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This Island Earth

Play trailer Poster for This Island Earth 1955 1h 26m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 45% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Scientist Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) solves a mysterious puzzle that allows him access to a highly secretive program -- led by the mysterious Exeter (Jeff Morrow) -- that has assembled the world's greatest scientific minds in an attempt to quickly learn how to generate and store nuclear power. But with the help of fellow scientists Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue) and Steve Carlson (Russell Johnson), Meacham soon discovers that his host is not what he claims to be.
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This Island Earth

Critics Reviews

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Robert Sellers Radio Times 09/13/2024
4/5
This intelligent slice of 1950s sci-fi - two and a half years in the making proclaimed the poster proudly - ranks among the best and most cleverly conceived of the genre. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 07/13/2019
3/4
Even as a gargantuan MST3K fan, I was always irked by the fact that the gang chose to mock a genuinely good movie. It's gratifying, therefore, to see the ambitious This Island Earth reclaimed for posterity. Go to Full Review Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television 08/16/2012
Pioneering sf drama about space travel is rich in storytelling, atmosphere, visual design and color. Go to Full Review Rob Humanick Suite101.com 10/31/2011
3/5
Worth consideration from anyone who enjoys their profundity with a side of cheese. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 11/12/2010
B
Intelligently directed by Joseph Newman. Go to Full Review Mark Bourne DVDJournal.com 09/04/2006
...even though its increasingly camp elements have aged poorly, it deserves respect as one of the more ambitious, grandiose, and important science fiction adventures of its time. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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John S @RT40486670 12/14/2024 It's fun from a "birth of sci-fi" point of view. It's not deep or clever, but it is very ambitious and action packed. Some of the writing is grammatically weak and redundant but c'mon "mute ants" and lots of explosions! Boom pow pow 😆 See more William B @RT88240453 10/11/2024 This movie was a blast See more Bonobo J @RT85595359 03/10/2024 Really impressive effects for its time. See more Ted B @Movieaddicted 04/16/2023 3.5 stars; So OK, I'm old enough to have seen this movie when it first came out in 1955. I remember being totally captivated by it. It had a certain realism in those times. The plot was certainly way ahead of its time. I totally understand the lower rating by younger critics who recognize the less than standard and unrealistic (e.g. Flames in the vacuum of outer space) Visual Effects. For all of you who rate it lowly, consider the classic Science Fiction movie '2001: A Space Odyssey". Believe it or not, that movie is 55 years old vs 68 for "This Island Earth". I'll grant you there's a great improvement, because of computers, to the special effects in 13 years. But as far as improvement to a great Science Fiction story, not so much. When rating a movie, to me all factors, including the time frame in which It was released, should be taken into consideration. See more Milton D @adkrkv 04/07/2022 A mildly entertaining romp during the height of the Cold War. Allegory to the evil of communism and that God is more powerful than science. Don't take it too seriously and you can enjoy a period film "when men were men and women were women." See more Jon T @jon_talbot56 12/24/2020 Like all science fiction, it tells you little about science or the future but a lot about the time it was made in. This is considerably more sophisticated than most of its kind. It actually looks like they had a budget, so the sets are pretty decent and the colours gorgeous. The naivety gives it a period charm which makes it watchable. Recommended viewing times are wet weekends and late at night after a few bevvies. See more Read all reviews
This Island Earth

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph M. Newman

Director

Jeff Morrow

Exeter

Faith Domergue

Dr. Ruth Adams

Rex Reason

Dr. Cal Meacham

Russell Johnson

Steve Carlson

Lance Fuller

Brack

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This Island Earth

This Island Earth (1955) This Island Earth (1955) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Scientist Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) solves a mysterious puzzle that allows him access to a highly secretive program -- led by the mysterious Exeter (Jeff Morrow) -- that has assembled the world's greatest scientific minds in an attempt to quickly learn how to generate and store nuclear power. But with the help of fellow scientists Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue) and Steve Carlson (Russell Johnson), Meacham soon discovers that his host is not what he claims to be.
Director
Joseph M. Newman
Producer
William Alland
Screenwriter
Franklin Coen, George Callahan
Production Co
Universal International Pictures (UI)
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 1, 1955, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Aug 29, 2006
Runtime
1h 26m
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