Amateur astronomer John Putnam (Richard Carlson) and his fiancée Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush) stargaze in the desert and witness a large, burning object crashing earthwards near the small town of Sand Rock. John finds an alien spaceship at the crash site but it gets buried by a landslide – and when he tells people what he saw he is not believed. But soon odd things occur and it is eventually discovered that cyclopean aliens, that can make themselves look like humans, are trying to fix their craft before the restless, gun-happy locals get to them.

With a screenplay by Harry (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) Essex, based on an original screen treatment by Ray Bradbury, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is one of director Jack (TARANTULA) Arnold’s iconic B&W sci-fi flicks from the 50s. The way certain things are shot, like the landing helicopter coming right down at you, hints that this movie was originally a 3D film. But even viewed today without the 3D gimmick, the film remains atmospheric, with a nice touch of paranoia and a classic creepy sci-fi score.

I like the classic desert landscape backdrop, the cool-looking peaceful aliens that leave glittery trails behind them, the scene with the laser-wand that cuts into the rock wall as Richard Carlson dodges it, and the one-eyed POV shots as aliens loom over various characters.

And, of course, I always love a film score that uses a Theremin!