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This Island Earth (1955)
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Krel
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
I wish the movie hadn't been so thorough about saying there was no leftover technology from the Metalunans. But if the sequel included a saucer which arrives with Metalunan fugitives from a colony world (seeking asylum and hoping to warn us about the Zagons) that would allow Earth to make use of Metaluna's advanced technology to get ready for the Zagon attack.

That is part of the old "Forbidden Knowledge" movie trope, in that there are some things man is not meant to know!

I always felt that was a stupid thing. If Earth had a Metalunan saucer, it would be decades at best before Earth could start duplicating the technology.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 6:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
If Earth had a Metalunan saucer, it would be decades at best before Earth could start duplicating the technology.

Not true . . . and I can prove it.

Both the movie and the novel make it abundantly clear that the Metalunan's need our help. They train our scientist to understand their technology in a relatively short time, and (in the novel) there are factories here on Earth that manufacturer Interocitors which are then shipped out to Metaluna to aid in the war effort.

Obviously mankind is quite capable of understanding Metalunan technology, even if we just go by what we see in the movie.

In view of that, I'd say that a relatively intact Metalunan saucer could be reversed engineered fairly quickly.

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~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Aug 04, 2020 9:12 am; edited 2 times in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
Krel wrote:
If Earth had a Metalunan saucer, it would be decades at best before Earth could start duplicating the technology.

Obviously mankind is quite capable of understanding Metalunan technology, even if we just go by what we see in the movie.

In view of that, I'd say that a relatively intact Metalunan saucer could be reversed engineered fair quickly.

Yes, but understanding the technology and having the infrastructure to be able to recreate it are two different things. It will take decades to build up the technology needed to recreate the Metalunan technology.

There may be some immediate advances, improvements on current technology. But it will take time to develop and build the machinery needed to recreate the saucer.

David.
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Maurice
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 12:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The first problem comes in even knowing what you're looking at and not accidentally destroying things you don't even realize are important.

If I gave an iPhone to Thomas Edison he at first probably wouldn't even understand how the glass isn't just glass. And without a scanning electron microscope he wouldn't even be able to see the circuitry in the ICs inside, so he'd have to first somehow realize there's something he can't see, decide he needs a more powerful microscope, and then have to figure out how to invent such a thing. And even if he was successful at all that, seeing the chips' intricacies wouldn't tell him how to program it...let alone what a program is.

Similarly, without access to the factories that make the parts or the refineries/labs that produce the materials you then have to figure out how to do things like photo-etching, laying down microscopically thin layers of materials, etc.

I could hand a chunk of titanium to an 18th century metallurgist and while he could figure out what it is he'd have no idea how to to duplicate the Hunter or Kroll process necessary to extract it from its principal mineral ores and produce the finished metal at quantity.

See? How quickly can you make the parts if you have to first develop the science to even duplicate the materials?

Sure, Earth scientists could be educated in the alien technology, but it requires an educator for the process to be quick, as was clearly planned for Meacham and Co. But if all they had was the saucer and none of the knowledge for making it, no handy manuals or encyclopedias, duplicating its technologies would be a long slow process.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Next Saturday the feature in All Sci-Fi's Saturday Live Chat (<— link) will be This Island Earth.

With that in mind I thought I'd point out the interesting fact that in 2014 my old friend Jim Peavy posted this picture on Facebook with Rex Reason at a convention, when Jim met him.

I posted this picture on page 5 of this thread.



___


I'm not sure when the picture was taken, but Jim was 53 when I first posted the photo back in 2017, so this was probably taken at least 20 years ago. Mr. Reason died in 2015 at the age of 86.

However, the thing I realized today was that Jim is the spittin' image of Rex! I swear to God, he looks like Mr. Reason's son! Shocked

Is it possible that my oldest friend, Jim Peavy — whose artwork is displayed in All Sci-Fi's gallery at The Art of Jim Peavy — is actually the secret love child of Rex Reason! Shocked

Stranger things have happened, folks.

