Not of This Earth

In Brief: In 1957, this Roger Corman cheapie played on a double bill with Attack of the Crab Monsters and was advertised as a “Terrorama! Double Horror Sensation!” As with most sci-fi horror pictures of its era, the ad campaign smacks of wishful thinking. Yet, there’s no denying that Not of This Earth (a premise Corman liked so much that he produced two remakes) is a perfect — and perfectly enjoyable — example of the type of movie that was being churned out at the time. Surprisingly, it's also frequently stylish and has a remarkably well-written screenplay. Bear in mind, however, that we’re talking "well-written" within the context of a movie about a kind of vampire from outer space. Not of This Earth is — relatively speaking — reasonably sober-minded work and even creepy, thanks in large measure to Paul Birch’s performance as the gent who is “not of this Earth” and has been sent here to see if humans can be pastured like cattle for their blood supply. The movie will be preceded by Chapter Two of Bela Lugosi in The Phantom Creeps.