Reviews

The other review of this episode hit the nail on the head: a brilliant template for the series. Cliff Robertson plays the single-minded radio station technician who contacts a being from another galaxy. He discovers the Galaxy Being and himself share traits such as intense curiosity and a willingness to take huge risks. When he's forced by his wife to step away from his experiment for a time, Alan (Robertson) tells a fill-in disc jockey not to increase transmitter power. He neglects to tell him the reason for this request. Of course the DJ takes this as a challenge and, once Alan is gone, turns the power dial all the way to maximum. The Being from another world is then instantly transported to Earth and all hell breaks loose. Besides his appearance, the thing that made the biggest impression on my ten-year old mind when this was originally broadcast in 1963, was the alien's assertion that "...electromagnetic radiation, infinity, God...all the same".

This is another of those films that I watched as a child, and shouldn't have! We owned a large Philco console TV set that had two knobs: On/Off/Volume and Channel Selector. It sat in the living room, so all my late-night monster movie viewing had to be done on the sly.

"X - The Unknown" had me hooked at the title. The black and white photography made the action doubly spooky. In the Scottish Highlands, a routine British Army exercise in radiation detection results in one soldier dead and another badly burned. That night, a large crevice opens at the test site and "something" makes its way to the surface. Thereafter, a series of baffling deaths have the authorities scratching their heads. The one that scarred me forever was the demise of the doctor who used the radiation-treatment room of the hospital as a trysting place with willing nurses. While the good doctor and his latest conquest are snogging, the electronic gear comes on by itself. Doc investigates and recoils in horror. As the hapless nurse watches, the young doctor's face melts down to the bone!

There are solid performances from all here. Dean Jagger as the American scientist, Leo McKern as the police inspector are outstanding. Also, look for a young Ian MacNaughton (of Monty Python fame) as "Haggis". I guarantee you'll never look at mud the same way again.

There are enough sight gags and brilliant lines of dialog to keep your average college film class busy all year. While it's true that "It's a Gift" has many classic comedy moments, the scene that makes this film special to me is a poignant one. It's late in the story: Harold (Fields) realizes that his dream of owning an orange grove in California has literally crumbled in front of him. His wife and kids have left him. His one lifeline, the family car, has fallen to pieces. With his world in ruins, Fields sits on the front stoop of his "ranch house". And the last friend he has in this world, a dog, comes up and licks his face. It's been fifty years since I first saw this film and that scene still brings tears to my eyes.

To be sure, there are genuinely scary moments in this film, but the cons outweigh the pros. The opening sequence of the lovely Carole Gray making her escape from the insane asylum is very atmospheric. PROS: She's in bra and panties and the scene is in slow motion. CONS: But then George Baker (as Martin) sees her running down the road ,in her skivvies, in the Canadian night, and MARRIES her!?

Then we're introduced to Martin's father, Henri (Brian Donlevy). It seems he's recuperating from something on a couple of sawhorses. PROS: Good laboratory set. CONS: Mr. Donlevy's voice rises to a laughable squeek when he gets agitated. The family's curse is being fanatical about matter teleportation. "Imagine being able to send help where it's needed INSTANTLY!", squeeks Henri.

Various other characters are introduced: Chinese servants (Tai and Wan), the director of the asylum, the police inspector, the misshapen human teleportation guinea pigs, etc. PROS: good makeup on the "failures". CONS: A Caucasian actress trying to portray an Asian house servant. It's stupid and offensive, especially when she speaks in "Engrish".

It all goes to Hell in the end, of course. The former lab assistants are fused horribly into a large, multi-limbed, gelatinous mass. Daddy gets disintegrated. Martin keels over and ages into a skeleton. The police inspector leads the now numb Ms. Gray away as the music swells.

Thank God it's finally... THE END

There be Spoilers here!

The Canadian winter is as much a cast member as Ms. Heywood and the others. The cinematography is stunningly beautiful. Two city gals buy a backwoods chicken ranch and the mood is upbeat. They have a "special" friendship, but they're shown sleeping in the same bed, back to back and wearing flannel nightgowns. Enter The Man: Keir Dullea breaks in, scaring the hell out of the girls. Seems his family used to own the ranch. Sexual tension builds and the 1960s mindset that gays/lesbians just need some good old hetero-lovin' to set 'em right raises its head (no pun intended). In the end, The Good Lesbian (the one willing to change teams) rides off into the sunset with The Man. The Bad Lesbian gets flattened by a falling tree! WTF!? Seriously, WTF?