"This Island Earth"

[sergebroom]

I got my mind off things tonight when we watched 1953's "This Island Earth". You know, that's the one with Exeter, the white-haired alien with the big head. It really is a strange movie. Nobody in it achieves anything. First Exeter, who's looking for ways to fight aliens attacking his homeworld, lures a bunch of scientists to a secret research center, including the square-jawed hero, who was working on some promising research to tap more atomic energy out of matter. The hero never reaches his goal. Neither does Exeter, who flees back home, with the hero and the usual useless girl-scientist in tow. When they get there, neither Exeter nor the hero can stop the aliens, who wipe out Exeter's world. Weird.