1953’s It Came From Outer Space could have been a very low brow affair. Alien invasion stories in the paranoid 1950s were often thinly disguised expressions of the cold war and reaction to the recent World War. However Universal contacted celebrated author Ray Bradbury to help them make this SF film and with his touches and concepts the story became something richer and something more personal.

Directed in 3D by jack Arnold who also helmed The Creature From the Black Lagoon for Universal, It Came From Outer Space is a story of first contact, the gross prejudices humans carry around with them and the hope that we can become something better than ourselves.

I have the good fortune to see this movie for the first time on the big screen. back in the 1980’s the Ken Theater was a revival house, playing a different double feature every night with occasional film festivals. One weekend evening I rode the bus out to the theater and watched this movie and Creature From The Black lagoon, both projected in 3-D. That was a treat. The 3-D effect worked flawlessly, Arnold shows real restraint in its application with very little of the ‘it’s coming right at me!’ shots, and both films had strong script performed by competent actors.

I recently got a copy on DVD. Not on the big screen, not in 3-D, but still a fine film and look forward to sharing it with people who have not seen it before.