1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,519 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 2: Hey, welcome to Weird House Cinema. This is Rob Lamb. 3 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 3: And this is Joe McCormick. And today on Weird House Cinema, 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,600 Speaker 3: we're going to be talking about the nineteen fifty eight 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 3: sci fi horror movie I Married a Monster from Outer Space, 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 3: directed by longtime Hollywood film editor Gene Fowler Junior, starring 7 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 3: Gloria Talbot and Tom Tryan spoiler warning. As always, I 8 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 3: figure we should put that right at the top. If 9 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 3: you're new to this show. We always end up talking 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 3: about the plot in some pretty extreme detail. So if 11 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 3: you want to go into this movie unspoiled, go check 12 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 3: it out. Now. I know it's a few decades late 13 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 3: now on that, but you know you still have the 14 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 3: chance if you want to pause here and go watch 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 3: the movie. I don't know where the best place to 16 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 3: start is, but maybe with the title I Married a 17 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 3: Monster from Outer Space that the wordiness of the title 18 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,840 Speaker 3: really catches up with you when you're like typing it 19 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 3: a lot in the notes. It's one of those fifties 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 3: movies with an overly descriptive title, and yet unlike a 21 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 3: lot of these movies with really wordy titles. It's not 22 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 3: misleading like It Conquered the World. This one is wordy, 23 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 3: but as a plot summary, it's right on the money. 24 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is exactly how it goes down. 25 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 3: Yeah. So the story is about a young woman named 26 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 3: Marge who begins to suspect that her very hunky new 27 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 3: husband Bill may actually be an alien in disguise, and 28 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 3: he is. This was a new movie for me. I 29 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 3: just saw it for the first time over the weekend. 30 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 3: I watched it with Rachel, and I was really pleasantly surprised. 31 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 3: I kind of picked it because, for one thing, because 32 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 3: of the funny title, and also because you know, I'd 33 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 3: read some people online saying it was worth a look. 34 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 3: I thought it was actually really good. There are definitely 35 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 3: some dated and goofy elements, and I'm excited to talk 36 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 3: about those as well. One of the funniest parts of 37 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,519 Speaker 3: it being that you can literally never tell what time 38 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,359 Speaker 3: it's supposed to be in the movie, because it's obviously 39 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 3: the middle of the night. Characters are asleep and they 40 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 3: get up out of bed and leave the house, but 41 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 3: it's shot in broad daylight. But the movie really does 42 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 3: hit hard on multiple levels. I think it's got a 43 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:30,679 Speaker 3: quite strong script with pretty tight plotting that is smart 44 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 3: and interesting in several ways that we can talk about 45 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 3: as we go on. I think has really good central performances, 46 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,959 Speaker 3: especially by Gloria Talbot and Tom Tryan. It has some 47 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:45,239 Speaker 3: fantastic for the time visual effects. I'm thinking particularly of 48 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 3: the blooming smoke which steals men's souls. And I really 49 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 3: like the creature suits that we see as well. The 50 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 3: heads are somehow a combination of the Darth Vader helmet 51 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,239 Speaker 3: with a cypress root. Paul It's kind of radiation suit 52 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 3: meets a vascular plant. So this all comes together and 53 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 3: makes for I think a really effective little film. 54 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,080 Speaker 2: Absolutely, Yeah, I Married a Monster from Outer Space is 55 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 2: really solid. My first exposure to this movie, as with 56 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 2: a lot of classic B movies, came via nineteen eighty 57 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 2: two's It Came from Hollywood, which, well, if you're not 58 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 2: familiar with it, it was a clip field celebration of 59 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 2: classic Hollywood weirdness and some classic Hollywood awfulness with mild 60 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 2: riffing and some comedic skits by Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, 61 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 2: Cheech and Chong and then Gilda Radner they're all to 62 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 2: varying degrees very funny. No, not all the humors as 63 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 2: aged super well, but a lot of it is still 64 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 2: pretty solid, I do. 65 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 3: As far as the riffing goes, I don't think you 66 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 3: can do much better than we just sprayed for brains 67 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 3: last week. 68 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's some good riffing in here, pre msd riffing. 