ALL SCI-FI

[orzel-w]

The exact arrangement of any mirrors other than the primary "sacrificial" mirror eludes me for now. I'm inclined to agree with the idea that this mirror was partially silvered (or even plain glass) in order to see the background through it.

But I'm also noticing that the wisps of "haze" across the screen remain superimposed over the phantom mirror's frame as that frame becomes visible. I don't have a 3D version to look at, but does that haze appear to float in the foreground optically?

What we might be seeing could be the result some other mirror or glass to add the haze in the foreground. Such a glass or mirror could either have the haze painted directly on it or it could be reflecting from a painted "flat". Whatever arrangement they set up to achieve this effect may have been exposed by illumination from the meteor/ship.

Here's how such a setup might produce the image we're seeing.



Here the wisps of haze are painted on a black flat and reflected into the camera by a pane of glass (mounted in a frame). I've shown the setup with the central lines of sight perpendicular to each other and the reflecting glass and mirror at 45??, but they could be set at other angles for whatever practical reason.

In this arrangement the back side of the Haze Glass frame would be illuminated by the meteor when it passed the plane of the glass. The illuminated frame would then be visible in the Sacrificial Mirror.
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------

[orzel-w]

Pursuing this subject still further, I adjusted the angles slightly such that the axes of the camera and its views of the meteor and haze reflections are no longer strictly 90??. (It wouldn't matter for filming purposes, as long as they had what they wanted to see in the viewfinder and had the subjects positioned for proper lighting.)



Now as the meteor approaches its collision with the Sacrificial Mirror and begins to illuminate the far side of the Haze Glass frame, the reflection of one end of that frame becomes visible to the camera.



Keep in mind that the angles I came up with for this diagram all depend on several factors, such as the distances of the camera from the mirror and glass, the widths of the mirror and glass, and the angular width of the camera's field of view. I just adjusted these relatively so they work for this illustration. In other words, the diagram is not to scale, and merely suggests a possible explanation for the mystery frame seen toward the end of the shot.
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

I'm still struggling with just what the "haze glass" does and how it's revealed in the last instant of the shot, but since my initial theory could offer NO reason for the "phantom mirror" to be behind the "main mirror", I didn't have much faith in it to start with.

But your theory offers a reason for it to be there, and it definitely works better with regard to the way the approaching "meteor" provides an increased amount of light which illuminates the "haze mirror" in the last instant.

Good job, Wayne. Your theory is the best one to date!
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

I missed It Came from Outer Space because I was only five years old, but my mother took me to see This Island Earth in 1955 at a downtown theater at the age of seven, and I was plum dazzled by it.

I'd love to know when these two Universal classics were released on a double bill, and the thought that I might have been able to see them both together at the Roosevelt Drive-in in 1955 is an intriguing idea!


__________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

[Bogmeister]

____________
__________ "It Came From Outer Space" Trailer

__________

___________

________

An early alien-visitors-in-the-desert sf tale from which several later fifties sci-fi pics took their cue. It's based on a story (or rather, a treatment) by Ray Bradbury, screenplay by Harry Essex. The 1st sf film directed by Jack Arnold.

An alien ship crashlands in the desert; this is witnessed only by a couple, John Putnam (Richard Carlson) and Ellen (Barbara Rush), who are relaxing in the man's house on the outskirts of the local town. Putnam is an avid astronomer and is instantly fascinated by what all this may mean, but his 'head-in-the-clouds' reputation causes problems for him later. He's the only one who manages to catch a glimpse of the alien ship at the crater he investigates, before a landslide buries the evidence. Everyone else just figures it was a standard meteor and regard his comments as wild talk.


________________

Pretty soon, however, a couple of the local handymen are behaving strangely — because they're not the same handymen any longer. Complicating matters further is the local sheriff (Charles Drake), who has a thing for Ellen and is hostile towards Putnam.

It boils down to the question of whether the aliens are benign or might be fabricating claims about simply needing to make repairs to quickly depart. Putnam becomes the sole reasonable voice (though Ellen backs him up) as everyone else is prone to panic or distrust.

