Jack Arnold's "It Came From Outer Space"

Richard Carlson and Barbara Rush.

On a cool evening outside Sand Rock, Arizona, amateur astronomer John Putnam and his girlfriend Ellen watch a meteor crash into the desert. The pair and a pilot friend are the first to arrive at the newly-formed crater. John ventures into the rubble and--to his astonishment--finds the door to a spaceship. No one believes his story, especially since there is no sign of a spaceship when the authorities later investigate the meteor site.

However, it's not long before some of the townspeople begin to act strangely, speaking in a robotic monotone. John learns that alien lifeforms have taken selected humans hostage and replicated their human form. The aliens claim that they pose no threat to Earth at this time. They landed on it inadvertently and just want to repair their ship and depart. But are they telling the truth?

An example of Arnold's visual flair.

Made in 1953, It Came From Outer Space is a seminal science fiction film from the mind of Ray Bradbury. It was also the first sci fi film directed by Jack Arnold, who would go on to helm other 1950s genre classics: Creature From the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and Tarantula. It was also one of the most successful 3D films, back when the then-new technology was launched in response to the movie industry's fear of television. (Arnold also shot Creature and its first sequel in 3D).

Like Arnold, star Richard Carlson also became known for his many sci fi films (Creature, The Magnetic Monster, Riders to the Stars, The Maze, and The Power). I never found Carlson to be an exciting actor, but he is well-cast as an everyman in It Came From Outer Space. He projects quiet strength as Putnam, an intelligent writer who has to ignore his detractors because he knows what he saw. (Putnam's path isn't an easy one...even the local newspaper features the headline "Stargazer Sees Martians.")

Is it Russell Johnson or an alien?

Much has been written about who deserves credit for the story and screenplay: Bradbury, who penned the film treatment, or Harry Essex, who was listed as the screenwriter. Bill Warren, who authored the superb sci fi film encyclopedia Keep Watching the Skies, makes a compelling case for Bradbury based on his examination of Ray's own archives. The story's strongest elements are its eerie desert setting (which was mostly created in a studio) and the aliens who, for once, aren't intent on taking over Earth. That doesn't mean that the aliens are friendly; indeed, one of them tries to kill Putnam even though he insists he is not a threat.

Arnold avoids showing the aliens for most of the film. Instead, he employs the now-familiar technique of showing their first-person perspective (whereby the audience sees what the aliens do). However, the studio insisted that the one-eyed Xenamorphs (the aliens were named in the advertising only) ultimately be shown. They aren't very frightening.

A well-dressed alien!

The influence of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) is evident from the opening sounds of the theramin on the soundtrack. While It Came From Outer Space may be important historically in the sci fi film genre, it lacks the power and timeless quality of that earlier movie. Still, it makes for an entertaining and thought-provoking 81 minutes. 

The 1996 made-for-TV It Came From Outer Space II purports to be a sequel, but is actually an unimpressive, unnecessary remake. A more interesting 1970 TV movie Night Slaves, although based on a novel by Jerry Sohl, boasts a similar plot.

The Fugitive: A Classic Kimble-Gerard Episode

Lt. Philip Gerard and Dr. Richard Kimble.

The similarities between The Fugitive's detective Lieutenant Philip Gerard and Inspector Javert from Les Misérables were there from the beginning. Mel Proctor, author of The Official Fan's Guide to The Fugitive wrote that series creator Roy Huggins intentionally borrowed from Victor Hugo's novel: "Huggins described Kimble's pursuer as a man from the state attorney's office and said the chase would embody the characteristics of Javert's pursuit of Jean Valjean."

Barbara Rush as Marie Gerard.

Some of the series' best episodes are those that pair Richard Kimble (David Janssen) with his dogged pursuer (Barry Morse). Sometimes, their interaction is centered around another member of the Gerard family. In the excellent season 3 two-part episode "Landscape with Running Figures," Kimble comes to the aid of Mrs. Gerard (Barbara Rush), who has become temporarily blind following a bus accident. And in "Nemesis," Kimble steals a sheriff's car in which Philip Gerard, Jr. (a young Kurt Russell) is hiding in the backseat. These episodes and others cause Gerard to reflect--if only for a moment--that Kimble may indeed be innocent of murdering his wife. But in the end, that's a moot point, for Gerard is only concerned with capturing the man that escaped while in his custody.

The best episode that focuses solely on the Kimble-Gerard relationship is "Corner of Hell" from season 2, which William Conrad describes in his opening narrative as a "grim encounter with truth and irony." The episode starts with Gerard in hot pursuit of Kimble (who's driving a truck, perhaps his most frequent occupation during the series' run). When Kimble comes upon a police barricade, he smashes through it, drives down the road, and runs off into the woods. He doesn't see a rickety wooden sign stating: "Keep out! This means you."

The sheriff refuses to pursue Kimble any further, explaining to Gerard that the woods are full of moonshiners, whom the local law officials choose to ignore. When Gerard insists on a manhunt, even if he goes on it alone, the sheriff replies: "Them people hate a stranger. They hate a lawman. They hate a man in a store-bought suit. You're all three."

Guest star R.G. Armstrong.

Meanwhile, Kimble encounters a family of moonshiners led by the tobacco-chewing Tully (R.G. Armstrong). When Cody (Bruce Dern), the clan's resident trouble-maker, gets injured in a fight with Kimble, the former physician tends to Cody's wound. That earns him a little respect, which only grows when Tully learns that Kimble is running from the law (it helps too that Tully's daughter has taken a shine to the good doctor).When Gerard appears at the moonshiners' camp, Tully assures Kimble: "You'll be safe. You can watch how we get shed of somebody we don't really want around here."

The moonshiners scuff up Gerard and vandalize his car, but the real trouble starts when the detective is falsely accused of assaulting Tully's daughter (the real culprit is Cody, of course). The moonshiners are prepared to lynch Gerard, when--in a touch of brilliant irony--Kimble has to intervene to save his pursuer.

Barry Morse and Bruce Dern.

GERARD (who's tied to a chair and sounding desperate):  Our system of justice may not be perfect, but it does give every man a fair chance to defend himself.

TULLY:  How 'bout that, Doc? You get a fair chance in court?

KIMBLE:  Yes.

TULLY:  You mean he's speakin' the truth. You're a killer?"

KIMBLE:  No, I couldn't prove my innocence--but they let me try.

The outcome of "Corner of Hell" is obvious, not only from a practical series standpoint, but also because the viewer knows Kimble to be a noble man. Still, the episode turns the tables for once and lets Gerard experience the horror of telling the truth when no one will listen.

In the episode's closing scene, Gerard proves that--despite this experience--nothing has changed. His final words to Kimble are: "The truth is you're still guilty before the law."

And Kimble understands what that means, that Gerard will continue his relentless pursuit--just like Javert. "He'll keep trying," Kimble confides to Tully. "As long as there's a chance, he'll keep trying."

----------------------------------------------------------------------
This post is part of Me-TV's Summer of Classic TV Blogathon, hosted by the Classic TV Blog Association. Go to http://classic-tv-blog-assoc.blogspot.com to view more posts in this blogathon. You can also go to www.metvnetwork.com to learn more about Me-TV and its summer line-up of classic TV shows.