''They Came from Beyond Space'' is a 1967
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Eastmancolor
Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak.
Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was o ...
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
Freddie Francis
Frederick William Francis (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director whose filmmaking career spanned over 60 years, from the late 1930s until the late 2000s. One of the most celebrated British cinemato ...
and starring
Robert Hutton,
Jennifer Jayne,
Zia Mohyeddin
Zia Mohyeddin (; 20 June 1931 – 13 February 2023) was a British-Pakistani film actor, producer, director, and television broadcaster who appeared in both Pakistani cinema and television, as well as in British cinema and television throughout ...
and
Bernard Kay. It was produced by
Max J. Rosenberg and
Milton Subotsky
Milton Subotsky (September 27, 1921 – June 27, 1991) was an American film and television writer and producer. In 1964, he founded Amicus Productions with Max J. Rosenberg. Amicus means "friend" in Latin. The partnership produced low-budget ...
. The screenplay was by Subotsky, based on the 1941 novel ''The Gods Hate Kansas'' by Joseph Millard.
The narrative follows the adventures of a scientist who tries to stop space aliens who are made of pure energy from enslaving humans in order to rebuild their spaceship so that they can return to their home planet.
The film is from
Amicus Productions
Amicus Productions was a Cinema of the United Kingdom, British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. ...
who released the film as a
double bill
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subject reel ...
with ''
The Terrornauts'' (1967).
Plot
An unusual V-shaped formation of meteorites has fallen in Cornwall. Scientists are appointed to investigate. However, their leader, Dr. Curtis Temple, who is recovering from an automobile accident and has a silver plate in his skull, is forbidden by his physician from going. Curtis turns the mission over to Lee Mason, his colleague and lover.
Arriving at the site, the scientists find the meteorites to be unusual in shape and colour – they are rather pointy and blue. They also house aliens who exist as "pure energy". A geologist attempts to chisel off a piece of meteorite. As a result, the rock emits a flash of light and a screech as the aliens take over the scientists' bodies and minds.
Concerned that the only contact with Lee has been her requisitions for millions of pounds' worth of equipment – including weapons Curtis decides to visit the site despite his MD's orders. But before he leaves, a fellow scientist determines that the meteorites have come from the Moon.
Upon arrival, Curtis finds that the site resembles a military post, with armed guards and a 10,000-volt electric fence. Lee herself bars him from entering.
An agent from "Internal Security" has been tailing Curtis. However, he must phone his superior for permission to give Curtis a full situation report. He enters a phone box to place the call, then stumbles out, covered with red spots, and falls dying to the ground. A crowd gathers. A doctor steps forward, but after touching the agent, he too dies. Then, each member of the crowd succumbs. The press dubs this unknown disease "The Crimson Plague". Although no cause or cure is discovered, the authorities develop a secret method of safely disposing of the victims' bodies.
After watching a night-time rocket launch from the site, Curtis decides to prevent another launch. A crack shot, he returns the next day with a sniper rifle and destroys the generator that supplies power to the camp, thus stopping the second launch. He climbs over the now-deactivated electric fence into the site.
After entering the aliens' headquarters, Curtis, who is also an expert in unarmed combat, wins a fight with one of them. At an underground complex, he discovers the frozen bodies of the plague victims. He is then captured and locked in a cell. Curtis escapes by hiding behind his cell door and jumping the alien who comes to kill him. Curtis then rescues an unwilling Lee, knocking her out with a punch and carrying her off.
He takes her to the home of his friend Farge. Curtis realises that the silver plate in his head somehow prevents the aliens from possessing him. He convinces Farge to melt his silver cricket trophies and fashions a colander-like protective helmet for him.
Farge uses
ultraviolet
Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...
light to exorcise Lee's alien. Later, she remembers nothing from her time under alien control. However, she can ''pretend'' to still be an alien and drives to the site with Curtis and Farge hiding in the back of her
car
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
. Lee, too, is protected by a silver helmet.
The three conceal themselves in a rocket just before it blasts off. But they are soon discovered and brought before the Master of the Moon, who says the government's plan to dispose of the plague victims' bodies is to shoot them to the Moon.
The aliens are creatures of pure energy and are using the humans to repair their spaceship, which had crashed on the Moon. They want to return to their home planet to die, as they have grown old and tired after
light years
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astro ...
of travel. The frozen bodies Curtis found are not really dead. The Master assures them that once the spaceship is repaired, all the "victims" will be returned to normality.
Nonetheless, the aliens prepare to surgically remove Curtis's silver plate to tap his knowledge. Farge leads the workers in a revolt and saves Curtis.
Curtis tells the Master that they need not have attempted to conquer the Earth – all they had to do was ask for help, and it would have been given. The Master's eyes well up with tears at the revelation.
