A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations
- Posseman
- (uncredited)
- Dugan
- (uncredited)
- Man
- (uncredited)
- Sam
- (uncredited)
- Dave Loring
- (uncredited)
- Dr. Snell
- (uncredited)
- Perry
- (uncredited)
- Posseman
- (uncredited)
- Bob - Dr. Snell's Assistant
- (uncredited)
- Toby
- (uncredited)
- Posseman
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Daylon
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Universal-International make-up department submitted two alien designs for consideration by the studio executives. The design that was rejected was saved and then later used as the Mutant in Universal-International's This Island Earth (1955).
- GoofsWhen Putnam and Ellen land back at the airport in the helicopter, Putnam is holding his pipe in his mouth upside down (bowl facing down). Pipe smokers sometimes have the bowl upside down, especially when it's raining. They tamp the tobacco tightly, light it, and then turn it upside down to keep the rain out of the bowl. Some pipe smokers will have them inverted even when it's not raining, possibly as an affectation, or simply habit.
- Quotes
Sheriff Matt Warren: Did you know, Putnam, more people are murdered at ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once - lower temperatures, people are easy-going. Over ninety two, it's too hot to move. But just ninety-two, people get irritable.
- Crazy creditsThe credits are at the end rather than at the beginning. They include shots of the characters with the cast names, and the pictures would mean nothing if seen before the film.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA Srl: "IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE 3-D (1953) + L'UOMO DAL PIANETA X (1951)" (2 Films on a single DVD, with "Destinazione Terra!" in double version 2D and 3D), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Monolith Monsters (1957)
Arnold uses Theremin music to great effect, the photography is eerie, dialog (by Ray Bradbury) poetic, and the alien is a large crawling mass with one bulging eye that leaves a snail-like trail in its path. Incognito as humans so as not to terrify earthlings with their unique physicality, the aliens are NOT bent on destruction - an interesting precursor to Steven Spielberg's expensive "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) - even its main titles are also at the end.
In an unconscious insight into social behavior, a scene has Carlson speaking to the sheriff (Charles Drake) while watching a spider on the desert ground ("...Why are you afraid of it? Because it has 8 legs, its mouth moves from side to side, instead of up and down? What would you do if it came towards you?"). The sheriff squashes it. This holds true for animals, as well as people (who have different coloring, etc.), avoiding, ridiculing, harming or destroying, sadly. The classic Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder" (1960) is a fine example: most of the "monsters" in these science-fiction/horror films just look different than humans, we might be "monsters" to them. This is low-key, intelligent, satisfying drama. Russell Johnson, Joe Sawyer, and Kathleen Hughes co-star.
- twanurit
- May 29, 2002
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $800,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $270
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Color