Science Fiction,Adventure,Horror
United States of America
This Island Earth is a 1955 science fiction film about a group of scientists who are recruited by an alien race known as the Metalunans to help them fight a war against their mortal enemies, the Zagons. The film was directed by Joseph M. Newman and stars Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, and Rex Reason.
The story begins when Dr. Cal Meacham, a nuclear physicist, receives a mysterious package containing parts for a scientific device he has been working on. With the help of his assistant, Joe Wilson, Dr. Meacham assembles the device and is transported to a secret laboratory run by Exeter, a representative of the Metalunans. There, he meets Dr. Ruth Adams, another Earth scientist who has been brought to the lab, and learns that the Metalunans are a highly advanced race who are in desperate need of help to win their war against the Zagons.
Initially hesitant to get involved, Dr. Meacham and Dr. Adams eventually agree to help the Metalunans, and are taken on a journey through space to the Metalunan homeworld. Along the way, they encounter a series of dangerous obstacles, including a giant, mutant bat creature.
Upon arriving on Metaluna, Dr. Meacham and Dr. Adams are put to work in the Metalunan laboratory, developing new weapons and defenses to use against the Zagons. However, they soon discover that the Metalunans are not as all-knowing and all-powerful as they initially seemed, and that their own survival may depend on finding a way back to Earth.
The film features impressive special effects for its time, including scenes of spaceships and otherworldly landscapes. It was innovative in its use of color and widescreen format. Though not a commercial success upon its initial release, This Island Earth has since become a cult classic and has been cited as an influence on later sci-fi films such as Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!.