Cast
*
Robert Hutton as Dr. Curtis Temple
*
Jennifer Jayne as Lee Mason
*
Zia Mohyeddin
Zia Mohyeddin (; 20 June 1931 – 13 February 2023) was a British-Pakistani film actor, producer, director, and television broadcaster who appeared in both Pakistani cinema and television, as well as in British cinema and television throughout ...
as Farge
*
Bernard Kay as Richard Arden
*
Michael Gough
Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer horror films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthur Holmwoo ...
as Master of the Moon (Arnold Grey)
*
Geoffrey Wallace as Alan Mullane
*
Maurice Good as Agent Stillwell
*
Luanshya Greer as female petrol station attendant
*
John Harvey as Bill Trethowan
*
Diana King
Diana King (born 8 November 1970) is a Jamaican singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. They are best known for their hit 1995 single " Shy Guy" and their remake of " I Say a Little Prayer ...
as Mrs. Trethowan
*
Paul Bacon as Dr. Rogers
*
Christopher Banks as doctor on street
*
Dermot Cathie as Peterson
*
Norman Claridge as Dr. Frederick Andrews
*
James Donnelly as farm gate guard
*
Frank Forsyth as Mr. Blake
*
Leonard Grahame as McCabe
*
Michael Hawkins as Williams
*
Jack Lambert as doctor in office
*
Robin Parkinson
Christopher Robin Parkinson (25 October 1929 – 7 May 2022) was an English actor known for his comedy roles. He was the second actor to portray Monsieur Ernest Leclerc in Allo 'Allo!'' (22 episodes: series 7 to 9), after the death of Dere ...
as Dr. Maitland
*
Edward Rees as bank manager
*
Katy Wild as girl in street
*
Kenneth Kendall as TV commentator (credited as Kenneth Kandall)
Production
''They Came from Beyond Space'' was made by Amicus Productions at
Twickenham Studios
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
. Much of the exterior action was filmed on Cookham High Street, in
Cookham
Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...
, Berkshire, UK.
The film was granted an A-Certificate by 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 ...
on 30 March 1967. The A-Cert signified that the film was "more suitable" for adult audiences. However, in order to receive the A-Cert, the movie had to be cut from its original running time of about 85 minutes to approximately 83 minutes. Details of the required cuts are not known.
The film's running time in the U.S. is the full 85 minutes.
It carries no rating as it was released before the
MPAA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...
film ratings system went into effect on 1 November 1968.
Distribution
''They Came from Beyond Space'' was distributed to theatres in the U.S. by
Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was active from 1942 to 1986. Embassy was responsible ...
during "Summer 1967" although neither ''
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 ...
'' nor ''
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), ...
'' reviewed the film until October of that year.
Director Freddie Francis said in an interview that the producers had spent all their budget on ''
The Terrornauts'' so there was no money left over for ''They Came from Beyond Space''. The double feature failed at the box office and has been described as the "two worst films the company ever produced".
[Ed. Allan Bryce, ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 47]
Home media
StudioCanal
StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...
released a video of the film in the UK in 2012 with a PG rating from the
BBFC
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 exhibited at cinemas and video works (su ...
. The rating means that the video is acceptable "for general viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children". Its running time is approximately 82 minutes, about a minute shorter than the UK theatrical release.
VNF released a
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
of ''They Came from Beyond Space'' in the U.S. in January 2017.
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's standing feature "Review Digest" in the 6 May 1968 edition provides ratings that fall on the lower end of the scale. Only three of the usual seven publications that ''BoxOffice'' tracks reviewed the film, with ''BoxOffice'' itself rating the film as "good"; ''
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), ...
'' as "poor"; and the ''
New York Daily News
The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' as "very poor". The anonymous ''BoxOffice'' reviewer in the 23 October 1967 issue calls the film "a science-fiction programmer made-to-order for the kiddies and action-minded males". The generally positive review points out that its "ingenious sets" and "fine colour photography by
Norman Warwick rate special mention". The review also notes that "the attractive Jennifer Jayne and that fine young character actor Zia Moyheddin stand out in the capable cast".
''
The Monthly Film Bulletin
The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote: "Despite some pleasant country locations and elaborate science fiction sets, this mechanically acted saga fails to ignite a single spark of interest or to obtain even a momentary suspension of disbelief."
''Variety'' review, written by the pseudonymous "Robe" for the issue of 11 October 1967, is more negative. It says that the film is a "tired tale" with such "abysmal colour photography" that it "might as well as have been made in black and white". It also mentions that "What is disappointing in this particular effort, as much as its obvious plot, is the lack of special effects of any importance". But it singles out the main actors as "being very good within the confines of their limited parts".
British critic Phil Hardy also dislikes ''They Came from Beyond Space'', calling it an "inferior piece of Science Fiction". However, he points out in his brief review that "The leaden script and erratic directing notwithstanding, the film is of interest for its optimistic ending".
British academic film historian Steve Chibnall in the book ''
British Science Fiction Cinema'' notes that the movie is "fuelled by the same paranoia as the American ''
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' is a 1956 American science-fiction horror film produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The black-and-white film was shot in 2.00:1 Superscope and in t ...
''
956
Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (''Domestic o ...
but in turning its fifties pessimism into simplistic sixties optimism it manages to squander any claims to cultural relevance". He calls the script "tired" and notes that "with more imagination and wit" it "might have been salvaged as an episode of
''The Avengers''."
David Elroy Goldwater, an American critic, writes that the film has a "lack of imperative, a lack of purpose. The stakes are low. It's unoriginal and unimaginative, with the same old emotionless robotic aliens we have seen 100 times". Goldwater also notes that the silver helmet worn by Farge to protect himself from alien possession is "unconsciously campy" and looks "obviously like a spaghetti strainer".
''The
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This is a pallid attempt by
Hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
rivals Amicus to rehash some of the thematic lines from the ''
Quatermass'' series."
References
External links
*
*
*
Curiosities - The Gods Hate Kansas by Bud Webster at F&SF
{{DEFAULTSORT:They Came From Beyond Space
1967 films
1960s science fiction horror films
Films based on American novels
Films based on science fiction novels
Films directed by Freddie Francis
Amicus Productions films
British science fiction films
1967 horror films
Embassy Pictures films
1960s English-language films
1960s British films
English-language science fiction horror films