And in this case, it's a normal good guy, William Schallert, playing the villain. As earthlings Robert Clarke, Raymond Bond, Margaret Clarke and Schallert discover an unknown planet heading into the direction of earth, they prepare for the best or the worst. When a lone creature from the earth man named planet X does show up, all but Schallert treat the visiting and nonspeaking being with sensitivity. Schallert, obviously a suspicious type, takes drastic measures to get into the visitor's mind, even going as far as physically attacking it.
This is 1950's sci-fi without the camp, without ridiculous subplots that really don't belong, and without a ridiculous looking creature. There's nothing but the story of conflicts in humanity over what's the best way to deal with the unknown, and a theory that we shouldn't shoot first and wonder about the alternative later. It's moody and deliberately slow, subtly fascinating, and more intelligent than most audiences going into expected. That makes this slow going at times, certainly having a conflict yet never fully grabbing you past feeling sorry for the poor visitor who seems to be there with good intentions. An interesting moment in the career of cult director Edgar G. Ullmer.
This is 1950's sci-fi without the camp, without ridiculous subplots that really don't belong, and without a ridiculous looking creature. There's nothing but the story of conflicts in humanity over what's the best way to deal with the unknown, and a theory that we shouldn't shoot first and wonder about the alternative later. It's moody and deliberately slow, subtly fascinating, and more intelligent than most audiences going into expected. That makes this slow going at times, certainly having a conflict yet never fully grabbing you past feeling sorry for the poor visitor who seems to be there with good intentions. An interesting moment in the career of cult director Edgar G. Ullmer.