Phantom from Space (1953)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Great 50's sci-fi movie. Good plot, decent cast, pretty good acting. Phantom from Space will not disappoint.

A narrator tells us, "It began right after sunset," as we're looking at stock footage of fighter planes in broad daylight. The first four minutes of this snoozefest are composed entirely of stock footage, including stuff I recognized from 1950's "Radar Secret Service."Here's what passes for the plot: an invisible space alien lands in Santa Monica, CA. After killing two men who attacked him due to his "menacing" spacesuit (which resembles a leotard with a diving helmet), the creature takes it off while government authorities pursue him. As scientists examine the suit in their lab, a pair of scissors become magnetically attached to it. However, just moments before, one of the scientists tried unsuccessfully to cut the suit with those scissors, and there was no magnetic effect at all.Director W. Lee Wilder knew exactly how to keep this film within its virtually non-existent budget: rather than showing the action, have witnesses describe it after the fact; make your alien invisible, thus eliminating the need for make-up and costuming; make sure nothing in your script calls for special effects that would cost anything; hire Z-grade actors with names like Nora Nash and Sandy Sanders; and pad it out with gobs of stock footage.PHANTOM FROM SPACE consists mostly of exchanges of dry dialogue, quasi-scientific chit-chat, and endless scenes of people running up and down hallways and stairs. The last couple of minutes are interesting, but you have to sit through a lot of tedium to get there.

An alien (Dick Sands) comes to Earth only to be met with hostility. While it is tracked by a "communications team" and assorted others, it makes its way through L.A., inadvertently causing a fair bit of damage. The hook is that once its special space suit is removed, it is invisible to the human eye.One does ultimately take some pity on this creature, which does not go out of its way to invite trouble. People react the way they do because of their own ignorance and fear. The phantom even tries to communicate with Barbara Randall (Noreen Nash), assistant to a scientist (Rudolph Anders).Produced & directed by W. Lee Wilder ("The Snow Creature"), this extremely modest production had some potential in its premise, but it's never as much fun as one might like. Due to the limitations of the budget, it just doesn't have that much good Phantom action. The invisibility effects actually are better than expected, though. The story, such as it is, largely consists of the human protagonists conversing about the creature, or fussing over its seemingly indestructible suit, etc.The cast is rather nondescript, but that doesn't mean that the actors are necessarily all that bad. Nash is appealing, Harry Landers is a jut jawed hero, Jack Daly is amusingly annoying as a pushy reporter, James Seay is fine as Major Andrews, and it's nice to see Michael Mark ("Frankenstein", "The Wasp Woman") in a small role as a watchman.If you're fond of old black & white B pictures, like this viewer, you'll be sure to derive some pleasure from this one.Five out of 10.

They don't make them like this anymore.Fun 1953 sci-fi/horror from director W. Lee Wilder. This one involves an alien whom has landed on earth, apparently inadvertently. As the frightened natives of this weird little planet run around in circles for awhile, the space visitor remains elusive until he feels the time is right to attempt contact. His efforts are not well-received, at which point he must continue his time on the lam. He is pursued by a diligent cop, a federal officer, a boring military man, a dusty scientist, a nosy reporter, a cute chick, and her goofy husband.Fun for aficionados of classic black-n-white 50's B-movies.