The Man from Planet X – 1951

The Man from Planet X is an American Sci-Fi movie from the 50s. It all begins with a voice-over telling us that we’re about to see what happened and what chain of events that led us to this moment. So, the narrative has already started when the movie starts. Right away it’s obvious that this is a real low-budget film. There are scenes where the background is obviously a painting and the sets are built in a studio rather than filmed on location. I think that it wasn’t uncommon in those days. And I also learned that the director Edgar G. Ulmer kept the costs down by using an already-built set from the epic Joan of Arc.

There are plenty of examples when sets have been used over and over again throughout film history. One that comes to mind is the Great Doors in King Kong. Of course, I cannot remember for which movie they were built but I know they were used multiple times until they finally were used in a scene where they burnt down. And why shouldn’t you reuse it? I think it’s a good thing, as long as you make it good and it’s not obvious that you’re doing it imagery-wise.

Russian Communism

Many Sci-Fi movies from this era used the narrative of Sci-Fi and invasions from another planet as a metaphor for communism and the Russians. It was the Cold War after all. I first had a hard time wrapping my fingers around how this alien could be a Russian communist, but after a while, I realized why. It’s not an obvious enemy to the human race to start with, and I do think we provoke him a bit. But after a while, it’s a hostile creature preparing to invade Earth.

But maybe I should start from the beginning. The Man From Planet X is a movie about a time when the earth was about to almost collide with another planet – planet X. I just recently learned that Planet X was a theory of an unknown planet in our solar system. I don’t know all the details, but apparently, there were calculations done by scientists in the real world, not in the movies, that such a planet should exist theoretically or mathematically or whatever. Interesting thought, and in 1951 not everything was already explored. They didn’t have today’s technology to aid them and so on. I think it’s the legitimate theory of the time.

Back to the movie

Anyway, this scientist, now we’re talking about the movie again, has calculated where our two planets will be the closest when they meet, travelers there, and will conduct experiments as we pass the other planet. I think it’s somewhere in Scotland. Just a few days before the encounter, a spaceship is found. And inside, behold – an alien! Perhaps the ugliest alien I ever saw. the body is humanoid but the head just seem to be a paper mache creation. There’s exactly one expression on its face whether it’s dying or looking for world domination. It wouldn’t work in a modern movie, but here it has its charm I think.

If you are wondering, we do defeat the alien, or metaphoric Russian but you never doubted that did you? It’s a charming 70-minute film but it’s certainly no masterpiece. There are plenty of other 50s sci-fi movies I prefer before The Man from Planet X. But I’m glad I saw it because it has one of the coolest titles. And, as I said, it’s charming.