Too bad the movie's generally so dull up to the tension-filled last few minutes. Trouble is the Stranger (Dantine) from planet Venus is made too blandly agreeable from the outset. There's no real hint of ambiguity in his apparent desire to tame earth's atomic war potential that could even permeate Venus's far-off atmosphere. At least some hint of possible hidden plans would have generated the kind of suspense badly needed. Instead, we get a lot of static talk between Venus's emissary and American officials that basically goes nowhere until the end. Then too, director Balaban unfortunately films in straightforward pedestrian fashion, minus both action and atmosphere, elements that would at least have lifted results beyond stage play appearances. On the other hand, at least we know that even proto-humans from Venus have romantic inclinations, as Miss North (Neal) finds out in her confused reaction to the handsome visitor. However, I am beguiled by the rather sprightly, unusual looking Marigold Russell as Gretchen, the cafe go-fer. Hers struck me as an unusually beguiling presence for the time. Then too, Dantine as the Stranger gets a break from being the period's all-purpose Nazi, even if as an emotionless extra-terrestrial.
Anyway, the ending amounts to a neat twist, along with a subtle version of who's to blame. So if you can put up with all the static talk, the upshot may be worth waiting for.
Anyway, the ending amounts to a neat twist, along with a subtle version of who's to blame. So if you can put up with all the static talk, the upshot may be worth waiting for.