When I was flicking through the bios of some of the cast of TIE, I came across a movie called "War of the Planets" which featured Exeter, Cal and Ruth. Was this a sequel or something? I can't seem to find any info on this movie or even a brief synopsis!
share"War of the Planets" was the title of a Castle Films condensation of THIS ISLAND EARTH.
-J. Theakston
The Silent Photoplayer
http://www.thephotoplayer.com/
wasn't it just a shortened version? I read the IMDb page
Spread The Fear,
Toyland Chairman
http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/index.htm
Yes, that's what I mean by "Condesation". It was a cut down version of the film distributed through Castle Films for the 16mm home movie market.
-J. Theakston
The Silent Photoplayer
http://www.thephotoplayer.com/
Yes, "War of the Planets" was released by Castle Films in 1958, and was an abridged (shortened) version of THIS ISLAND EARTH, only released in black & white, in spite of the original feature film being in color.
"War Of The Planets" was released in both 16mm sound and 8mm silent versions by Castle Films.
I collected many of them, including the Castle Films versions of IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and TARANTULA. Also Castle Films marketed abridged versions of Walter Lantz cartoons, such as Woody Woodpecker and Chilly Willy. They were sold by mail-order from magazine ads such as those running in Forrest J. Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, and some camera and cinema shops carried them as well.
Castle Films went out of business in 1973 and was replaced by Universal 16, which was simply a reorganized version of Castle Films, which was a division of United World Films in New York City, itself a subsidiary of Universal Pictures in Hollywoodland.
Universal 16 furnished 16mm and Super 8mm shortened versions of Universal movies, and I still have my abridged 20-minute 16mm version of THIS ISLAND EARTH, in CRI Technicolor and sound, which I purchased from Universal in 1977.
Universal 16 went out of business in 1980 due to the home video revolution which also doomed America's drive-in theaters.
Dejael
According to an appendix listing announced films that never saw the light of day in Bill Warrens massive tome of 50's sci fi movies KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES, a film called THE GREAT GREEN OG (I'm not kidding that was the title) was annouced by Universal. Warren states that is was to made from left over footage from THIS ISLAND EARTH. Warren sights Forest ackerman as the source of this info.
shareActually, there was a planned sequal for the movie. Read about it here.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047577/board/thread/12295394?d=12437398#12437398
Thank You!!!
shareYes, it was to be titled "ALIENS IN THE SKIES". The other movie title mentioned, "The GREAT GREEN OG", which was never made either, was a juvenile children's sci-fi story which had nothing to do with TIE other than the studio was planning to use some stock effects footage from TIE in it.
Dejael
If there wasn't or hasn't yet been a sequel, there should be, even now, it's not too late. In fact, the greater passage of time could be worked into the story.
It's fifty years later and the Metalunans' enemy, the Zatons (or whatever they were called) have finally tracked down that Metalunan ship that escaped from them and which is still at the bottom of the ocean where it crashed. It could be called "This TARGET Earth". How about it? Get cracking Hollywood!
Hello, everyone. I am reproducing my original response to this question which was on another thread. Yes, there was a planned sequel. No, it was never made.
by Dejael (Thu Oct 14 2004 01:02:13)
________________________________________
Actually, there was a sequel planned to THIS ISLAND EARTH by Universal, titled ALIENS IN THE SKIES, which was in pre-production for a short time in late 1956, but the project was cancelled by Edward Muhl, the head of production at the studio, because he didn't want to make any expensive science fiction pictures. His concept of sci-fi was low-budget B-black & white monster movies. It wasn't until he left the studio in the mid-1960s that Universal began to develop some real science fiction projects with some depth like THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN.
It was 15 years between THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955) and THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1970) and COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970), thanks to Ed Muhl. He told his employees at Universal to drop work on ALIENS IN THE SKIES because it sounded expensive, and he refused to spend more than a million dollars on a sci-fi film.
THIS ISLAND EARTH cost only $800,000.00 to make in 1954, but it looks like a million-dollar movie, thanks to all the talent, cast and crew involved.
Franklin Coen, who was brought in to develop the sequel script in 1956, in story conferences, told me in 1987 when I interviewed him that the plot went like this: (credits are those proposed since the film was never made)
ALIENS IN THE SKIES script by Franklin Coen, based on THIS ISLAND EARTH by Raymond F. Jones and the script by Edward G. O'Callaghan and Franklin Coen. Produced by William Alland. Directed by Jack Arnold. Starring Rex Reason and Faith Domergue, with Lance Fuller and the BEMs: the Metaluna Mutants. In Technicolor and CinemaScope.
