20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), Director: Nathan Juran, rated Approved

Out-Of-Space Creature Invades the Earth!

Starring: William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Frank Puglia, Thomas Browne Henry, John Zaremba, Tito Vuolo, Jan Arvan, Arthur Space

DML Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ - above average

"I've had nightmares in my time, but I've never dreamed of anything like this." - Dr. Judson Uhl

Why watch this? This is one of Harryhausen's early high points. The beast will grow on you.

Plot Summary: The film centers on a micro-organism from Venus attached to a returned space probe. As "it" quickly grows, it seems harmless, right up to the point where it escapes and wreaks havoc. Without taking any steps to understand the beast, the Army rolls in the tanks and uses its arsenal to attack the scaled behemoth.

Dad's Preview: Ray Harryhausen, the undisputed master of stop-motion animation, always maintained this creature, Ymir, was his most beloved creation. Like O'Brien's King Kong (1933), Harryhausen deftly creates an entity that is both menacing and sympathetic to audiences. The colorized version is pretty well done, but I prefer this classic in good ol' black and white.

Morningside Productions; Columbia Pictures