Locations used in This Island Earth

An open letter reply to Fuzzy Wzhe:

"What is the appeal of this movie?"

I'll venture an educated guess here and say that probably this classic movie's "Universal" (excuse the pun) appeal is that it is a colorful, entertaining adventure with great special effects, quality production values and a good cast in interesting makeup and situations, and to top it off with a cherry, a really cool movie monster, the Metaluna Mutant.

Granted, the script leaves as many loose ends dangling as an explosive spaghetti pot, but that's because:
1) The movie script was based on an original science fiction novel in which only some of the original story's plot devices were used, and a previous script by O'Callaghan which was not accepted; some concepts from the first script showed up in the second by Franklin Coen without enough details being added.
2) The studio execs didn't have any faith in the picture so they weren't interested in any rewrites, or whether the plot made a whole lot of sense as long as it told an interesting story an 8 to 12-year-old audience could comprehend. That's why on an adult level certain plot elements don't make any sense, and why the romance between Cal and Ruth is played so awkwardly - they don't even kiss, not even at the end of the movie!

The point of the enterprise for the Metalunans (or the Llana in the book) was to enlist the aid of the most brilliant minds in a last-ditch effort to save their planet (in the movie it was an actual all-out war, in the novel it was an elaborate computer-war like a videogame, with their honor at stake).

The film was also a good metaphor for cold-war tensions between the USA and Russia, and American ideology vs. Communism/fascism in general, but I think most people enjoy it for its marvelous, outstanding Technicolor production design, art direction, and special visual effects, rather than the flaws in the plot and script. The three principal actors were terrific also, and I always marvel at the interocitor and Bud Westmore's Metaluna Mutant - one of the most incredibly weird and realistic alien monsters ever put on film.

Your final point is well taken - even Cal Meacham asks Exeter this very thing:

"Why no mechanical engineers, people to make practical use of the energy that we produce? I seem to recall that was part of Exeter's pitch."

Apparently Exeter's Metaluna superscience had a few tricks up their sleeves which were never revealed in the story, but they weren't enough to keep Zahgon from destroying them.

Dejael

Exeter was ordered to destroy all evidence of his existence on earth. The sadistic Brack used that order as an excuse to kill all the scientists except Cal and Ruth. Exeter stopped Brack from killing Cal and Ruth for several reasons:
o Their deaths in an air crash would have brought attention
o Exeter believed Cal was close to achieving results (as stated in the movie)
o Exeter didn't want to hurt anyone and was especially fond of Cal and Ruth

Apparently, Cal was developing a process for more efficient extraction of electricity from uranium (uranium emits small numbers of electrons; that's how you detect it with a geiger counter). A company called Betavoltaic obtained patents on such a process the very year "This Island Earth" was made. In any event, Exeter hoped to use the electrical energy extracted from uranium to reinforce Metaluna defense shields. Truth be known, the science involved in extracting the electricity is primative compared to that required to build a starship.Ditto, the thermonuclear (fusion) reactors of the Krell in "Forbidden Planet". "Star Trek" was the first one to get it right, since only matter/antimatter or zero point energy (like a broad spectrum solar cell) would provide the size/weight/thrust ratio necessary to create a hyperspace starship. By the way, the food dispensers on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" demonstrate the advanced science of the Krell. But, that's another movie.

In any event, "This Island Earth" is one of the best scifi films of the 50s. It's dated, mostly because of the earthly elements involved. It may be "scientific fast food;" but let's face it, most people don't care anything about the junk science of "The Matrix," either.

Dejael, I just finished watching T I E on AMC and it brought back a lot of great memories. I was about 11 or 12 when I saw this movie. I saw this movie at the now defunct (like most of the old houses) Lyric theatre in Chester Pa. It played on a Sun double feature with Away All Boats with Jeff Chandler and the Universal players. I dont remember why but the show ran really late. Sun shows started at 2 and were usually over by 6. Anyway T I E was the last feature and didn't get over till 8pm. I remember walking home in the dead of winter looking for that Metaluna mutate behind every tree. Scared hell out of this 12 year old. Then Mom gave me Holy Hell for getting home so late. I wanted to see this movie after watching the coming attractions. They were so great in brillant technicolor and the catchy phrase ( TWO & 1/2 YEARS IN THE MAKING) This film ha stuck with me through years. I became a fan of these off the mainstream movies and the artists that made them and acted in them. I really appreciate what they could achieve on limited budgets (although T I E looks like it had no expenses spared)and studio interference.This was a pretty slick piece for 1955. I was sorry to hear Faith Domergue has passed. Also Eddie Parker who played the mutant was a veteran stuntman who stood in for some of the Universal greats of the 40s I believe he did most of the bull work for Bela Lugosi as the monster in Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman. Dejael thanks for the insite for this great Si Fi film Later Kirk