Review of Phantom from Space (1953) by Van R — 29 Jul 2011

W. Lee Wilder, brother of renowned âSome Like It Hotâ? director Billy Wilder, directed the low-budget, science fiction fantasy âPhantom from Space.â? This modest thriller devotes most of its time 77 minutes to the authorities as they try to corner a murderous alien from outer space in a helmet and suit. Wilder and scenarists William Raynor and Myles Wilderâ"the directorâ(TM)s son--adopt a âDragnetâ? documentary style which stresses the use of narration and the constant reminder of the time and place of each scene to enhance its verisimilitude. Wilder recycles special effects that the âInvisible Manâ? franchise relied on so that the Phantom don his uniform and helmet. This is the kind of sci-fi actioneer where the alien attacks only when threatened. Moreover, the alien cannot speak English so nobody can find out what it needs.

âPhantom from Spaceâ? opens with a brief overview of the constant surveillance that our vigilant armed forces maintain on land, at sea, and in the air. An unidentified flying object appears on radar around 7:19 p.m. over Point Barrow, Alaska. The U.F.O. hurdles southward at a projected speed of 5,000 miles per hour but gradually loses both speed and altitude and eventually vanishes off the radar in the vicinity of Santa Monica, California. No sooner has the UFO vanished from radar than people start complaining to the Los Angeles Communications Commission office about radio and television interference. The LACC dispatches mobile units to handle the complaints. Lieutenant Hazen (Ted Cooper of âArizona Manhuntâ?) and his driver Charlie (Tom Daly of âMighty Joe Youngâ?) in Mobile Unit 1 encounter Betty Evans (one-time only actress Lela Nelson) near picnic grounds at the beach. She explains an individual in a deep-sea divers outfit wearing a helmet assaulted her husband Ed and their friend Pete. Betty and Pete knew each other because they attended school together. When the ambulance and the police arrive, they find Bettyâ(TM)s husband Ed dead and bandage Peteâ(TM)s head injury.

Later, when the police question him, Pete tells inquisitive Lieutenant Bowers (Harry Landers of âCharro!â?): âHow would you feel if somebody with a helmet with crazy pipes sticking out of it came for you in the dark? And look, I know this sounds--sounds crazy, but there was no head in that helmet.â? During the interrogation, Bowers receives news about another murder near the beach and leaves to investigate. A neighbor, George Nelson (Harry Strang of âDetourâ?), tells Bowers that he found the body after he experienced interference on his television. Hazen rejoins Charlie, and they keep tabs on the interference. They cruise out to the Huntington Beach oil fields. An explosion at the oil field facility claims the third victim. Hazen catches up with Bowers again. Initially, Bowers suspected both Betty and Pete may have killed her husband. However, he changes his mind when he believes a connection may lie between the interference and the homocides. A police sketch artist draws a picture of the mysterious killer that looks like the assailant that confronted Betty and Pete. An oil field facility night watchman (Michael Mark of âJet Pilotâ?) verifies that the sketch resembles the individual he saw by a tank when it blew up.

The Central Bureau in Washington, D.C., has Bowers contact Major Andrews (James Seay of âVera Cruzâ?) and Dr. Wyatt (Rudolph Anders of âMagnificent Obsessionâ?) at the Griffith Institute Observatory. When Andrews and Wyatt examine the sketch, Andrews believes the so-called "phantom" may be connected with an earlier U.F.O. sighting. Andrews and Wyatt express skepticism about the presence of an alien spaceship. Furthermore, they rule out any possibility that the U.F.O. was either a missile or meteor because of its extreme speed and direction of travel. Wyatt's assistant, Mrs. Barbara Randall (Noreen Nash of âGiantâ?), pokes her head to inform Bowers that a newspaper reporter Joe Wakeman (Jack Daly of âRaintree Countyâ?) wants to talk to him. Bowers tells Wakeman nothing that the reporter doesnâ(TM)t already know.

The Phantom (Dick Sands of âCasanova's Big Nightâ?) appears for the first time in his space outfit about 25 minutes into the action. Andrews, Wyatt, Barbara, Bowers, Hazen, Charlie and Wakeman drive to a brickyard where they have pin-pointed the Phantom. They deploy a Geiger-MÃ 1/4ller counter follow his trail of radiation. At one point, Wakeman snaps a picture of him before the Phantom enters a building and sheds his apparel. Our heroes appropriate the Phantomâ(TM)s wardrobe and perform tests on it that surprise them. They to cut, tear, and burn the suit without success. Indeed, they discover that the Phantomâ(TM)s outfit is magnetic. Wyatt, Andrews, and Barbara figure out that the Phantom uses the suit to protect himself in the atmosphere beyond the Earth. Moreover, the helmet supplies the extraterrestrial with gases to breathe because it doesnâ(TM)t use oxygen.

Later, when Barbara is by herself in the lab, the Phantom enters and then locks the door. It taps out a code with a pair of scissors, but Barbara doesnâ(TM)t understand it. She does spot one of its huge footprints when it steps on powder. Barbaraâ(TM)s husband Bill arrives, cannot open the door, but hears her voice. The Phantom escapes from the lab with Barbara. Our heroes pursue it through the planetarium. The Phantom returns to the lab and puts on the helmet to breathe. The others show up just as the Phantom exits through a window. After the Phantomâ(TM)s departure, the space suit disintegrates. Barbara discovers under ultraviolet light the Phantom is visible. Wyatt explains to Bowers they are dealing with a super-human form based on the large size of the footprint, the sophisticated technology of the suit and helmet, and the creaturesâ(TM) acumen. Wyatt postulates the Phantom must have entered the Earthâ(TM)s atmosphere accidentally. They chase it into the big space telescope chamber and watch it fall to the floor. Before their eyes, the naked man turns to dust.

âPhantom from Spaceâ? is a marginal sci-fi outing that audiences can skip without repercussions in the larger scheme of things.