69 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 2: But there were some clips from I Married a Monster 70 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 2: from Outer Space in it came from Hollywood, and the 71 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 2: monsters like really resonating. You're being bombarded with all these 72 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 2: different space monsters during these segments of this film. But 73 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 2: there was something about these that really stood out, this 74 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 2: kind of something about the sublime melding of black and 75 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 2: white photographic effects, solid costume work really had that kind 76 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 2: of classic Outer limits vibe to the creatures and so 77 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 2: much later on. I don't even remember when exactly I 78 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:30,679 Speaker 2: did seek it out and I watched it in full, 79 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 2: but it was it wasn't as dedicated to viewing as 80 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 2: I gave it this week. So I remember watching it, 81 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 2: digging the effects and being like, oh, yeah, these effects 82 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 2: are really good, maybe laughing at some of the outdated elements, 83 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 2: but this time around, yeah, I thought the special effects 84 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,160 Speaker 2: absolutely held up, but I was even more impressed with 85 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 2: everything else, particularly the lead performances and its thoughtful sci 86 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 2: fi treatment of distance and alienation within a married relationship. 87 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, I would agree with all of that. Now, I 88 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,720 Speaker 3: did want to talk about the movie's title a little 89 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 3: bit more, because it is not just wordy or overly descriptive. 90 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 3: It's actually an example of a recurring format. It's kind 91 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 3: of a meme title style, this confessional title that starts 92 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 3: with the word I. Other examples being things like I 93 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 3: was a shoplifter or I was a teenage werewolf, which 94 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 3: is actually was by the same director as today's movie. 95 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 3: It was from the year before. So I got interested 96 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 3: in this and I was looking to see if anybody 97 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:37,239 Speaker 3: had written about where this meme title format originally came from. 98 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 3: And I found an interesting analysis in an article it's 99 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,840 Speaker 3: actually about this film about I Married a Monster from 100 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 3: outer Space on Turner Classic Movies by Richard Harlan Smith, 101 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 3: and Smith explains as follows quote. Tabloid magazines enjoyed a 102 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 3: veritable golden age in the United States after the Second 103 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,160 Speaker 3: World War, at a time when economic prosperity wetted. A 104 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 3: ravening national appetite for gossip, whether the subjects were unfortunate 105 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 3: nobody's or celebrity scandal magnets. Americans appreciated having the inside 106 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 3: scoop or the illusion thereof, particularly when spilled first person 107 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 3: singular within the pages of confidential whisper or the National Inquirer. 108 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 3: In Hollywood, the movies began to reflect this voyeuristic bent 109 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,920 Speaker 3: with brazenly confessional titles along the lines of I was 110 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 3: a criminal from nineteen forty five, I was a male 111 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 3: warbride nineteen forty nine, and I was a shoplifter nineteen fifty. 112 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 3: So Smith is arguing here that it begins in nineteen 113 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 3: forties tabloids and gossip magazines. It's this phrasing that offers 114 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 3: a kind of lurid intimacy, like I'm going to tell 115 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 3: you a secret and it's going to be shocking. So 116 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 3: first it is a type of tabloid headline, and then 117 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,239 Speaker 3: that format, or that sensibility at least, is brought over 118 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 3: into the marketing of films. So Smith goes on to 119 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 3: say that over time these I was a something films 120 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 3: tend to become more shocking and also more specific, and 121 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 3: they really start to focus on Weird Secrets about or 122 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 3: from within a marriage quote. In nineteen forty two, both 123 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 3: I Married an Angel and I Married a Witch posited 124 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:31,679 Speaker 3: happy fantasy unions of humans and otherworldly creatures of uncommon beauty. 125 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 3: By the end of the decade, however, the mood had 126 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 3: darkened considerably, though their titles would be changed for theatrical release. 