I Married A Monster From Outer Space (1958)

Following in the footsteps of flicks like “Invaders From Mars” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, IMAMFOS plays up the idea of the outside “invader” no doubt reflecting, as the previous mentioned films did, our countries at the time fear of a commie invasion. While it may not be as effective as Invaders or Snatchers, this one still holds up as exactly what it is, a solid B-level piece of science fiction.

Leaving his bachelor party early to meet his fiancé’ Marge, every day man Bill Farrell runs afoul of a space creature on the drive home. Yes, it’s as simple as it sounds. Space aliens have seemingly invaded the sleepy little town of Norrisville in hopes of mating with the local earth women to repopulate their dying species, as their women have become infertile thanks to the suns over radioactive rays, or something along those lines. The aliens can seemingly inhabit the bodies of those they wish, with the earth broads none the wiser to their little scheme. At least they have the decency to marry the broads first before knocking em’ up, you know? Marge goes ahead and marries Bill, noticing that after their wedding Bill seems rather strange and distant, hardly the man she fell in love with. He also has trouble remembering events from the past, drives at night with his headlights off, goes out for nighttime walks to who knows where, and “gasp” swears off drinking as ET’s are seemingly allergic to alcohol. Sucks to be extraterrestrial huh? And what of this unholy alien/human breeding you may ask? Well, apparently old Billy Boy’s alien sperm isn’t exactly up to snuff with earth girls, as Marge is still childless after a year of marriage. You’d think that these alien folk would have thought of this prior to launching a full-scale invasion, you know? Following Bill on one of his mysterious midnight walks, Marge witnesses her hubby arriving at a flying saucer, with the alien leaving Bills body to enter the ship. Now aware that aliens are invading her town and worse yet she’s been banging an alien for the better part of a year, Marge is off to warn the townsfolk of their impending doom as paranoia soon abounds as we wonder who or who isn’t an alien.

I remember seeing this one around the age of eight on my beloved “Thriller Double Feature” and actually, and I say this with a straight face, being scared by it. I think it was the shots of the alien creatures that got to me, as they do look surprisingly good for the time and have that threatening shuffle thing down pat. In short, they have a sort of humanoid shape with weird looking tentacles protruding from their faces…hey, I was eight ok? They also pack the latest in ray-gun technology and can generate clouds of gas that suck up whatever hapless fool gets in their way. There is a seemingly anti-marriage mood to the whole movie, as you can sorta look at Bill as being, thanks to marriage, turned into an “alien” (can’t drink, hardly sees his friends anymore, etc). Many characters in the film constantly quip jokes about the evils of marriage, and some even bring up the big “D” word (divorce), which was still a tad taboo in this age of “Leave It To Beaver” type mentality. The film itself remains interesting throughout even though at times it does tend to bog down in some sections. There are some nice touches like the aliens true face being able to be seen in lightening flashes, and an almost touching scene with a prostitute approaching an alien on the street who’s looking longingly at a dime store window display of baby dolls. Just when you think, “aww, poor alien wants to have a baby” he turns around and shoots the said slut with a ray gun…oh well floozie. All in all, this one has stood the test of time, and is one of the better pieces of low budget sci-fi from the fifties. Recommended.