A young wife (Gloria Talbott) starts to worry that her husband (Tom Tyron) is not the man he was before they tied the knot…

Soon she finds out that he’s not the only guy in town that seems to have changed character. Eventually she discovers that her husband is actually an alien… and realises that she has married a monster from outer space!

Despite its gimmicky title, this is a well-made 50s sci-fi movie, directed by Gene (I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF) Fowler Jr, which was released as a double feature with THE BLOB (now that’s what I call an amazing double bill!)

I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE’s script, written by Louis Vittes (who usually wrote for television), is really quite effective, gradually building a sense of paranoia experienced by the newlywed heroine, with the plot focusing on the stealthy invasion of Earth by human-mimicking, glowing aliens in search of females they can procreate with. Dripping with subtext, the story can be seen as an allegory for how couples can quickly grow apart and become alienated.

Some decent special effects by John P. Fulton, good performances from Tom Tyron and Gloria Talbott, and a finale that involves dogs ripping out the aliens’ breathing tubes all add to the enjoyment of this film.

Nice touches include ‘alien smoke’ FX, the grotesque aliens’ true faces being revealed during lightning flashes (creepy!) and the main extraterrestrial character finally developing a knowledge of human feelings.

I urge you to seek this out if you’ve not seen it, because it’s a satisfying film that can be relished simply as a B-movie romp or as a sci-fi tale with some crafty subtext.