127 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 3: I Married a Communist aka the woman on Peer thirteen 128 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 3: from nineteen forty nine. That's a film noir. And also 129 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 3: I Married a dead Man aka no Man of her 130 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 3: Own from nineteen fifty broached a connubial incompatibility of epic proportions, 131 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 3: a marital malaise that reached its apotheosis in nineteen fifty 132 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 3: eight with I Married a Monster from outer Space. 133 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, this whole legacy of I Married a blank film, 134 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 2: it's pretty fascinating. I did read that I Married a 135 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 2: Communist was the initial title for Peer thirteen, then the 136 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 2: kind of the woman from on Peer thirteen, and then the kind. 137 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 3: Of backed off of it. 138 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 2: I guess audiences didn't like it as much, but but 139 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 2: in general, like you can definitely see the power of it. 140 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 2: You know, this this kind of the bait is that 141 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 2: there's a. You know, the will the would be filmgoer 142 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 2: is gonna have to contemplate the change and identity within 143 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 2: the confines of a married relationship. Uh, in a kind 144 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 2: of promisingly evocative way. So like that sweet loving person 145 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 2: that I married, Oops, they're actually a dracula, They're actually 146 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 2: a franket, stuff, and so forth. 147 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, you can see why it's a successful pitch. It 148 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 3: packages a lot into a few words. It Uh, it 149 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 3: implies automatically relationship stakes and drama, human drama. Like you 150 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 3: can see how there I married a blank always seems 151 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,959 Speaker 3: to imply surprise of some kind, which implies deception, which 152 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 3: you know, is something that the characters are going to 153 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 3: have to work through. So that's guaranteed drama on the 154 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 3: front end. And then also, of course I'm married a whatever. 155 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,479 Speaker 3: Even if it's not going to be explicit, it implies 156 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 3: that there will be something about sex, you know, it 157 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 3: just like conjures the idea of sexual union into the mind. 158 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 3: Well yeah, like even sexual secrets will be discovered. 159 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like even in this picture, which again is fifty 160 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 2: eight very much a bedroom door closed picture, still the 161 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 2: idea of sex and the idea of human reproduction is 162 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 2: very much an important part of the film. It just 163 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:41,319 Speaker 2: is alluded to, you know, at times, you know, very 164 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 2: very chastily, very clinically in some regards. It's happening in 165 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 2: the background, but is absolutely essential to the plot. 166 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 3: I agree this movie is not very explicit in any way. 167 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 3: I mean, certainly not visually explicit, but the sexual and 168 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,319 Speaker 3: reproductive themes of it are definitely central and one of 169 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:03,079 Speaker 3: the strongest elements. Actually. Yeah, So this film I Married 170 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 3: a Monster from Outer Space was originally released as part 171 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 3: of a double feature with The Blob. Could you have 172 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 3: guessed the weird pairing, isn't it? 173 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,680 Speaker 2: It's a great pairing, though. Imagine getting to see two 174 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 2: classics like this back to back. I mean, assuming you 175 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 2: were there to actually watch the film and not make out. 176 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 2: Some people were there to watch the film though. 177 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,440 Speaker 3: I Married a Monster was originally supposed to be the 178 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 3: A film, with The Blob running second, but reactions from 179 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 3: test audiences made Paramount decide to flip the bill, so 180 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 3: I Married became the b title. If you ask me, 181 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 3: I've seen them both, I would argue that I Married 182 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 3: a Monster from Outer Space is the better of the 183 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 3: two movies, at least in terms of writing and acting 184 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 3: in cinematography. No slam in the Blob, but I think 185 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 3: this is the stronger film. But reports from the time 186 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 3: are that the Blob won out because it was in color. 187 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 3: It's hard to beat colored. This is what the teenagers 188 00:10:57,800 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 3: wanted at the time. Even if you have a lot 189 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 3: of other stuff going for you, if you're in black 190 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 3: and white, it's just hard to compete. 