Search - The Man From Planet X on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1951 DVD Release: 02/20/2001 Format: DVD - Black and White,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 11 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Science Fiction, Alien Film

An inexpensive but atmospheric sci-fi film, Man from Planet X takes place on a lonely Scottish island. Science professor Raymond Bond is monitoring the orbit of the mysterious "Planet X," which has entered the solar system and is travelling close to Earth. A spaceship lands from this planet, out of which pops a strange little man who looks something like an Easter Island statue. He has come to make contact with friendly Earthlings, but evil scientist William Schallert wants to exploit the spaceman's highly developed intellect for his own selfish ends. Schallert's nastiness turns the alien against the other Earthlings; the creature enslaves their minds and transforms them into zombies. Both Schallert and the alien are eventually destroyed--as Planet X, failing to establish a bond with Earth, spirals off into deep space. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Clarke - John Lawrence
Margaret Field - Enid Elliot
Raymond Bond - Prof. Elliot
William Schallert - Mears
Roy Engel - Constable

Edgar G. Ulmer's The Man from Planet X was, along with Howard Hawks' The Thing (From Another World), among the earliest postwar feature films to posit the notion of alien invaders landing on Earth. It has had an uneven reputation over the years -- critics at the time dismissed its low-budget production (utilizing sets from Victor Fleming's production of Joan of Arc, shrouded in fog) and its plot, but it was one of those movies that used to creep out baby boom audiences on television, and it's been reassessed since the 1960s as a very effective, atmospheric, and ambitious film. Ulmer, working within his usual budget constraints, makes this into a genuinely suspenseful sci-fi chiller, if not on the drum-skin taut level of The Thing (which included a great deal of humor in its script and direction) then certainly intensely engrossing. Robert Clarke gives an earnest performance as the steadfast reporter-hero, and Margaret Field (the mother of Sally Field) is pretty and sincere as the heroine, while William Schallert, who has played more benign roles in recent decades, is excellent as the villain. The video transfer is the best ever seen on this movie, falling just a step short of the very best extant digital video that this reviewer has encountered in movies of this vintage. One can make out skin textures in the medium close-ups and details on the clothes of the characters that were missed in old television showings -- and reflections in the window of the visitor's diving, bell-like space ship. A trailer that is pitched at a higher level of hysteria than the movie itself is included, and the film is broken down into 16 chapters, which is ample for a 71-minute feature. The menu pops up automatically on start-up. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide