The first visitor from outer space in the ’50s sci-fi boom is one very curious guy, dropping to Earth in a ship like a diving bell and scaring the bejesus out of Sally Field’s mother. Micro-budgeted space invasion fantasy gets off to a great start, thanks to the filmmaking genius of our old pal Edgar G. Ulmer.
The Man from Planet X
Blu-ray
Scream Factory / Shout! Factory
1951 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 71 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / 27.99
Starring: Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Raymond Bond, William Schallert, Roy Engel, David Ormont.
Cinematography: John L. Russell
Film Editor: Fred R. Feitshans, Jr.
Original Music: Charles Koff
Written and Produced by Aubrey Wisberg, Jack Pollexfen
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
One of the first features of the 1950s Sci-Fi boom, 1951’s The Man from Planet X set a lot of precedents, cementing the public impression of ‘little green men from Mars’ and...
The Man from Planet X
Blu-ray
Scream Factory / Shout! Factory
1951 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 71 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / 27.99
Starring: Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Raymond Bond, William Schallert, Roy Engel, David Ormont.
Cinematography: John L. Russell
Film Editor: Fred R. Feitshans, Jr.
Original Music: Charles Koff
Written and Produced by Aubrey Wisberg, Jack Pollexfen
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
One of the first features of the 1950s Sci-Fi boom, 1951’s The Man from Planet X set a lot of precedents, cementing the public impression of ‘little green men from Mars’ and...
- 6/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen
SAN FRANCISCO -- Edgar G. Ulmer, the prolific king of sub B-pictures, is the focus of the disappointing documentary Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen. A portrait of a nearly forgotten filmmaker as well as a long, strange trip through the murky depths of B-movies, Michael Palm's film remains earthbound despite its interesting, offbeat subject. The documentary will be of interest to film students and aficionados on its run through the festival circuit.
No footage of Ulmer was available, so Palm relied on a few still photographs, audio tapes of Peter Bogdanovich's interviews with the director and talking heads like Arianne Ulmer Cipes, Ulmer's daughter and one of this film's producers. Joe Dante, John Landis, Wim Wenders and the venerable dean of low-rent exploitation, Roger Corman, opine on aspects of the man and his career.
Ulmer, a European emigre, became a master of successful quickies. Although he relished his outsider status and disdained the Hollywood "hash machine," Ulmer longed for A-list status and recognition. He made possibly 60-70 films, some forgettable, others such classics as The Black Cat and the corrosive noir Detour. He claimed to have shot each of those in six days.
Working with no money, bare-bones sets and a heavy reliance on fog, he made the most of very little. By the 1950s, Ulmer's career fizzled. He ended up desperately seeking funding overseas for projects that fell apart. Believing that many of his films wouldn't survive, he died a deeply frustrated man.
It's unfortunate that a film designed to renew interest in Ulmer is this flat. In an effort to spice things up, Palm employs hokey gimmicks like shooting Detour star Ann Savage, now in her 70s, behind the wheel of a convertible with rear projection. It doesn't work. Landis, Dante and Wenders, whose commentaries are witty and insightful, are likewise shot while riding in a moving car. These are contrived, superfluous touches.
One wishes Palm had more faith in his raw material, though Ulmer is an elusive subject. He was a fabulist who mythologized himself and inflated his biography. Like his Man From Planet X, Ulmer remains shrouded in mystery.
No footage of Ulmer was available, so Palm relied on a few still photographs, audio tapes of Peter Bogdanovich's interviews with the director and talking heads like Arianne Ulmer Cipes, Ulmer's daughter and one of this film's producers. Joe Dante, John Landis, Wim Wenders and the venerable dean of low-rent exploitation, Roger Corman, opine on aspects of the man and his career.
Ulmer, a European emigre, became a master of successful quickies. Although he relished his outsider status and disdained the Hollywood "hash machine," Ulmer longed for A-list status and recognition. He made possibly 60-70 films, some forgettable, others such classics as The Black Cat and the corrosive noir Detour. He claimed to have shot each of those in six days.
Working with no money, bare-bones sets and a heavy reliance on fog, he made the most of very little. By the 1950s, Ulmer's career fizzled. He ended up desperately seeking funding overseas for projects that fell apart. Believing that many of his films wouldn't survive, he died a deeply frustrated man.
It's unfortunate that a film designed to renew interest in Ulmer is this flat. In an effort to spice things up, Palm employs hokey gimmicks like shooting Detour star Ann Savage, now in her 70s, behind the wheel of a convertible with rear projection. It doesn't work. Landis, Dante and Wenders, whose commentaries are witty and insightful, are likewise shot while riding in a moving car. These are contrived, superfluous touches.
One wishes Palm had more faith in his raw material, though Ulmer is an elusive subject. He was a fabulist who mythologized himself and inflated his biography. Like his Man From Planet X, Ulmer remains shrouded in mystery.
- 6/6/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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