Phantom from Space (1953)

[trekgeezer]

This was on one of my recently aquired $1 double feature DVDs.

I thought I wasn't going to make it through the first five minutes because it consists of a montage of  documentaty and stock footage explaining that at  about 7:30  on a summer night  an object is captured on radar at 75000 feet above Point Barrow, Alaska traveling at 5000 miles an hour.  We then get to hear the play by play about  where it is , the decreasing altitude, and decreasing speed.  It disappears over Santa Monica , Califonia.

Shortly after it disappears radio and tv signals around Santa Monica start  having interference, so the "Communications Commission" is brought in.  They start  trying to track down the source of the interference  with their mobile units. Seems the interference is moving from place to place and coincides with two killings and an oil field explosion. The cops,  the communication guys, a scientist and his assistant , and an  Airforce Major all come into play. Oh , there is also the pesky reporter.

The Alien turns out to actually be invisible except to ultraviolet light.  Only his suit is visible.  Once he ditches it , which puts him in danger (he breathes some kind of methane mixture), the actual story kicks in and was pretty good and was logically told.

I ended up liking the movie and wondered  why I hadn't seen if before.  It was short (73 minutes) and it would have worked well as an episode of the old Outer Limits show.  The invisibility effects were about standard for the time, but the photographic effects were quite excellent as was the  make up (when we finally see him).  

One reason I might not have seen this on the Saturday afternoon  or late show  movies was the fact that we see a totally nude guy at the end.  Of course the naughty bits are hidden behind a strategically bent leg, but in the 60's that would have been enough to keep it off the air (the nude bit was key to the finale).

This movie tried to rise above it's B budget with good story and  it works pretty well except for the stupid narration and a lack of talent among some of the actors.

[Scott]

Yea, PHANTOM FROM SPACE was a low budget Sci-Fi film complete with low budget invisibility then he becomes visible at the end. Bought a VHS copy of it about 7 years ago and thought I was getting a bargin for $4 a tape along with ROBOT VS THE AZTEC MUMMY. You have to like $1 DVD's and you have to like the ideas behind such low budget films.