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CREEPY CLASSICS presents... |
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Saturday June 8, 2013 - MOVIE - Science Fiction "I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE" (1958) Alien that looks like a tree-creature that escaped from THE WIZARD OF OZ snatches the body of a young married man. His wife suspects something's different about her hubby. He's developed a mean streak and looks like the alien when lightning flashes. A rocking 50's sci-fi classic. Suggested by Kevin Slick, Louisville, CO.
Above: The suit from the movie in the workshop...
Always have liked Gloria Talbott...good actress and just as cute as could be-definitely perplexed girl next door-although I always think of the song "Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places" as the poor girl just cannot catch a romantic break! Have not seen DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL, but in this, THE CYCLOPS and especially THE LEECH WOMAN (How about this for a future movie night pick?), she definitely has a lot to contend with, but at least there's a happy ending here. *** Steve Schimming
Right off the ba I noticed two things in the credits I had never noticed wen viewing this film in the past...at least I didn't remember noting: special effects by Universal alumni John Fulton (INVISIBLE RAY, MAN MADE MONSTER glow effects, etc.) and the presence of Max "Slapsie" Rosenbloom. Slapsie plays the ex-fighter/batender here. Like the Val Lewon films of the 1940s, this movie rises above the "sensational" title. You might think this is just a throwaway cheapie....but, wait a minute. This movie is really good. It does borrow liberally from plot elements of INVADERS FROM MARS, INVASION oF THE BODY SNATCHERS and EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (hanging bodies in space craft)...but, it still manages to be its own thing with very good acting, direction and special effects...along with a mighty cool looking alien design. It has a lit of things going for it. Lead actor Tom Tyron went on to be a writer. He work includes two popular genre novels that were made into movies: THE OTHER and HARVEST HOME. Lead actress Gloria Talbot was no stranger to 1950s sci-fi and horror, you can see her in THE CYCLOPS, DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL and more. -Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA
Above: Hi Ron,
Chicago-land ad for this week's movie. A double-bill with "The Blob," from November of 1958.
This is pretty much standard 50s Sci-Fi fare. There's nothing here that Still, like many of our favorite guilty Of course there's the ever present "night time" scenes shot at about 2pm
The question in this genre is always how will they defeat the
-Kevin Slick
Gene Fowler, Jr. had previously directed I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957) which no doubt inspired the title for I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE. It’s a nifty little “B” picture in the original meaning of the term: a low-budget movie from a major studio designed for double billing. IMAMFOS (as it’s known in fan circles) was produced for the venerable Paramount Pictures which gives it a glossier look than even Roger Corman could have produced at AIP. The special effects cloud in which the aliens envelop their victims is especially well-done. The lovely Gloria Talbott has her best role as Marge, the woman who comes to realize that her new husband has been replaced by an alien duplicate. Tom Tryon, later a best-selling novelist, was somewhat wooden as an actor, but this actually works in his favor in depicting the rational alien who slowly begins to acquire pesky human emotions from the body of the real Bill Farrell. To maintain human form, the apparently methane-breathing aliens need to remain connected to the living human originals. The censorship of the era also works in the movie’s favor. The aliens are here to attempt to produce offspring with human women. This element is both central to the plot and downplayed in the execution, bringing a subtlety to IMAMFOS that is missing from such modern-day misfires like SPECIES.
The climax finds an old west style posse of humans advancing on the alien spaceship. They are led by Western stalwart Ken Lynch as the town doctor, who has realized that the town’s recent fathers must be human and can be trusted. Though how he managed to convince all of them of Marge’s crazy-sounding story isn’t explained. Maybe they were all sci-fi fans. All in all, I would call this atmospheric and intelligent thriller the second best body-snatcher movie of the fifties. Some have criticized it for having a ridiculous title. To these people I say: What would YOU have named it instead?
Hello Ron
Add your comments on I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE by e-mailing: creepyclassics@creepyclassics.com. Check the past viewings and reviews at the Creepy Classics Movie Review Page.
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While I find this one a little overrated, it's not bad at all and definitely better than it sounds, although semblances of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS abound (Loss of identity, Loved ones acting strangely, etc). It starts out well where Bill is overtaken by the alien and the scene where the lightning exposes the alien underneath his face before he goes back into the bedroom is still pretty awesome. 
