This Island Earth
A brilliant atomic scientist follows an impossible machine into a colorful extraterrestrial conspiracy where scientific wonder collides with monster-movie peril.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- imaginative
- eerie
- pulp adventure
- classic sci fi marathon
- retro movie night
What critics said
Critics generally praise the film's imaginative Technicolor effects, eerie outer-space atmosphere, and adventurous science-fiction spectacle while finding its dialogue and characterization conventional.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Cal Meacham studies industrial nuclear energy while alien technology and planetary warfare turn scientific progress into a source of danger.
The interocitor, its components, and the unusual instructions draw Cal into Exeter's secret research project.
Universal's first science-fiction film in color foregrounds bizarre effects, flying saucers, extraterrestrial technology, and outer-space spectacle.
The isolated Georgia facility recruits scientists under a research pretext, but its residents behave strangely and its purpose remains concealed.
Films like This Island Earth, and why
Forbidden Planet
colorful 1950s science fiction, alien technology, atomic-age anxiety, and monster spectacle
The Day the Earth Stood Still
retro extraterrestrial encounter, flying-saucer imagery, scientific protagonists, and Cold War-era paranoia
War of the Worlds
classic alien-invasion science fiction with colorful effects, technological wonder, and creature horror
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
1950s monster-film atmosphere, scientific investigation, and fear shaped by nuclear-age experimentation
Movie Details
- Director
- Joseph M. Newman
- Release Date
- 1955-06-10
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (240)
Cast
- Rex Reason
- Faith Domergue
- Jeff Morrow
- Lance Fuller
- Robert Nichols
- Russell Johnson
- Douglas Spencer
- Karl Ludwig Lindt
- Regis Parton
- Richard Deacon
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is This Island Earth about?
- A brilliant atomic scientist follows an impossible machine into a colorful extraterrestrial conspiracy where scientific wonder collides with monster-movie peril.
- What is This Island Earth like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of This Island Earth as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is This Island Earth violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in This Island Earth as mild.
- What did critics think of This Island Earth?
- Critics generally praise the film's imaginative Technicolor effects, eerie outer-space atmosphere, and adventurous science-fiction spectacle while finding its dialogue and characterization conventional.
- Which films are like This Island Earth?
- Films with a similar feel include Forbidden Planet, The Day the Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
- How long is This Island Earth?
- This Island Earth runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch This Island Earth?
- In United States, This Island Earth is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
