''The Cosmic Man'' is a 1959
independently made black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
science fiction film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...
, directed by Herbert S. Greene and produced by Robert A. Terry. The film stars
John Carradine
John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later J ...
,
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906 – February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who was a college athlete in football and in intercollegiate and international track-and-field co ...
and
Angela Greene. The narrative concerns an extraterrestrial being who, just as the space age is beginning, comes to Earth bearing a message of interplanetary peace and understanding, only to clash with the military. The ''Cosmic Man'' was made by Futura Productions Inc. and was distributed in the US by
Allied Artists and in the UK by
Associated British-Pathé.
Plot
The
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
(USAF) tracks an
unidentified flying object
An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...
(UFO) as it passes over the village of Oak Ridge, California at a speed of 180,000 mph (292,500 km/h). The UFO, a white sphere, comes to rest in Stone Canyon outside of Oak Ridge, floating approximately 6 feet (1.8 metres) above the ground. Both USAF Col. Matthews and Dr. Karl Sorenson, an astrophysist at the nearby Pacific Institute of Technology (PIT), are called to the scene.
Kathy Grant, a widow whose fighter pilot husband died in the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, runs a tourist lodge near the canyon and also arrives. With her is her young son Ken, who uses a wheelchair due to an unnamed terminal disease. Ken looks up to Sorenson as a hero, not Matthews.
That night the sphere emits a beam of light from which emerges a dark, translucent humanoid figure. The figure goes to Sorenson's lab at PIT, where it solves a problem with a "proton chamber" that Sorenson and Dr. Richie have been unable to solve. This alerts both men to the fact that they are dealing with an extraterrestrial of much greater intelligence than they. Matthews, however, sees the alien as dangerous and therefore something – or someone – to be captured. He orders the sphere taken to the airbase. But even with heavy equipment at their disposal, the USAF crew is unable to move the sphere, even though it is attached to nothing.
An oddly-dressed stranger – wearing thick eyeglasses, a
fedora
A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...
and an
anorak
A parka, like the related anorak, is a type of coat with a hood, that may be lined with fur or fake fur. Parkas and anoraks are staples of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid A ...
– arrives at the lodge and requests a room. Kathy finds him peculiar but lets him stay after he implies that he is a scientist who knows Sorenson. Kathy assumes that he's Dr. Steinholz (Hal Torey), whom USAF Gen. Knowland has called in to help with the sphere.
Sorenson performs an experiment in which he shoots an electrical charge into the sphere. It creates a huge "sonic blast." Sorenson says that with greater power the sphere could create a sonic blast large enough to "wipe a city off the face of the earth." This worries Matthews, who rhetorically asks Sorenson what would happen if a similar sphere landed in Russia and the Russians figured out its secrets before the US; Sorenson admits that that would be very bad indeed.
That night at the lodge, the Cosmic Man appears in translucent humanoid form before the scientists and military personnel. He says that Sorenson and other scientists are the "hope for the world" now that Earthlings are about to start space exploration. But he declares that humans must adopt a new philosophy and learn to live with others unlike themselves before they can become successful members of interplanetary society. He says that he will leave in the morning. Knowland demands to know more about his plans and, when the Cosmic Man walks away without answering, the airmen open fire on him. It has no effect.
Later, Kathy hears voices coming from Ken's room. She finds Ken playing chess with the odd scientist who has been staying at the lodge. She doesn't know that he is the Cosmic Man disguised as a human. He politely thanks Ken for teaching him to play chess, agrees that they've had fun, then leaves. But he later returns and secretly takes Ken with him.
By this time, Steinholz has aimed powerful electromagnets at the sphere. The Cosmic Man appears with Ken in his arms, lays him gently on the ground and tells the assembled USAF personnel and scientists to stay well away from the sphere as he leaves. Steinholz fires the electromagnets and the Cosmic Man falls to the ground, apparently dead. But then Ken suddenly stands up and walks to Kathy - no longer paralyzed, he has been cured by the Cosmic Man. Everyone smiles at the sight.
The sphere emits another beam of light, absorbing the body of the Cosmic Man, and flies away. With tears in his eyes, Ken says "Goodbye, Cosmic Man." Sorenson replies confidently "He'll be back" and he, Kathy and Ken rejoin the others.
Cast
*
John Carradine
John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later J ...
as the Cosmic Man
*
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906 – February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who was a college athlete in football and in intercollegiate and international track-and-field co ...
as Dr. Karl Sorenson
*
Angela Greene as Kathy Grant
*
Paul Langton
Paul Langton (April 17, 1913 – April 15, 1980) was an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Leslie Harrington on the television series ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place''.
Early years
When Langton was 12 years old he mov ...
as Col. Matthews
* Scotty Morrow as Ken Grant
*
Lyn Osborn
Lyn Osborn (January 21, 1926 – August 30, 1958) was an American actor, born Clois Lyn Osborn in Wichita Falls, Texas. He is best remembered as "Cadet Happy" on '' Space Patrol'', and from his role in ''Invasion of the Saucer Men''. He died foll ...
as Sgt. Gray
*
Walter Maslow
Walter Maslow (born January 16, 1928) is an American film, stage and television actor.
Life and career
Maslow was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16, 1928. After high school, he served for two years in the United States Navy, performin ...
as Dr. 'Rich' Richie
*
Herbert Lytton as Gen. Knowland
* Ken Clayton as Master Sergeant
* Alan Wells as Sergeant
*
Harry Fleer
Harry Fleer (March 26, 1916 – October 14, 1994) was an American actor. He appeared in more than sixty films and television shows between 1955 and 1994.
