"It! The Terror From Beyond Space" (1958) is a classic black & white Sci-fi film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring Marshall Thompson. I had never seen this movie and have stumbled upon a true gem of classic sic-fi. The story is about a distress signal that is picked up on another planet and another spaceship is sent to investigate it.
What they find is a marooned spaceship on the planet and the crew have been killed by something sinister... an alien.. a thing... an... IT! The crew escapes in their spaceship, but they are not alone... the alien somehow snuck aboard and hid in the air ducts ... hey... hold on a cotton-pickin' minute... this is the plot for Ridley Scott's movie "Alien." Yes, yes indeed, it is! As I watched this film it seemed all too familiar and then it hit me! This is the movie "Alien." It not only has the same plot, but some of the exact same scenes and elements... even a scene with almost the same ending. The alien is even hiding in the air ducts killing and chasing the crew. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. I quickly did some research and found out that this WAS the inspiration for Ridley Scott's "Alien." I read that it wasn't an official "remake" because the produces of "Alien" didn't purchase the rights to the film "It! The Terror from Beyond Space." They sort of stole it. If fact, the makers of "It!" almost sued over it.
Click the box above to view the trailer.
Here's my thoughts on this movie... first, let me say that right off, this movie stood out as a quality production just from the look of the picture. It was crystal clear and looked so rich. The interior of the spaceship was very metallic with angle iron, grating, metal staircases, and hatches like that on a submarine. It immediately reminded me of the Star Trek TV series "Enterprise." Even the jumpsuits the spaceship crew wore reminded me of the ones from "Enterprise." The sets, costumes, and weapons were so realistic and practical for that time period. It was very believable.
The film was shot very well with good composition and great use of camera movement. The acting was surprisingly good too. I kept waiting for the cheese, but it wasn't that cheesy. (except for the alien costume that looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon on steroids.) This is actually a very well made low-budget film. Even the special effects are quite amazing for that time period... the space-walk scenes of the astronauts outside the ship, walking across the ship with magnetic boots was just too cool.
I highly recommend this one to all classic sic-fi lovers or even fans of the movie "Alien." Check it out. - Patrick Shawn Bennett Broadcasting from my hiding place in the ship's air vent
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. I quickly did some research and found out that this WAS the inspiration for Ridley Scott's "Alien." I read that it wasn't an official "remake" because the produces of "Alien" didn't purchase the rights to the film "It! The Terror from Beyond Space." They sort of stole it. If fact, the makers of "It!" almost sued over it.
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