This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

That was an excellent one.

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X is a low budget, low fi slice of British science fiction that came out at the tail-end of the 1950s. Clearly unable to reproduce the kind of destructive action of the typical American sci-fi flick from the era, this one goes for the talky approach throughout, which makes it somewhat stodgy to sit through. However, it's not all bad.The cast give fairly brisk and efficient turns in this production. They're headlined by Forrest Tucker (THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN), making quite a name for himself in the sci-fi genre during this era, and enlivened by the lovely Gaby Andre as the female scientist (cue the usual sexist attitudes upon her arrival). The supporting cast includes the familiar faces of Martin Benson, Hugh Latimer, and Dandy Nichols (TILL DEATH US DO PART).There's a heck of a lot of gobbledegook to sit through here, plus vague plot similarities to THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (which, of course, inspired so many alien films which were to come after it). However, things start to pick up around the halfway mark, with some traditional monster action to enjoy as various bugs and creatures in the woods are blown up to giant size. In addition, there's a surprisingly gory face-eating scene which must have repulsed audiences at the time. THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X is no masterpiece, but as a cheap potboiler it passes the time well enough.

Here we have Forrest Tucker in the middle of a group of British scientists who are doing experiments with magnetism. The experiments seem safe to them, but to the locals, they are reaping havoc on their TV sets and other devices. In the opening scenes a man is injured by a discharge from a console and is replaced by a pretty young French woman. What ultimately happens is that an alien presence appears, a man who comes up with the unimaginative name of "Smith." He is there on a mission of some kind, but we don't know whether to fear him or embrace him. Meanwhile, one of the original scientists becomes overwhelmed with power and start to take over the mission. It seems that what they are doing is causing insects to attain enormous size and attack people in the countryside. While it was a bit stuffy, it's not bad.

Of all the giant insects flicks of the 1950s, this is probably the worst. But as a low-budget sci-fi flick with a modest mystery, it's not so bad. First, the good news: Forrest Tucker and others are conducting magnetic experiments, which leads to a problem: the experiments allow cosmic rays to bombard the land, resulting in giant insects, reptiles and spiders. And they're all very hungry. A strange individual (Michael Benson) shows up to help. He's from another planet, naturally. Now for the bad news: the giant insects and reptiles and whatnot are simply regular creepy crawlies poorly enlarged through the camera lens. The one exception is a spider that tries to eat the obligatory helpless heroine (Gaby Andre). There's a bit of gore, but not enough to keep the kiddies away. Tucker is solid, as always, and Benson is oddly believable as the friendly alien. It has been suggested his performance was based on Michael Rennie's alien visitor in "The Day The Earth Stood Still."

"The Strange World of Planet X" (British, 1957; usually shown as "The Cosmic Monsters" on American TV) has been one of my favorites for many years. It's been said that films of this type don't appeal to anyone except the public, since they're usually despised by critics, but I found this film great scary fun to watch (throughout many repeated viewings) as well as a good example of how a low budget can be stretched. The performances are sincere; Forrest Tucker is his reliable self as the hero, and I particularly admired the performance of Martin Benson as "Mr. Smith", a benevolent visitor from afar probably inspired by Michael Rennie's "Klaatu" character in 1951's "The Day The Earth Stood Still". The film builds suspense quite well, and there are suitably harrowing scenes involving giant insects. This originally played American theatres as a double feature with another nifty British chiller, "The Trollenberg Terror" aka "The Crawling Eye", which also starred Forrest Tucker.