It! The Terror from Beyond Space
| It! The Terror from Beyond Space | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Edward L. Cahn |
| Produced by |
Robert Kent Edward Small (uncredited) |
| Written by | Jerome Bixby |
| Starring |
Marshall Thompson Shawn Smith (Shirley Patterson) Kim Spalding |
| Narrated by | Marshall Thompson |
| Music by |
Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
| Cinematography | Kenneth Peach |
| Edited by | Grant Whytock |
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Production
company |
Vogue Pictures, Inc.
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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68 min. |
| Language | English |
It! The Terror from Beyond Space is an independently made 1958 American black-and-white science fiction monster film, produced by Robert Kent, directed by Edward L. Cahn, that stars Marshall Thompson, Shawn Smith (Shirley Patterson) and Kim Spalding. The film was distributed by United Artists on a double bill with Curse of the Faceless Man.
The story involves Earth's second mission to Mars to discover the fate of the first. They find a sole survivor of that mission and bring him back. The survivor, the expedition's former commander, claims that his crew were killed by a hostile Martian life form. No one believes him until the creature, now a stowaway, begins hunting the rescue ship's crew as they return to Earth.
The film's premise was the inspiration for screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's screenplay for Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien.
In 1973 a nuclear-powered spaceship blasts off from Mars for Earth, bringing with it the sole survivor of the first mission, Col. Edward Carruthers (Marshall Thompson). He is suspected of having murdered the other nine members of his crew for their food and water rations, on the premise that he had no way of knowing if or when an Earth rescue mission would ever arrive. Carruthers denies this allegation, attributing his crew's deaths to a hostile humanoid life form on the Red Planet.
Commander Col. Van Heusen is unconvinced and makes sure that Carruthers is constantly accompanied by another member of his crew. While the ship was on the Martian surface, a large external exhaust had been left open, allowing the creature easy access. The crew are at first skeptical that something crawled aboard while they were on Mars. However, when Kienholz investigates odd sounds coming from a lower level, he is killed and his body hidden in an air duct. Next is Gino Finelli. He is found, barely alive, but the creature attacks his would-be rescuer. Bullets have no effect, forcing the crewman to leave Gino behind, much to the distress of his brother Bob. An autopsy of Kienholz's body reveals that it has been sucked dry of all fluids.
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Wikipedia