beware the spaceman (The Man From Planet X (DVD))

Member Name: brsesw

Product:	The Man From Planet X (DVD)
Date:	20/09/09 (11 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good performances and good low-budget horror movie fun

Disadvantages: low-budget and kind of cheesy effects

The Man From Planet X (1951)

Genre: horror/Romance/sci-fi

Writer: Aubrey Wisberg & Jack Pollexfen
Dir.: Edgar Ulmer

Cast:
Robert Clarke - John Lawrence
Margaret Field - Enid Elliot
Raymond Bond - Prof. Elliott
William Schallert - Dr. Mears
Roy Engel - Tommy the constable

Plot:
Scientists discover a large planet, planet X, on a collision course with Earth.
John, an American newspaper reporter travels to Scotland to meet with Prof. Elliott who's been studying the planet.
The Prof.'s daughter, Enid discovers a spaceship with a space man inside.
The spaceman seems friendly at first, but things quickly change.
John and the constable, Tommy elicit the help of Scotland Yard who bring in the military.
Can the spaceman be stopped, and can disaster be averted?

My thoughts:
This is an old black-and-white horror movie. Similar to many other horror movies of this kind made around the same time, this one was made very quickly and with a very small budget.
In fact, this entire movie was filmed in only six days.
The special effects are what you would expect from such a low budget, cheap and cheesy by today's standards, but quite effective in 1951.
The story is okay and the directing is decent. The cast was well put together and their performances are very good.
Interesting fact; the actor inside the spaceman suit was paid very little, and most of the other actors on the film never knew who the actor was inside the suit.
I don't know where the movie was actually filmed, but it is set in the Moors of Scotland and the foggy misty Moors gave this film an eerie spooky feeling. It very much adds to the ambience of the film.
I enjoy these old low-budget horror films very much. And if you are like me, and also like these kinds of movies then I very much recommend this one.

Summary: a spaceman runs amok in Scotland