by Robin Rose Graves

Sunday night and nowhere to go with heavy rains keeping me housebound. Luckily, I was in good company, my equally single bosom friend warming the couch besides me. We split a bottle of wine as the tube lazily played before us. We weren't paying the screen much attention until red credits superimposed over a starry background displayed the title of the rerun movie of the night.

This Island Earth originally showed in theatres in 1955. Being that I was only sixteen at the time and hadn’t quite yet discovered my passion for science fiction I missed my opportunity to view it then. Later is better than never, right? I knew nothing of what awaited; I’ve yet to read the book that inspired the film and our TV guide remained folded and ignored on the coffee table. The title and design of the opening credits suggested it was a science fiction film, though of what type, I did not know. We wished to let the story sweep us away with no hint of what was to come – which meant I went in with no pre-formed assumptions of the movie.

The first hint of any unusual activity occurs right off the bat, when main character Dr. Cal Meacham’s plane fails, only to be rescued by a mysterious green light. This was the first suggestion of alien intervention in the movie, but the strangeness only continues from there.

Now at his lab, Dr. Meacham receives peculiar mail from an unknown sender. Parts and instructions to build a device called an “interociter.” Upon assembling the device, a not-quite-human face appears on the screen. Exeter, the man is called. He informs Dr. Meacham that he has passed his test, and offers him a job working with other scientists deemed worthy, with the noble goal of ending war.

This phrase rang a bell of familiarity. I had seen the chilling Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man,” in which aliens came to Earth; in an attempt to uncover the aliens’ motivations, their book was translated into the titular phrase “To Serve Man”, promising something more noble than their true intent.

I thought, what could these aliens really mean when they say they want to end war? What was in it for them?

A windowless plane arrives to take Dr. Meacham away. Inside, the plane is empty, with no one to pilot. Dr. Meacham is curious enough to board the vehicle and allow it to carry him away. He is greeted upon landing by Dr. Ruth Adams. Dr. Meacham recognizes her as an old flame. She insists she has never met him before – at this point, my suspicion was through the roof. Mind control? I thought. Brainwashing? There was definitely more to be seen and this thought was further supplemented by the odd appearance of the assistant lab workers – all looking similar to Exeter. 

Dr. Meacham notes every scientist chosen to work on this project is involved with uranium. His point being that if this project really was to end war, wouldn’t they need scientists of other specialties as well? I found myself nodding in agreement and worried that what the aliens really wanted was to build an ultimate weapon of destruction.

Together with Dr. Adams and another doctor who isn’t worth mentioning by name (for he quickly is killed off) they escape the facility, pursued by a disembodied laser I could only associate with the aliens. Dr. Meacham and Dr. Adams make it to a plane, which the former flies in an attempt to outrun the aliens. It’s then they witness their facility destroyed in an explosion, and their plane becomes trapped in a tractor beam.

This is where the movie truly got exciting.

Exeter reveals to the two surviving scientists that he is an alien (I knew it) and explains his true motivations. His planet, Metaluna, is caught in a losing war with another species of aliens called the Zargons. Metaluna is protected by a failing ionization layer. It requires uranium to fix. Here, I became sympathetic to the Metalunans and thrilled as the movie ventured out into space.

My intimate friend and I are fortunate to both be college educated women, and thus took issue with some of the “science” in this part in the movie. Namely, magnetic handles that restrained Dr. Meacham's and Dr. Adams' hands. Science was not my major, but I am confident magnets do not have that effect on human flesh.

Once our heroes make it to Metaluna, the reality of the aliens’ situation is put on display. Zargons attack the planet by guiding meteoroids into collision with Metaluna. I was simultaneously horrified and stunned by the setting of this alien world. The background was richly done and absolutely convincing.

With a nonstop shower of meteorites falling in the background, our heroes meet the alien in charge: the Monitor. All hope for a peaceful ending flies out the window as the Monitor reveals his plan to abandon the doomed planet Metaluna and instead take the Earth, brainwashing all human inhabitants into submission – starting with Dr. Meacham and Dr. Adams. Fortunately for our heroes, the time Exeter has spent on Earth has caused him to grow fond of human beings. He initially resists his order to brainwash our heroes, until a brutishly strong Mutant appears.

I didn’t know whether to laugh, scream or cry with the appearance of this bug-eyed monster. One thing was for sure, its presence jump-starts a series of intense action scenes right to the end of the film, as the doctors, accompanied by Exeter, make for a hasty exit from the dying planet, with the mutant in pursuit.

The movie ends on Earth, somewhat triumphantly (depending on which character you ask). I shan't give away anything, but I can say that I was left with a somber feeling, knowing I had witnessed something horrifically tragic. I could only be thankful this was a movie and not reality.

Except this science fiction tale did not come from nowhere. Earth’s role in the story, claims author Raymond F. Jones, was inspired by the way Pacific Islands were used as bases and transshipment points during World War II. This also explained the way human characters are utilized in the story. Our heroes do nothing heroic except survive. In fact, characters Dr. Meacham and Dr. Adams offer little to the plot except to serve as witnesses for a greater story they only know a small part of.

While some of the science veered too close to the farfetched for me, I found the storytelling to be deep and compelling, with a backdrop of brilliant special effects that still hold up a decade later! It was truly a treat for a rainy day.

Four stars.

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