This blog was begun Wednesday night May 6th and completed the following day :
Warning : Spoilers Ahead!
Tonight's movie was another Brrrittissh Production, "The Strange World of Planet X"(1958), in which a Mad Scientist messes around with magnetic fields, disrupts the balance of nature and ticks off an Alien in the process. The singularly named Alec Mango stars as "Dr. Laird", whose laboratory in the English countryside contains a generator that rivals HAARP in electromagnetic power. That this movie predates HAARP by 40 years is uncanny, but more to the point, Laird's present experiments are causing havoc in a nearby village. Every time he cranks up his circuit, the power blows out at the local pub. The owner is getting pissed at having to buy a new TV set every couple of weeks and you can't blame him.
But Laird's experiments are causing more than just electrical surges. Down at the police station, an Inspector has noticed that every time the pub has blown up, there's been a coinciding lightning storm that arrived out of the blue. He pays a visit to Dr. Laird but is assured there's no cause for concern. "We're only doing research for medical purposes. Every piece of equipment here is shielded and well insulated. Any lightning is merely a coincidence, and likely what's damaging the pub after all". Oh, okay. Nevermind then.
Except the Inspector doesn't say that. He's suspicious of Laird and assigns an undercover officer to keep an eye on him. At the lab, a computer expert (Gaby Andre) is brought in to run the control panel, which is proving to be too complicated for Laird's assistant, Forrest Tucker (of "F-Troop" fame). Their next experiment is to be on a block of metal the undercover officer has brought to the lab for analysis. The metal is turned to dust, giving the officer something to report, but more startling is that a set of keys in the control room have been magnetised. They zip through the air and nearly conk Miss Andre on the head. She quickly realises that the magnetic field has escaped the lead walls of the test box. Forest Tucker puts two and two together, knowing now why the pub keeps overloading. He pleads with Dr. Laird to call off all further experiments until the problem can solved, but Laird won't hear of it.
"Even if there was a slight bleed-through, it would hardly be of enough strength to cause a power outage. Our research will continue"!
The undercover officer has seen enough, though, and when he gets back to headquarters, the Inspector informs him of a new problem on their hands : A psychopath has strangled a woman in the nearby woods. He is described by a witness as having a large burn mark on his face. We have already seen him; he is a homeless man who lives the area. He's thought to be harmless, a little neighbor girl even vouches for him. "He helps me with my bug collection". How then did he turn into a Crazed Maniac? And what about the burn on his face?
Right around this time, a new man arrives in the village. We first see him in the woods, introducing himself to Jane, the young bug collector. "Hello, my name is 'Mr. Smith'. Might you know of a 'Dr. Laird' in this area"?
Hmmm, seems to me we've dealt with another "Mr. Smith" recently. Ahh yes, that was in "Beast From Haunted Cave". That "Mr. Smith" was a gold thief. This new one seems honest enough, however.
Little Jane tells Mr. Smith she doesn't know of a Dr. Laird, but refers him to the pub, as that's where all the adults gather. Smith goes there and gets an earful. "That Laird, 'ees crazy, he is"! (crazy is to be pronounced "CRY- zee", Cockney-style) " 'Ees th' cause of all the madness goin' round, what with the lightnin' (pronounced LOIT-nin) and me tellys explodin'. Now there's e'en a madman on the loose (madman pronounced MAD-mn). It's all down to Laird and his experiments, it is! His laboratory is just down the road".
Mr. Smith takes all of this in, then asks to be directed to the Inspector's Office. Arriving there, he introduces himself and states his business. "I am an expert in the field of electromagnetism and I'm here to warn you about the dangers posed by Dr. Laird and his experiments".
"Your name is 'Smith', you say"?
"Yes it is".
"And who sent you"?
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me".
Smith continues : "Electromagnetic radiation does not dissipate, but expands, like a radio signal. The walls at Dr. Laird's facility have not been sufficient to contain the radiation he is producing. As a result, he has created a magnetic field that is spreading in all directions - up into the atmosphere and down into the ground. Now it's even reached space, making it a problem for others as well".
This gets the Inspector's attention. "You're going to have to tell me how you know all of this".
"I'm afraid I can't do that. Not yet, anyway. But I'm advising you to stop Laird immediately, before it's too late. He cannot be allowed to start a"......
Start a "what"? An interplanetary incident? Is that what you're saying, 'Mr. Smith' ?
The Inspector doesn't exactly broach the subject, but that's what Smith is hinting at. As further proof he's not to be trifled with, Smith produces a ray gun that stops everything in the office. Phones, clocks, lights, radios, all dead. Then he turns it all back on. "This is just a toy, basically. We have much more efficient ways of reversing the situation if you cannot control Laird on your own. But let's not argue the matter. I hear you've had a murderer running about in the woods, with a noticeable burn mark on his face? He too is a result of Laird's radiation. You'll need my help to stop him, and I think we should proceed right away".
But when they get to the woods, they discover a problem several orders of magnitude worse than a crazed strangler. There are Giant Bugs everywhere. Roaches, crickets, grasshoppers, praying mantises......all over the joint! And they're huge! (pronounced HYOOGE!)
Thankfully, there are no Murder Hornets. Those hadn't been invented yet, in 1958, but there's every other kind of creepy lookin' insect, and they're crawling over everything. Roach Motels ain't gonna cut it, folks. The Inspector calls out the military, but even they will need help. It's a good thing Mr. Smith is there. And wouldn't you know it, in a case of Extremely Bad Timing, little Jane just happens to be out in the woods working on her bug collection when all this is taking place! Time for Smith to reveal himself.
No, he doesn't suddenly turn into a Big-Eyed Bean From Venus. His visage remains quite human, and he quietly explains that he is! "Did you really think you were the only human beings in the Universe? Or that you were the most advanced? Where I come from, we've done away with violence and atomic power and other problems you've yet to solve, whether from arrogance or insanity. In fact, we teach of your history in our schools, so it will never be repeated! Our children know your world as 'Planet X' ".
So there you have it! 'Mr. Smith' wasn't an Alien after all. He was from another planet........but was it Earth? I'm still not sure. Sorry to reveal the ending, but it was so cool I couldn't resist. I'll put a Spoiler Warning at the top of the blog. But yeah, wow.........what a great twist. I would love to see this movie restored. The print I watched was soft, so the Giant Bugs were not as defined as they originally must've been on the silver screen. But the story and plot are first rate, with a lot of Hard Science in the dialogue. My one complaint is that the movie is waayyyy too talky. Yak, yak, yaketty yak yak. Gee whiz, c'mon you Brits, can it already! There's also a romantic subtheme between Forrest Tucker and Gaby Andre that could probably have been cut, but overall, with a crisp print, this flick would be top notch. Alec Mango is great as the mad "Dr. Laird", and his laboratory is well-appointed with lots of high-voltage levers and meters.
As viewed in it's present condition, I'm gonna give "The Strange World of Planet X" Two Solid Thumbs Up, It gets docked a bit for too much jabbering, but with a restoration it would get Two Big Thumbs for sure. Watch it anyway, for the interesting story, and for the mysterious 'Mr. Smith'! //////
That's all I know for the moment. Except oh yeah, I almost forgot : they're gonna open up our parks and trails starting on Saturday, so I'll be able to hike again! Yippee and super-duper! Thanks, Mayor Garcetti. Now I will go for my CSUN walk. See you in a little while at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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