Cal and Ruth star once again as research associates, now married, at a top secret government atomic research program. A flying saucer lands near the base, releasing several Metaluna Mutants which overpower the guards at the base, stealing some uranium and isotopes and escape. Cal and Ruth are called in to investigate, and when they discover one creature dead, they know where it came from.
Cal is then contacted by Brack via an interocitor he has replicated from the original plans. Brack, who took off from Metaluna aboard another silver saucer before the planet's destruction, has come to Earth with sinister motives, with his cargo of Mutant creatures to wreak havoc on Earth, overpowering us with his advanced weapons and technology.
An aerial battle ensues between the saucer and Air Force jets, and the saucer is damaged and Brack is injured. Meanwhile the Mutants terrorize the town near the base, and Cal and Ruth have their hands full trying to round them up and stop them with the help of police and military.
Brack comes to understand the meaning of human mercy and compassion at the end, and survives to help humanity with the almost-lost advanced technology of Metaluna. Cal and Brack shake hands as the end titles appear.
Dejael
Sounds interesting.
Hmmm, maybe in 10 (25 or 50?) years anybody will have the ability to create CGI movies on their PCs and this can be made and cost about $1.98 (electricity used).
Is the 1956 "ALIENS IN THE SKIES" script available anywhere?
---------
"Welcome to Altair-4, gentlemen". - Robby Robot: 1956 "Forbidden Planet" movie
Only screenwriter Franklin Coen kept a copy of this script he wrote in 1956.
He also wrote out a preliminary screen treatment and turned it in to the front office at Universal before he got started on this script. What I have stated on this forum about the plot of the story is literally word-for-word from Mr. Coen, from an interview I did with him in 1987.
I have never seen this script, I am only taking his word, and memory recollections of working at the studio in the mid-1950s, to go on, and he is a very reliable person.
I recall he said he was very upset with Edward Muhl when Muhl said "Hell, no!" to William Alland's proposed budget for this project, and that's why it was never made.
He said he zipped across Lankershim to a bar and had a few stiff drinks to calm down after being in Muhl's office with Alland. He called Muhl a "pompous ass".
Dejael
Didn't the actors and production crew get copies of the script to preview before the movie production began? Or was everyone ordered to return their script copies when the movie was canceled? Hard to believe there is not a copy hiding somewhere that someone could sell mass copies of, and have novelized for book sales. Even if no longer useful as a movie concept.
---------
"Welcome to Altair-4, gentlemen". - Robby Robot: 1956 "Forbidden Planet" movie
It never got to the stage of hiring the actors and putting it on the production schedule. Rex Reason said he heard of it only because he knew someone who knew Coen, and then asked Alland about it, and Alland said he wanted him and Faith Domergue back to star in it. Rex had already completed his 2-picture-a-year contract with Universal, so he was no longer a contract player at Universal after he finished CREATURE WALKS AMONG US in the spring of 1956. Universal would have had to negotiate a new contract with both Reason and Domergue at that point, but it never got that far. So Rex and Faith never saw the script.
It was only listed in the trade papers as being in "pre-production planning" when Forry Ackerman put a blurb in one of his science fiction fan magazines
in late 1956. Forry heard about it from someone at Universal. This was about a year before Forry began publishing his Famous Monsters magazine.
You have a good and valid point. If a sci-fi writer like me were to get a copy of Coen's script, perhaps I could write a novelization of it and publish it.
I am working on publishing my own science fiction novel, and a collection of short stories, in 2009.
Cheers,
Dejael
Franklin Coen's 1956 "Aliens In The Skies" aborted sequel movie attempt should be added to the Trivia list for "This Island Earth" movie page. It will otherwise eventually become lost in these discussion board messages.
---------
"Welcome to Altair-4, gentlemen". - Robby Robot: 1956 "Forbidden Planet" movie
Yes, Larryman,
I have added an update to the trivia section to reference the proposed sequel.
You know, my friend Chuck Brill, in the 1970s, used to call Universal 16 (the film rental and sales subsidiary of Universal Studios) "Motion Picture Service, Unit 16".
He was the first THIS ISLAND EARTH fanatic like me I came across when I started going to the sci-fi cons in the '70s. There were several others...
