The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/27607
Ruth, before the pair manages to flee the disintegrating planet. Their escape is thanks to the saucer-flying skills of Exeter, who — in the film’s least surprising surprise — had been ordered by Metalunan Elders to kidnap the Earth scientists. Defying them, the mortally wounded alien gets Cal and Ruth back into Earth’s atmosphere, nobly transports them off the craft and does a Metalunan Kamikaze into the ocean (but not before delivering the requisite death-scene speech on the futility of hate and war). Oh, and I failed to mention that an ugly Zahgonian monster had stowed away on the saucer…but you’ll have to find out for yourself what inconvenience it causes Exeter, Cal and Ruth on their return trip to Earth! ILTA Joel (Andy) Spiegel is a creative director for a business software company based in Austin, Texas, and a freelance writer. An ardent movie watcher, he maintains a blog called “My Private Screening Room,” which spotlights movie reviews of films from the ‘30s to today. But for the “p” in his surname, he might have been the late Joel Siegel, reviewing movies professionally rather than as a hobby. He can be reached at andy_spiegel@att.net. Movie Trivia Courtesy of IMDB, Wikipedia and Other Sources • The wooden crates containing the interocitor parts were reused in the 1959 Lana Turner tearjerker IMITATION OF LIFE. In an alley scene, one crate bears the stencil “Ryberg Electronics,” the company mentioned in THIS ISLAND EARTH. • A brief homage is seen in E.T. THE EXTRA- TERRESTRIAL. E.T. turns the TV on to show the scene when Cal and Ruth are being abducted by the aliens. • Most of the sound effects (the ship, the interocitor, etc.) are simply recordings of teletype transmissions picked up on a shortwave radio played at various speeds. • In the shot where scientist Cal Meacham is pulling the power plug from the interocitor, the post that’s supporting the triangular screen is suddenly taller than in any other scene, apparently lengthened deliberately in order to raise the screen above the top of the film frame. • THIS ISLAND EARTH was one of the first major science fiction features filmed in Technicolor, a process that had been around, in various states, for decades. • In 1956, a script for a sequel was submitted to Universal Pictures. Titled ALIENS IN THE SKIES, Rex Reason (Cal) and Faith Domergue (Ruth) would reprise their roles and it was to be shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope. However, the movie died in infancy when the accountants saw its proposed budget. Peer to Peer the quarterly magazine of ILTA 91