Like for example, back in the early 1980s when Jim created the make-up needed for our friend Chris Adams to become a Metalunan for our "This Island Earth Movie Night" at my house!

Click on the image for more Great Movie Night Memories!




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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
________________________________

~ In a magazine article, the special effects department admitted that the "mutant" costume originally had legs that matched the upper body. They had so much trouble making the legs look and work properly they were forced by studio deadline to have the mutant wear a pair of trousers. Movie posters show the mutant as it was supposed to appear.

Note from me: All Sci-Fi has nice discussion on this subject, back around page 5. Very Happy

~ In interviews to promote the film, actors Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason said that when scenes involving the mutant came up during the premiere, it took every ounce of restraint for them not to sneak out. They were extremely embarrassed by the mutant costume, which they likened to a giant bug. They felt that the mutant completely ruined an otherwise decent film.

Note from me: Wow . . . this is a surprise. Sci-fi fans consider the Metaluna mutant to be a hi-lite of the movie! Sad

~ According to Faith Domergue, the pants of her costume were so skintight that she could not wear underwear. A female assistant had to help her put them on and take them off.

Note from me: Hmmm . . . let's amend that statement to read, "her costume was so skintight that she could not wear underwear without visible panty lines showing." That I can accept. Rolling Eyes

~ The Metaluna flying saucer design was based on a famous photograph of an Unidentified Flying Object. In 1950, a farmer named Paul Trent saw, and photographed, a strange craft flying overhead. He took two photos before the craft sped off at fantastic speed and disappeared over the horizon.

Known as The McMinnville Incident, because it happened in McMinnville, Oregon, Trent's photographs have never been exposed as a hoax. They remain among the very best photos ever taken of a UFO.


Note from me: Oh for God's sake . . . THIS is what UFO believers think is "the very best photos ever taken of a UFO"? Geez, how damn stupid can this poor people be? Look at how lopsided and asymmetrical it is! It's not even a good model of a flying saucer! Shocked






~ A sequel was in the works in 1956. Screenwriter Franklin Coen and producer William Alland submitted a script titled "Aliens In The Skies" to Universal Pictures, and for a short time it was announced as in "pre-production development."

Edward Muhl, the studio boss, shot down their proposal when he looked over the proposed budget for the film, to be shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope, and to co-star Rex Reason and Faith Domergue reprising their roles, to be released in 1957, and called it too expensive.


Note from me: Wow . . . if only that sequel had come to past. Sad)

~ The only woman from Metaluna in the film is played by Charlotte Lander, in her only screen appearance. She is at the control console for the decompression tubes on board the saucer.

Note from me: Ah-yes. The lovely Miss Landers. Now THAT is a skin-tight costume! And notice the obvious lack of panty lines. Miss Landers was definitely "going commando". Embarassed"






~ In August 1957, this film was shown on a double bill with Invaders from Mars (1953).

Note from me: What a night at the drive-in THAT would have made for a nine-year-old like like me in 1957. Very Happy

~ Weird Al Yankovic is a fan of this film. He later used a replica of the Interocitor in his video for "Dare To Be Stupid"

Note from me: Yes, he did . . . but this not one of Al's better songs.
Sad

_________ "Weird Al" Yankovic - Dare To Be Stupid


__________


This one, however, is amusing. And I like the song it parody's, "Lola" Very Happy[/size]

_________ "Weird Al" Yankovic - Yoda (HD)


__________

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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mach7
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 26, 2022 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I watched this again not long ago. It's not a bad movie. For it's time it has good FX. Something about the story that bothers me. The Metalunan's seem needlessly bloodthirsty.
I know it's a sign of the times when the movie was made, but it is a bit unnecessary.

As an interesting aside, this kit came in the mail not to long ago.





You have to like a well dressed mutant.


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 26, 2022 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Metaluna Monster Figure. The tooling is based on the Aurora Pattern, Aurora never came out with the kit. It was supposed to go into the Monsters of the Movies line. The Atlantis kit comes from all new tooling.

