Classic Horrors Club

I bet Steve March (John Agar) is really going to be in trouble tomorrow. During the course of The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), he demonstrates power that makes atomic bombs look like firecrackers. Sure, he’s been possessed by a big translucent brain from outer space, but how’s he going to convince the world that he wasn’t responsible for the death and destruction that he caused?

Then again, this is one of those movies that when the military brass are presented with scant evidence, the general concludes, “There’s only one answer: we’ve been invaded!” That’s the innocence and wonder of this 1950s sci-fi B-movie. It washed over me like a warm wave of nostalgia and joy. When Steve and Dan Murphy (Robert Fuller) contemplate mysterious radioactive activity coming from Mystery Mountain (or from inside it), I didn’t really care what happened next; I was fully present in the time and place to be entertained.

Minimal research on the film reminds us that the plot of an interstellar policeman pursuing an alien criminal is not unique. It’s the basis for a 1949 novel called, Needle, by Hal Clement. However, 1987’s The Hidden is similar and if you exchange space for time, so is The Terminator franchise. Why, Stephen King even compared his Carrie to The Brain from Planet Arous, although he called it “terrible.” He says, “terrible,” I say, “groundbreaking and influential.”

Of course, I exaggerate. With one element, though, it could be ahead of its time. Not only does the translucent brain, Gor, make Steve a mustache-twirling villain, it also make him horny. His sudden affection for his fiancee, Sally Fallon (Joyce Meadows) leaves her nearly speechless. After a passionate makeup session, she exclaims, “Wow!” It’s not presented as a good thing, though. He gets too rough and their subsequent scenes alone together can be uncomfortable.

Where it’s not ahead of its time is the direction. This must be one of Nathan Juran’s slightest efforts. (He insisted on being credited as Nathan “Hertz.”) During the first third or so of the film, Robert Fuller has his back to the camera. Also, when the big translucent brain activates inside John Agar, his eyes appear effectively with pupils that are at first askew, then silver; however, the shots are ineffectively out of focus.

Further making The Brain from Planet Arous a perfect example of the 1950s B-movie is the terrific music by Walter Greene. Greene started his career as an uncredited composer for Dumbo (1941), the moved mostly into Westerns. After Brain, he was composer for television shows for two iconic animated characters: Woody Woodpecker and the Pink Panther.