A curious film. It starts off very much as a Quatermass-style mysterious-alien-object-lands-on-Earth science fiction tale, with a trio of likeable scientists trying to get on with their job of working out exactly what the strange meteorite is whilst being both helped and hindered by the military. Then, after about half an hour, the film suddenly does a volte-face and turns itself into a detective yarn as Scotland Yard's finest attempt to unravel the mysterious abductions of numerous young women. Along the way there's also a comedy interlude where the parents of one of the missing girls are interviewed by the investigators, an extended scene which feels somewhat out of place and serves to slightly undermine the drama of the whole piece.In spite of straddling different genres the overall narrative does hang together (just) and it is, of course, an alien visitor that is abducting the women. The purpose behind this has some logic but the methodology is rather ludicrous. And that's the main problem with this film: the script. For all its good intentions and, it has to be said, some bold thinking, it's very hit-and-miss with some ideas working well and catching the viewer off-guard, and other ideas so banal that they leave the viewer wondering how they could possibly have ever got off the drawing board.Usually a film based on such shaky foundations fails in most other respects too but this is a rare exception when everyone else helps pull it out of the mire: the direction (by John Gilling) is good, the lighting very considered, achieving a wonderfully gloomy atmosphere to key scenes, and the special effects, though cheap, are generally competent with glimpses of the visitor wisely kept indistinct for the most part. Best of all, the film boasts a stellar cast, drawing on the cream of British character actors of the day for both the major parts and the minor ones. True, the cast is headed by a token American, as was so often the case in order to help sell the film to overseas markets, but when the American happens to be the wonderful John Saxon that's not such a bad thing. And I'm pleased to report that his role doesn't suffer from the usual stereotypical failings of a dashing American hero being written in a manner of how British writers think a dashing American hero would speak and behave. It is Saxon's character Dr Costain who is initially involved in the recovery of investigation of the alien sphere who then goes on to advise the police investigation, thus being the constant through the film's duration. Maurice Denham gives one of his trademark authoritative performances as Costain's senior colleague, and Alfred Burke, just before his memorable ten-year stint playing Frank Marker in TV's Public Eye, excels as the dour but determined police superintendent. For me, the highlight was a scene where Burke's Superintendent Hartley questions a rather fey, effete character richly brought to life by Aubrey Morris, just for a glimpse of two great actors at the top of their game playing off one another superbly.In conclusion, this is a very ropey film that still has much to commend it, and is well worth a look. However, as a word of warning, when you have that look please make sure you avoid the ghastly colourised version. Unlike many purists I am not actually against the notion of adding colour to black and white films per se, but this is a film that carefully uses its monochrome medium to maximum advantage, so it is an odd choice to undergo such a process. Furthermore, the colouring job is surely the very worst I have seen applied to a film with everything painted in very flat, unnatural hues and some things, such as Alfred Burke's hair and jacket, not even coloured at all. So if this is the version that comes your way, do yourself a big favour and turn down the colour on your TV!

The reason I've rated this film as awful is down to the fact that I am watching a truly AWFUL "colorized" version of this otherwise brilliant black and white film on Talking Pictures (Channel 81, Freeview UK), a channel that generally prides itself on showing old and often obscure black and white films, as I type this review. Would Talking Pictures Kindly obtain an ORIGINAL Black and White copy of this film and run that in future? I'd much appreciate it- this version I'm watching is ghastly!!!

Whether you refer to it as "The Night Caller From Outer Space" or by its alternate title, "Blood Beast From Outer Space" (OR, as it simply appears on this great-looking Image DVD under its original British appellation, "The Night Caller"), this sci-fi film from 1965 is an intelligent, restrained, moody and highly effective winner. In it, scientist John Saxon, working at England's Falsley Park research station, grapples with a mysterious sphere that has touched down on the moors, direct from the Jovian moon Ganymede. The film cleaves fairly evenly into two discrete sections. In the first, Saxon and his Falsley coworkers (including blond, no-nonsense Ann Barlow, played by the excellent Patricia Haines) conduct tests on the sphere and endeavor to puzzle out its mysteries. In the latter half, Saxon assists Scotland Yard in its investigation of the disappearances of several dozen young women, all of whom had answered an ad for a modeling job in "Bikini Magazine." Whereas the film's first segment suggests nothing less than a British variant of the classic TV program "The Outer Limits," the second half turns quite noirish as director John Gilling (who, the following year, would helm, for Hammer Studios, the psychotronic greats "The Plague of the Zombies" and "The Reptile") utilizes moody nighttime photography, deep shadows and disorienting camera angles; call this film sci-fi Brit noir. "The Night Caller" is fairly reminiscent of another Shepperton Studios film that I recently saw, 1964's "The Earth Dies Screaming." Both are modestly budgeted but well-done films featuring stunning B&W photography and helmed by directors more often associated with Hammer (Terence Fisher, in "Screaming"'s case). With the exception of "Night Caller"'s very odd opening theme song--a tune sung by Mark Richardson, and more suitable for a Western or romance movie--and a somewhat weak ending, the picture is a surprisingly gripping entertainment throughout.

A pretty nifty Sci-Fi flick from the United Kingdom featuring a token yank John Saxon. Inhabitants of Soho live in fear as a fast falling object falls from the sky. A glowing sphere is means of transportation for an alien assumed to be from Jupiter. The "night caller" is suspected of stalking young nubile women who read the magazine Bikini Girl. The creature's purpose is to replenish his dying race. All we see of the monster is a claw-like hand, otherwise the mystery visitor stays in the shadows. Taut suspense and decent special effects in Black & White. The cast also features: Patricia Haines, Maurice Denham, Alfred Burke, John Carson and Barbara Stevens.