Box art by Dave Cockrum in the classic 8.25 x 8.25 square box. New Detailed instructions. This a limited Edition Kit. Only 4000 being produced. Molded in a beautiful Metallic Blue. Only $39. I already have two of them as well as a lifesize one that stands at the foot of my bed!

They were bred and bound as slaves on the distant planet Metaluna. The ruling Metalunians engineered these “mutants” to be laborers, likening them to the mere insects found on Earth.

These mutants, however, have tremendous strength and a robust exo-skeleton; only their enlarged brains are subject to external damage. Now, the Metalunians must flee their planet before its fiery transformation into a flaming star.

The mutants are left for dead...all except one, which has secretly boarded the escape spacecraft. It has murderous intent against the Metalunians who callously discarded the species.

The final confrontation is coming...

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mach7
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2022 7:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is some discussion about the history of this kit.

I think it was around the late '90s that the original Aurora acetate sculpt was found and sold on Ebay.

A limited number of resin kits were made from it and sold.

I think all are accounted for.

Rumor has it that someone back engineered some injection molded plastic kits from the resin kit.

Those were sold as bagged kits for a few years. IMSM they were around $100+. I considered buying one then.

Atlantis is not saying that this kit is reverse engineered from that kit.

As I don't have access to the original resin kit or the bagged bootleg kit to compare to it.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
________________________________

I don't know why it took me 66 years to think of this (I saw this movie in 1955 at the age of seven), but today I realized that the Metalunan's obviously had colonies on several other planets!

Like . . . duh! Shocked

After all, they established a secret base on Earth to recruit our scientists to help them develop technology they could use to defend themselves from the Zagons. They're home planet was in ruins, they're attempts to negotiate peace with the Zagons had failed, and they were on the verge of extinction!

I'm sure this highly intelligent race established secret colonies on other planets which the Zagons didn't know about so the race could survive if the home world was destroyed!

And just to stay consistent with the movie, Exeter did NOT know about the colonies because they were top secret. Therefore, he didn't realize he could take his ship directly to the nearest colony world and get advanced medical treatment which would have saved his life!

Imagine an alternate version of the movie's conclusion in which Exeter actually did know about the colonies. With that in mind, here's how the sequel would go.

Exeter takes the ship to the nearest colony world, instead of to Earth. After they arrive and deliver the sad news of Metaluna's destruction, Cal and Ruth would bask in the glow of a vibrant Metalunan society completely untouched by those nasty Zagons! And while enjoying this utopian culture, they could establish peaceful relations with the Metalunans and forge an alliance against the Zagons which would protect both races from the threat of future Zagon attacks to both Earth and the Metalunan colony worlds!

The rest of the story would be about how the Metalunans and the Earthlings would work together to defeat the Zagons. The Metalunans would learn that mankind was as smart as they are, and that we therefore deserved to be treated as equals.

What do you think of the idea, guys? Very Happy

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


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pye-Rate wrote:
Just how did the beams come DOWN?

Hey, I never gave that important question the consideration it deserves!

I just dismissed it as a decision the FX guys made because that was the only direction the beams could come from, in view of the fact that the source was not explained.

Brack was operating the interocitor inside the house, so the beams couldn't come for IT, for Pete's sake!

The saucer wasn't in the air yet, so the beams couldn't come for it either. Confused

Earlier in the movie, Exeter told Meachum that neutrino rays the intercocitor emitted could penetrate mountains and extend the range of ground based TV signals. He also said, "Recent on our rays was used to pick up plane in midair and convey it safely to ground.

But that doesn't explain how the destructive rays that threatened Cal, Ruth, and Steve could have come down from the sky.

Unless . . .

Suppose the Metalunan's had orbiting satellites that were used for communication between the facilities like the one in the movie. Exeter said they had several around the world.

