Nuclear scientist Dr. Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) joins a group of fellow atomic brainiacs at a centre run by the enigmatic Exeter (Jeff Morrow), who turns out to be an alien from the planet Metaluna. Exeter and his cohorts are looking for a way to synthesise uranium so that they can protect their home planet from attack by Zagons, but the large foreheaded aliens also have a back up plan: to make Earth their home and become the master race.The image of a Metalunan Mutant menacing Dr. Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue) is one that has stayed with me since a child, when I collected bubble gum cards featuring scenes from old sci-fi and horror films. Sadly, the film that this unforgettable image came from, This Island Earth, isn't all that great: the first half is incredibly talky and quite uneventful, and the second half is totally pointless, with our hero and heroine visiting Metaluna for ten minutes or so before leaving, having done absolutely nothing!The special effects are also rather disappointing: there's nothing here that Flash Gordon didn't do twenty years earlier, with some iffy matte paintings, dodgy model work, silly communication devices (a triangular screen-really?), and an unconvincing rubbery mutant. The fifties gave us so many genuinely great sci-fi films-Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Incredible Shrinking Man, to name a few-but This Island Earth isn't one of them.

This Island, Earth (the comma is really in the original title) a goofy, albeit colorful, dollop of space opera, is a classic example of what you get when a studio decides to make a science fiction film for no reason other, or better, than their wanting to make a science fiction film. The end product makes no dramatic sense, there's no coherent, compelling story being told, and the only memorable thing about it is the big, bug-eyed "mutant" menacing pretty little Faith Domergue. Universal Studios was, and always has been, in the business of making bad-to-mediocre films (it was always something of a minor miracle when a film of genuine merit sneaked through) and, here they obviously achieved their goals with this spectacular mediocrity. Yet it is chocked full of nostalgia for those of us who stayed up late at night and watched these on TV before infomercials existed.

The electronic engineer Dr. Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) is a prominent scientist that is studying industrial application of nuclear energy and also a great pilot. One day, he receives a different condenser and soon his assistant Joe Wilson (Robert Nichols) receives a manual instruction and several components of a sophisticated machine. Carl and Joe build a communication apparatus and a man called Exeter (Jeff Morrow) contacts Carl. He tells that Carl has passed the test assembling the Interocitor and invites him to join his research. The intrigued Carl decides to travel to meet Exeter that sends an unmanned airplane to bring him to an isolated facility in Georgia. He is welcomed by Dr. Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue) but she mysteriously does not recall their love affair in the past. They team-up with Dr. Steve Carlson (Russell Johnson) and they note that the other scientists in the facility have been transformed, having a weird behavior. They decide to flee in a car, but they are attacked by rays and Steve dies. Carl and Ruth also witness the facility blowing-up and they escape in an airplane. However they are pulled up into a flying saucer and realize that Exeter is an alien. Whal is the objective of the aliens? "This Island Earth" is an entertaining sci-fi from the 50's, with a story of aliens that need help from the Earthling scientists in their war against another planet. For a film made sixty years ago, the special effects, the monster, sets and scenarios are great. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Guerra Entre Planetas" ("War Between Planets")Note: On 17 November 2017 I saw this film again.

I've been hoping for a Blue Ray release of this film for years. Last night I found a used DVD copy at Amoeba in Hollywood. When my friend and I watched it on my new Panasonic plasma, through my Oppo player, the 3D indicator came on screen prompting us to switch to 3D. Lo and behold, the picture came on in 3D!! Not every scene is 3D but at least half is. The explosions and battle scenes are 3D and all the space travel shots, too. No mention of this in any review I've ever seen. BTW, I saw this film in Irving, TX with my mom and soon-to-be step-father in 1955 when it was first released. Vaguely remember the 3D glasses. Mom loved the movie even though is scared the crap out of her!