Putnam, however, has his own innate prejudices to overcome: near the final act, he demands to see the alien as it truly appears, in the belief that he can handle the alien appearance; but, it proves to be a bit much for him.


______________

This retains some of the ideas and even poetic tonality from Bradbury's story (it should, as Essex copied much of Bradbury's treatment, just adding some dialog) and is one of the more intelligent sf offerings of the fifties. The key elements are the mysterious quality of the desert (when something alien might be there) and the sense of paranoia (when someone may not be who he seems).

There's also a commentary on how mankind needs to evolve before contact and relations with such aliens can be attained without violence; this preconfigures many later sf properties, the big one being Star Trek. It lacks a true sense of excitement that informs the best sci-fi films — but it's a thoughtful, elegant approach to the subject matter.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10



Trivia From Outer Space: one of the handymen is played by Russell Johnson, later the Professor on Gilligan's Island.




BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Here is what I call the "Stellar Accelerator":





Butdid you know that this device was used in Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Go to Mats (1953) as a info storage device and spy communicator?



Sort of a precursor to the Krell library in Forbidden Planet, perhaps?
_________________
Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Gord Green]

This movie holds up well....Especialy in sharp b&w. The 3-D effects are still effective in 2-D!
_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

The Wikipedia article for this fine movie has a section called Sequel which describes a poor attempt to follow up on the original.
________________________________

A made-for-TV sequel entitled It Came from Outer Space II was released in 1996, starring Brian Kerwin, Elizabeth Peña, Jonathan Carrasco, Adrian Sparks, Bill McKinney, Dean Norris, Lauren Tewes, Mickey Jones and Howard Morris.

Written by Jim and Ken Wheat, it was directed by Roger Duchowny, and was his final work before retiring. The story is essentially a remake of the first film, with former small town resident Jack Putnam (Kerwin) returning and witnessing an alien craft landing. Strange things then begin to happen, with his neighbors behaving oddly and the power going off and on.

Writing for The Radio Times, Alan Jones gave the film one star out of five and called it a "lacklustre update" which was "proof positive that 40 years of technical advances can't compensate for poor production values, boring characters and a complete lack of thrills." He summarized: "file this under "don't bother"."

Leonard Maltin called the original "intriguing" and "remarkably sober for its era, with crisp performances and real restraint, even in its use of 3-D", and the 1996 effort "a much inferior remake, rather than the sequel the title suggests."

In the New York Daily News, David Bianculli wrote that "the fact that this is a remake not a sequel, yet carries the suffix II anyway, is a clue about how clearly the makers of this new version were thinking when they made it. In other words, not very."
________________________________

This preview does a great job . . . or discouraging everybody from watching this piece of crap.

______ It Came From Outer Space II Trailer 1996


__________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[alltare]

I notice that despite the title's implication that it is a sequel, the trailer above calls it a remake (at 1:12).

[Krel]

Bob Burns has the Alien, or rather it's head and arms. If it's not a reproduction someone made for him. From it's size, I think that the Alien might have been a puppet.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

On April 18th, a beautiful Saturday evening here in North Carolina, All Sci-Fi member Phantom and I were all set to watch this movie together in a synchro-cinema using All Sci-Fi's Chatzy room!

But just as we were about to start, Phantom's internet connection went out and we had to postpone our shared movie!

I called him to offer my condolences, and I told him that the same thing happened to me about ten years ago when I arrange an epic synchro-cinema event which included seven members of the board to watch my favorite science fiction movie — The Space Children.

This was several years before that beloved movie had finally been released on DVD, so I created several DVD-R copies of the movie and mailed them to all the participants!

So, when my own internet went out just when this carefully planned occasion had barely started, I was devastated!

However, the internet seems much more reliable these days, so I hope we can plan synchro-cinemas with the members of All Sci-Fi again soon.

If you're interested in doing this, please send me a PM.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Hey Bud, we watched it in the chat room two weeks ago! Of course it's always worth a re-watch!
_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.