If the satellites had the same capabilities as the interocitors like the one shown in this scene —






— then they could fire down on the Earth. This would explain what's happening in the scene below.


[
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 9:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

All Sci-Fi's Friday Live Chat (<— link) with this movie was amazing!

In attendance was Scotpens, Trekriffic, Phantom, and (of course) Bud Brewster.

Sorely missed were Pow, Tim Lindsay, and Gord Green.

But we hope they'll join us tomorrow night for The Day the Earth Stood.

If any of the rest of you fine folks want to join the fun, here's the full post for tomorrow's event — with all the info you'll need to become a part of our group!

Dammit, guys, could I possibly have made all this any easier? Frankly I don't see how! Rolling Eyes
__________________________________________________



[size=24]REMEMBER, FOLKS!

All Sci-Fi's Chatzy Room (< — LINK) now requires a simple password to enter, just to keep out the strangers who have wandered in from time to time!

The password is . . . allscifi.
____________________________________________

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: By unanimous agreement of the All Sci-Fi chat group, the starting time for the Saturday chats is 8:00 pm EST, which is 5:00 PST for West Coast members like Trekriffic and Scotpens.
____________________________________________

Here's the schedule this week for ASF's Saturday Night at the Movies on 10/8.

To get this week's feature — which is the only non-comedic science fiction move which NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies aired during it's first three glorious years — just click on the title below after the link becomes active, then click on the Download button when the WeTransfer window opens.

The movie will be saved in your download file! Very Happy
___________________________________________

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) Link is NOW active!

_____________

__________________________________________

Here's the trailer for the movie you'll be downloading from WeTransfer.


____ The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Trailer


___________


Pow, Scotpens, Trekriffic, Gord Gord, Phantom, and I will be grateful to anyone who drops in — however briefly — to say hello to our dedicated little group of synchro-cinema chatters!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 5:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

tmlindsey wrote:
I wondered if the reality was that the Zagons were fed up with the Metalunans enslaving "inferior" races and decided the only way to stop them was to wipe them out.

By gum, the movie does seem to offer a great deal of evidence that the Metalunan's were the Nazis of the cosmos!

After all, they used humans on Earth without revealing the truth to them, and when they left Earth they destroyed the house where all the other human scientists were living!

The Monitor even stated flat out that they were "relocating" to Earth, and that "our knowledge and weapons would make us your superiors . . . naturally".

Definitely a "master race" mentality. Sad

So, yes Tim, our sympathies really should be with the Zagons, not the Metalunans. With that in mind, a sequel to This Island Earth could be about a Zagon envoy which comes to Earth and establishes peaceful relations with mankind.

But they also warn us that a major Metalunan colony remained hidden from the Zagons until recently, and now they're about to launch a major offensive against the Zagons. The Zagon intelligence info indicates that the Metalunans consider Earth a threat, because they believe Earth (a planet of "inferior beings") will become allies with the Zagons.

IMDB has this trivia item.
_________________________________________________


A sequel was in the works in 1956. Screenwriter Franklin Coen and producer William Alland submitted a script titled "Aliens In The Skies" to Universal Pictures, to be released in 1957, and for a short time it was announced as in "pre-production development."

Edward Muhl, the studio boss, looked over the proposed budget for the film which was to be shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope, and to co-star Rex Reason and Faith Domergue reprising their roles, and shot their proposal down, calling it too expensive.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2023 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

tmlindsey wrote:
]I watched it again a couple of weeks ago and, yeah, the Metalunans are completely unsympathetic as a people, at least the majority of the ones we see. I wondered if the reality was that the Zagons were fed up with the Metalunans enslaving "inferior" races and decided the only way to stop them was to wipe them out.

I really like this idea, Tim!

We certainly don't feel much admiration for the Metalunans as a race, and we learn very little about the Zagon's side of the story.

I'd love to see a prequel in which we learn that the Zarons are a noble race who battle the Metalunans because they've set themselves up as a master race!
Shocked
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