http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051380/?ref_=sr_5
From 1958 comes a sci-fi classic (and I use the term loosely). But first, a disclaimer: of course they didn't have the special effects and CGI that came in later decades. Based on what we've seen since, the effects are quaint and charming.
One thing I get a kick out of in films of that era is how movie-makers attempted to address the unknown corners of science, especially in areas such as outer space and radiation exposure. In each case, there was so much that wasn't understood. That lack of knowledge fueled a lot of fear. Society was still trying to wrap its collective mind around what was out there in space. Society was still trying to figure out what continual exposure to radiation would do to the earth and its inhabitants.
The movie opens on a desert road (is that a Route 66 sign?). A fancy sedan races along, away from something or towards something. The driver, a well-dressed socialite, notices something in the road and starts to lose control of her vehicle. She stops and lets out a Wilhelm scream. An unearthly "satellite" has landed on the road up ahead. She screams again, abandons the vehicle and starts to run (run, in an evening dress and pumps) back towards a nearby town.
Meanwhile, a man and a lady share a small booth in a bar in that town. He's smooching her up, trying to convince her that soon he'll be free of his domineering, dipsomaniac wife. The lady sounds interested, but knows the man's spouse is also rich. If only he could be free of his wife, but get the cash? Would having the wife institutionalized achieve that goal? After all, she's been in a sanitarium before...
Scene shift: the socialite finishes her sprint in front of the bar, calling for her husband. She's met outside by the town sheriff, and she tells the law man her fantastic story. The sheriff is rightfully skeptical, but since the lady is the richest person in town (and pays lots of local taxes), the sheriff figures he should at least go for a ride. He gathers his deputy and the lady, and they go back to investigate. Of course, they find no evidence, at least initially...
Later on, there's domestic troubles, gun play, radiation exposure, cowardice, loyalty and jealous rage. All this, and those quaint special effects. Note the vest with what appears to be a patch depicting a snorting bull.
Allison Hayes is the lead, as the troubled wife Nancy Archer, whose penchant for bad choices gets her in hot water of the strangest kind. William Hudson portrays the husband Harry Archer, who at one point abandons his wife at the moment of greatest peril.
Yvette Vickers is the gold-digger "chippie" who doesn't really love the man who pursues her, but is looking for a way out of a dead-end existence. Frank Chase is deputy Charlie, the comic relief in this adventure. Ken Terrell stands out as the understated Jess, loyal butler to the rich lady, willing to protect & and defend her much more than her husband could. Jess probably loved Nancy much more than Harry. That point should have been covered a bit more in the plot.
No, this film wasn't destined for artistic greatness. I'm sure it was played at many a drive-in back in its day. In '58, it was probably more creepy than scary. But if you're housebound on a bad weather day, you might get a kick out of what entertained movie watchers back in the day.
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