It Came From Outer Space

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It Came From Outer Space

G

Released May 25, 1953

1h 21m

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

While looking through his telescope one night, John Putnam (Richard Carlson) sees what at first appears to be a meteor shower -- but it is actually a crash-landing alien spaceship! After investigating the crater from the impact, John informs the town sheriff (Charles Drake), and receives nothing but ridicule. Even his fiancée, Ellen (Barbara Rush), is skeptical. All that changes when the townsfolk start disappearing, and are replaced by eerie alien duplicates.

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Critics Consensus

It Came From Outer Space is a pulpy-but-effective psychological sci-fi picture, with a provocative message about xenophobia.

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Variety

Picture has been smartly fashioned to take advantage of all the tricks of science-fiction and 3-D.

May 29, 2007

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

[A] scary black-and-white SF effort from 1953.

May 29, 2007

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A.H. Weiler

New York Times

Merely mildly diverting, not stupendous.

Rated: 2.5/5

Oct 31, 2006

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

The result is an entertaining B-movie that's as good as 1950s science fiction gets.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 13, 2024

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Kevin Carr

Fat Guys at the Movies

A rather simplified Cold War cautionary tale about xenophobia that doesn’t handle itself nearly as well as other classics of its time.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 6, 2023

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... one of the more optimistic movies about visitors from the stars, and in its way was an inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s 'E.T.'

Nov 6, 2022

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Liza M

Cult B movie classic! It was only on my 4th watching of Rocky Horror that I recognised the reference to this film in the opening musical number.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/16/25

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Mr P

‘It Came From Outer Space’ is more of a psycho drama and not so much an outer space bug eyed monster movie. This is to be expected, since the script is largely by celebrated author Ray Bradbury. The story moves right along, without a heavy reliance on special effects - so the story holds up better 70 years later than it has any right to. Definitely worth watching, and far better than other contemporary films of the era.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/20/25

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Dallas H

I watched the 2D version instead of the intended 3D version when it was first released. I still got a kick of enjoyment from watching the schlockfest of a B-movie sci-fi.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/20/25

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Lucas t

Sceptical because of the cheesy title but it surprised me in how good it actually was.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/24/25

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Daniel C. M

Genuinely effective in it's horror and thrills to this day, and features a nice direction by the master Jack Arnold who manages to perfectly utilize to the max it's small budget with lack of proper scenery/locations and very average special effects. It's small runtime is also very welcomed.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/25

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Audience Member

Not awful by 1950's sci-fi standards. The story's by Ray Bradbury and it had to be a sort of influence on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." There are two "standout" features of this movie: the Gilligan's Island "Professor" Russell Johnson, and Barbara Rush in a push-up bra. Well, make that THREE things!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/17/24

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Jack Arnold

Director

Richard Carlson

John Putnam

Barbara Rush

Ellen Fields

Charles Drake

Sheriff Matt Warren

Russell Johnson

George

Kathleen Hughes

Jane

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - All We Needed Was Time

3:50

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - Crash Landing

2:47

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - First Contact

2:30

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - They'll Be Back

1:06

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - Don't Be Afraid

3:09

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - Anti-Alien Posse

1:31

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - Stalked by Cosmic Evil

2:08

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - Alien Avalanche

2:06

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - Incognito Abduction

1:13

It Came From Outer Space: Official Clip - Resorting to Violence

1:53

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Synopsis

While looking through his telescope one night, John Putnam (Richard Carlson) sees what at first appears to be a meteor shower -- but it is actually a crash-landing alien spaceship! After investigating the crater from the impact, John informs the town sheriff (Charles Drake), and receives nothing but ridicule. Even his fiancée, Ellen (Barbara Rush), is skeptical. All that changes when the townsfolk start disappearing, and are replaced by eerie alien duplicates.

Director: Jack Arnold
Producer: William Alland
Screenwriter: Ray Bradbury, Harry Essex
Distributor: Universal Pictures, GoodTimes Home Video [us], Universal International Pictures
Production Co: Universal International Pictures
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 25, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Runtime: 1h 21m

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