The Space Children

source: The Space Children

Trailer—The Space Children

The Space Children

Well what can one say. This late 50's space monster movie has The Professor (from Gilligans Island) Mr. Drysdale (from The Beverly Hillbillies) and Mark McCain (from The Rifleman). Additionally former child star and later Addams Family Uncle Fester Jackie Coogan. While the story is slow moving and a tad on the weak side as far as Sci-Fi goes, watching some of these actors outside of their famous TV character roles makes this film enjoyable. MST3K of course got a hold of this one and adds a touch of flavor. It's still a fun if yet dry Science fiction yarn.

This excellent, thought provoking 1950s gem is yet another excellent entry in the genre directed by Jack Arnold. It might be so underrated because people are going into it expecting some kind of typical action scifi movie. But anyone who really appreciates the genre as manifested in 1950s American cinema, and certainly any Jack Arnold fan, should not miss it. Instead of a gadget or monster driven film we have a thoughtful science fiction drama driven by theme, characters, and story. Highly recommended. Ignore the low reviews if you really like this kind of movie, particularly from this era.

*Spoiler/plot- The Space Children, 1958. A group of Cold War rocket scientists and their families are send to a seashore rocket instillation. They all live in Govt trailers with their many kids near the beach. A mysterious 'rock' lands and gradually takes control of the children with dire results to our nation's defensive atomic rocket race. *Special Stars- Michel Ray, Adam Williams, Jackie Coogan, Russel Johnson, Raymond Bailey, Johnny Crawford, Sandy Descher, Ty Hardin. DIR: Jack Arnold. *Theme- Nuclear war is not good for children or other living things on Earth. *Trivia/location/goofs- B & W. Filming locations: Leo Carillo beach for the rocky caves, Point Dume beach for rocky fishing area. *Emotion- An enjoyable film with a preachy message, concluding with biblical verse ending. Fun to see many recognizable TV stars veterans in the cast from adults to children players. Vintage 50's cold war film with science fiction and special anti-war twist at it's conclusion.

This film has an abysmal 2.7 rating on IMDb. It's not really that bad, but it is a pretty big disappointment coming from a director who made The Incredible Shrinking Man the year before. This is a smaller, less ambitious film for sure. A meteor lands in a cave on a beach and its alien essence possesses a bunch of children (I think - it's kind of vague what kind of influence the thing has on the children) who then help it stop their fathers from launching a nuclear warhead into space. It's pretty cheesy, but not badly acted for this kind of movie (the kids in particular are far from awful). The sets are very cheap looking. At one point a flashing light causes the shadows of the actors to appear on the matte painting of the sky in the background. It's more forgettable than detestable.

I have yet to see this movie un-mstied but would love to as I think it's a pretty damn good movie. This is one of the rare cases of mst3k being way off the mark in choosing this movie. Don't get me wrong, I loved the episode and their were some great riffs but I couldn't help but think that this movie was not nearly as bad as Mike, Crow and Tom (or any of these reviewers here) made it out to be. I will admit thought that on first watching it I did feel that the kids were being somewhat (but not completely) controlled by the alien but on repeated viewings it does appear that that is certainly not the case. I really need to see the unedited, un-mstied version, this is a b-movie classic in my humble opinion.

While not Arnold's best film, IMHO (I find it a bit preachy and badly hampered by the rubbery silliness of the Big Alien Brain), this is still a memorable film. Though set in a beachfront area it happens mostly at night, using Arnold's typically haunting black-and-white compositions to set an appropriate tone of strangeness and isolation. The children, alienated from their preoccupied and overworked parents, are almost adopted by the space creature, which takes them under its protection (a drunken and abusive father is disposed of soon after the brain's arrival) even as it enlists them in its pacifist mission. At first fairly typical kids, they quickly develop an air of gravity and wisdom that remains after the alien departs, suggesting a lasting, even evolutionary effect. The film's title is perfect: the kids do become Space Children, more in tune with alien than human thought.

The children of some US rocket scientists come under the spell of a strange alien being that seems to want them to sabotage the nations defense! Another B thriller from director Jack Arnold (who directed the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954), this one is a bit more intelligent than the average drive-in sci-fi fodder. The Space Children is actually an anti-war film kind of in the tradition of The Twilight Zone, the story does indeed resemble a story that one would see on the classic TV series. Arnold lends some steady direction, creating an occasionally eerie atmosphere (who could ever forget that spooky final image of an ill-fated Russell Johnson?) and a decent alien creation. Kudos go to a chilling music score. The cast isn't half bad, the youths of the film being especially good. A worth-wild watch for those who like the films of this era. ** 1/2 out of ****