| Welcome to my
Visual Synopsis of the wonderful 1955 Science Fiction movie,
THIS ISLAND EARTH This poor presentation merely attempts to highlight some of the iconic imagery inherited by this motion picture largely from the pulp fiction that preceded it. In turn, the imagery adopted by this film greatly influenced many succeeding films such as Forbidden Planet and numerous others, to the present day. Some of you may only know this film from the severely mangled Mystery Science Theater parody. You have not seen the film if this is the case. I highly recommend you make the effort to view the original version on DVD. Although this film falls short of great cinema, and suffers badly from the severe editing of its initial release, it is still worth viewing in its original form. I was hugely impressed by the craftsmanship of the effects when I saw it at a Saturday matinee during its first run. Although quaint by present standards, it upped the bar well above most of the science fictions movies I had seen to up to that time, and without doubt it influenced my choice of career. |
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| Jet Jockey / Scientist Cal flies a loaner jet from DC to LA. He tells the press boys that the Push Button Age will not truly arrive until he brings together consumer electronics and nuclear energy. |
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| The jet flames out but is saved by mysterious green rays and lots of weird sound effects. Undaunted, Cal proceeds directly to the lab to torture test an electronic component of mysterious origin. |
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| An unsolicitated catalog with metallic pages arrives. Cal orders everything on the Interocitor parts list. |
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| A schematic hints at sophisticated vacuum tube technology far beyond that of Earth. When plugged in, a guy appears on the screen. Cal has passed an IQ test. He's invited to join a select group of elite scientists working on a vaguely Utopian project. |
