climax he suddenly also controls some kind of flying and bloodsucking jellyfish! Admittedly this all sounds like a bunch of campy nonsense, and it actually is, but it's the most entertaining type of campy nonsense imaginable! Traditionally these good old-fashioned fifties Sci-Fi flicks don't feature any redundant sequences or unnecessary sub plots, only straightforward action and relevant dialogs! Paul Birch and Beverly Garland are terrific in the lead roles, but also the supportive cast deserves some praise. Notably Corman's loyal buddy Dick Miller is memorable as a sly door-to-door salesman of vacuum cleaners. Roger Corman also produced a sleazy 80's update of his own gem in which contemporary porn star Traci Lords reprises the role of Beverly Garland. The plots are largely similar, but the 1988 version is more difficult to follow since the lead actress is parading around naked the entire time. Equally good fun, but go for the 50's original for sheer Sci-Fi nostalgia.
Review of Not of This Earth