Fleer left his hometown of Quincy, Illinois, to attend Northwestern University in 1934 ...
as Bill
*
John Erman
John Erman (August 3, 1935 – June 25, 2021) was an American television director, producer, and actor. He was nominated for ten Primetime Emmy Awards, winning once for the film ''Who Will Love My Children?'' (1983). He also won two Directors Gu ...
as radar operator
*Dwight Brooks as Major
* Hal Torey as Dr. Steinholtz
Production
''The Cosmic Man'' was "shot quickly, primarily on a hotel lobby set, and in
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Amer ...
" in Los Angeles, where the
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California, on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the sou ...
was used as the Pacific Institute of Technology. Although filmed in 1958, the movie was not released until January 1959. The special effect of showing the Cosmic Man as a translucent black figure was done by having Carradine wear "a peculiar-looking set of white tights and a hood to match; he was shot against a black background, then printed in negative into the scene." Herbert S. Greene directed only one other film, ''Outlaw Queen'' (1957), and ''The Cosmic Man'' was the only film made by Futura Productions Inc.
For its release in the UK, the
British Board of Film Censors
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films
A film, also known as a movie ...
(BBFC) reviewed the film in May 1959 and granted it a U-certificate, which allowed it to be shown to audiences of all ages. No cuts were required of the film. As such, the UK version runs the same length of time, just over 72 minutes, as the version shown in the US.
Distribution
The movie was distributed in the US by Allied Artists and in the UK by Associated British-Pathé.
According to American science film historian Bill Warren, ''The Cosmic Man'' played on a double-bill with ''
House on Haunted Hill
''House on Haunted Hill'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig, and Elisha Cook Jr. Price play ...
'' (1959) "in Los Angeles at least."
A contemporary but undated newspaper advertisement for the Division Street Theatre in Portland, Oregon shows ''The Cosmic Man'' paired with ''
Undersea Girl'' (1959). And the film was playing at the Hayward Theatre in Hayward, California on 18 August 1959, according to an advertisement in that day's Hayward ''Daily Review'' newspaper.
''The Cosmic Man'' was released on DVD in the UK by First Class Films in 1996, with the same U-cert that the BBFC had granted the theatrical film, although the DVD's running time of approximately 69 minutes is three minutes shorter than that of the movie.
In the US,
Image Entertainment
RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...
released the film three times: as a single DVD in 2000; as a two-disc set with ''
Stranger from Venus'' (1954) in 2003; and in a three-disc set with ''Stranger from Venus'' and ''
The Fying Saucer'' (1950).
Reception
''
BoxOffice
''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP.
History
It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with a ...
'' magazine reported mixed ratings from the publications it normally surveyed for information about films in its weekly "Review Digest" feature. ''BoxOffice'' itself, ''
The Film Daily
''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informati ...
'' and ''
Parent's Magazine'' all called ''The Cosmic Man'' "good." ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' rated the film as "fair" while ''
Harrison's Reports
''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City–based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publish ...
'' and ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called it "poor."
The anonymous review in ''Boxoffice'' supports the magazine's "good" rating. It says that "This is just what the doctor ordered as concerns those censors of film fare who have been squawking long and hard because they think there is too much horror" in contemporary science fiction and horror movies. The review describes ''The Cosmic Man'' as "a science-fiction yarn with a minimum of spine chilling" and calls the film's story "imaginative but believable" and its cast "sincere."
''Variety'' used the headline "Dull science fictioner" for its review and wrote: "''The Cosmic Man'' apparently was designed to be a thoughtful science-fiction thriller," writes reviewer Powe, "but thought, as in drama, is no substitute for action, and certainly not when the thoughts are as banal as they are in this one." Powe continues, saying that "the screenplay (...) wastes considerable time on a diversionary interest, a handicapped child, that is particularly sticky."
Warren also thinks poorly of the film. He calls it "drab" and "talky," and writes that much of the science discussed in the film "fails to explain a great deal, but never mind, it's (...) designed to intrigue 12-year-olds, the audience for whom the film was intended." He also notes that "the only added idea is curing the boy, so sentimental and contrived as to be almost repellent, quite the opposite of the intended effect." On the other hand, Warren praises "the movies's only real virtue: the sight of this white sphere just hanging there (...) is oddly eerie. The supports were well hidden, and the object never seems to move." He says, as well, that "the cinematography is moderately effective, moodily using shadows to good advantage" and that the director "shows modest talent, the scenes are well-staged, with a variety of angles and good use of the limited sets."
British film critic
Phil Hardy is more positive about ''The Cosmic Man''. He calls it an "engaging, low-budget oddity" that "explores the idea of a benevolent alien trying to set Earth to rights" á la ''
The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
'' (1951). Unlike the other reviewers, Hardy is favourable about the Cosmic Man restoring young Ken's ability to walk and says that "The film's optimistic ending has a certain naïve power."
TVGuide.com falls into the middle of the user ratings, giving the film 2 of 4 stars. The review calls it an "interesting low budget science-fiction film inspired by ''
The Day the Earth Stood Still
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
'' and the general fear of nuclear war in the 1950s." ''The Cosmic Man'' "could have been a classic with a larger budget and more thought but is an intriguing failure as is."
See also
*
List of American films of 1959
The American films of 1959 are listed in a table of the films which were made in the United States and released in 1959 in film, 1959. The film ''Ben-Hur (1959 film), Ben-Hur'' won the 32nd Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for B ...
References
Bibliography
*
Warren, Bill. ''Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties'', 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. .
External links
*
*
Original soundtrack CD of music from ''The Cosmic Man''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmic Man, The
1959 films
American science fiction films
1950s science fiction films
Films scored by Paul Sawtell
Films scored by Bert Shefter
1950s English-language films
1950s American films
English-language science fiction films