Dejael
A critical comment on "ALIENS IN THE SKIES" sequel to "THIS ISLAND EARTH"...
From your description of it's proposed plot, it sounds like it all occurs on Earth. That would be a let-down to fans, after experiencing planet Metaluna.
I propose the following alterations:
The Earth is over-populating. We need advanced space travel capability to expand to new worlds. After the air battles which render Brack's saucer damaged, and after the Cal and Brack hand shake... we are taken to see many human technicians repairing Brak's saucer, and being directed by a few surviving Metalunians. Then we are taken to see a large field showing many new Metalunian saucers under (human) construction. Then we see 100's of the new saucers in space-flight toward a new planet called "New Metaluna". Then we see scenes of a new Metalunian capital city with transport tubes, etc. (built again by humans under direction of the few surviving Metalunians) - and named "Exeter City" in memory of the first Earth-friendly Metalunian. Cal hugs Ruth and tells her that the ground work for the "New Earth" city has already begun, and will be ready for the 2nd wave of human colonist's arrival. Brak confidently says: "Metaluna will live again". Then the background music changes to the familar menacing tone, and we close with a scene showing a couple surviving Metaluna mutants enguaged in the city-building labor work.
Now all the prior goodies (the Metalunian species, their atomic-powered hyperspace saucer starships, and their mutants) are restored for continued Metaluna sequel adventure stories (movies, novels, etc.). And hopefully, "New Metaluna" will not also be turned into yet another sun - forcing yet another restart of the alien Metaluna-Earth saga.
Notes: Do not change the size or shape of the saucer's exterior. It's ideal for future 'civilian' space exploration missions. I have in mind that one Earth-built Metaluna ship (having modified interior), carrying a few families (including a particular Robinson family), may get lost in route. And another such ship (carrying a 16-member prospecting party of scientists - including a particular Dr. Edward Morbius), may land on a planet called Altair-4. ;)
---------
"Welcome to Altair-4, gentlemen". - Robby Robot: 1956 "Forbidden Planet" movie
Hello Larryman,
Well, you certainly have an entertaining hodge-podge of ideas. As my dear friend Forry Ackerman would say, "You have invented an imagi-movie!" Movies of the imagination don't have to stand up to critical analysis or copyright infringements, so you can easily have ideas from different movies all showing up in the same "imaginary movie"!
As far as what would hold up to scrutiny in today's movie marketplace, I would say "none of the above", including Coen's own well-thought-out story and script, which would have been interesting in 1957 at the drive-in movie in your souped-up hot rod or classic '57 Chevy. However, today's audiences would find it trite, maybe even dull, and "retro-Fifties".
I like your idea for the "New Metaluna", and "Exeter City". Now if only Rex Reason hadn't aged 50 years, and Faith Domergue was in suspended animation on Metaluna, we might have something here!
I just dusted off a screen treatment for a script I did back in 1980 for another one of Raymond F. Jones' wonderful novels, to begin developing it into a contemporary sci-fi movie script package. Of course, I will have to get copyright permission from the R.F. Jones family estate, but the real fun is to see if I can get this one past some producers at Universal Studios!
Dejael
"As far as what would hold up to scrutiny in today's movie marketplace..."
Very little of my fun money goes towards "today's movie marketplace". My interest (and money) directs towards "retro-Fifties", and "retro-sixties". If a sequel novel to "This Island Earth" movie was written in 'retro-' fashion... or if a sequel movie was created in 'retro-' fashion for direct-to-DVD sales... I would buy a copy of it. Don't know if a 'direct-to-DVD sales' movie can be made using CinemaScope and Technicolor.
---------
"Welcome to Altair-4, gentlemen". - Robby Robot: 1956 "Forbidden Planet" movie
"...if only Rex Reason hadn't aged 50 years...."
He could always do a cameo as an elder statesman :-)
"THE GREAT GREEN OG" was a children's sci-fi-fantasy tale which was listed as being in "pre-production development" at Universal in 1957. Albert Zugsmith was listed as producer, and I don't recall who wrote the story or script. Jack Arnold said he recalled being asked if he was interested in directing it, and he looked at the screen treatment (in 1957) and said "No!"
The principals involved in it wanted to make it in color and use some of the out-takes from THIS ISLAND EARTH in this proposed film, which was never made.
I'll see if I can do more research on this and let you know what I find out.
Dejael