A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations total
- Posseman
- (uncredited)
- Dugan
- (uncredited)
- Man
- (uncredited)
- Sam
- (uncredited)
- Dave Loring
- (uncredited)
- Dr. Snell
- (uncredited)
- Perry
- (uncredited)
- Posseman
- (uncredited)
- Bob - Dr. Snell's Assistant
- (uncredited)
- Toby
- (uncredited)
- Posseman
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Daylon
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough credited to Harry Essex, most of the script, including dialogue, is copied almost verbatim from Ray Bradbury's initial film treatment.
- GoofsWhen the alien first goes walking about in the desert, the camera cuts to a startled owl, which tries to fly away only to be jerked back by the visible string tied to its leg.
- Quotes
Sheriff Matt Warren: Did you know, Putnam, more murders are committed at ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once - lower temperatures, people are easy-going. Over ninety two, it's too hot to move. But just ninety-two, people get irritable.
- Crazy creditsThe credits are at the end rather than at the beginning. They include shots of the characters with the cast names, and the pictures would mean nothing if seen before the film.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA Srl: "IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE 3-D (1953) + L'UOMO DAL PIANETA X (1951)" (2 Films on a single DVD, with "Destinazione Terra!" in double version 2D and 3D), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Monolith Monsters (1957)
Set in and around a small town in the Arizona desert, it tells the story of an amateur astronomer who was trying to get to the truth behind a large, fiery object that fell to earth in the desert. Was it a meteroid, as the Army had proclaimed after its investigation, or a crashed space ship? Though he caught a glimpse of the latter, the evidence was buried in a landslide in the crater before anyone else got there.
Ray Bradbury's believable story is the now-common question of how we deal with things we don't understand, or are "ugly".
I thought it played well, had decent special effects, etc., for a film made for 1950s audiences' sensibilities and movie-watching sophistication.
One scene included a shapely, flirty young woman who really had nothing to do with the story. It wasn't until I heard this was a 3D movie that her presence on screen made any sense.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $800,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $270
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Color