191 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, the Blob is pretty brilliant in color. And yeah, 192 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 2: the Blob is an Alzheimer Steve McQueen star jelly. That 193 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 2: great title sequence with the Bert Backerac theme song, you know, 194 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 2: it establishes that there's a party that's about to happen. 195 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 2: So for the driving especially, that makes sense. But I'd 196 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 2: agree that I Married a Monster Is is a far 197 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 2: more contemplative work with effects that I think stand up 198 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 2: even better. I don't know, it's kind of hard to 199 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:31,719 Speaker 2: compare because we're used to the Blob. The Blob has 200 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 2: kind of like a bigger pop culture shadow. But yeah, 201 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 2: the effects in this film are terrific, and at the 202 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:42,800 Speaker 2: very least are in their own way, on par with 203 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 2: the Blog. 204 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 3: In this movie, they're terrific, but they're more modest. I 205 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:50,679 Speaker 3: mean The Blob is an effects centric film, and this 206 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 3: is not. This is a tense, frightening, little relationship drama 207 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 3: with you know, aliens and alien special effects woven in. Yeah. 208 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 3: So if you've seen a bunch of other sci fi 209 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,079 Speaker 3: horror movies from the drive in era, you will probably 210 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 3: not be very surprised by the core plot or premise 211 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 3: of the movie. I would say this one actually makes 212 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 3: use of two different alien invasion premises that were popular 213 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 3: at the time that you'll find in other films. So 214 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 3: maybe we should talk about both of them and how 215 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 3: they kind of work into the themes of this movie, 216 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 3: and how they work into themes of other movies, and 217 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:36,120 Speaker 3: then how they work in differently in this one. So 218 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,360 Speaker 3: one of these plot types is the aliens in human 219 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 3: skin plot. The premise is that the alien invasion is covert, 220 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 3: not over, so it's not a flying saucer attacking Washington. 221 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 3: It's you know, the aliens are blending in with us. 222 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 3: They're trying to seize power by blending in with human 223 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 3: society and pretending to be us or acting through us. 224 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 3: And this can take several forms. Sometimes these movies have 225 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 3: a kind of puppeteering premise where aliens take control of 226 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 3: human bodies directly, either through technology like a mind control 227 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 3: ray or by taking up residents inside us as some 228 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 3: kind of parasite. I think of the brain eaters. You know, 229 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 3: we've done plenty of movies like this. And then the 230 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 3: other major version is body duplication or body snatching, where 231 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,599 Speaker 3: aliens copy the appearance of an earthling but remain themselves 232 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:29,479 Speaker 3: on the inside. 233 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 2: And these are both. These are these are great choices 234 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 2: to make, especially with a scrappier B movie budget, right, 235 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 2: because you can if you can afford monster effects that 236 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 2: look pretty good, great, you can use them, but you 237 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 2: can use them sparingly. And if you've got actors who 238 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 2: are even just halfway decent at their job, you're gonna 239 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 2: be able to lean on those performances more and not 240 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 2: have to worry about what kind of you know, plaster 241 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,680 Speaker 2: goop is attached to their faces. 242 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, and of course you get instant tension and drama 243 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 3: from the idea of someone pretending to be something they're not. 244 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, it absolutely works. 245 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 3: So a lot of these body snatching movies from the 246 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,960 Speaker 3: fifties are now interpreted. I was actually wondering about this. 247 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 3: I should have looked it up before we recorded how 248 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 3: often it was interpreted this way at the time, but 249 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 3: at least retrospectively, they're now interpreted as Cold war paranoia, 250 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 3: you know, consciously or unconsciously expressing fears about communist infiltration, 251 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 3: Like they look just like your neighbors and your coworkers, 252 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 3: but secretly they are Red spies. You know, they're subversives 253 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 3: trying to destroy your way of life. I have seen 254 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 3: a few comments online that seem to casually lump I 255 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 3: married a monster from outer space in with those other 256 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 3: movies like, oh, it is another cold war political paranoia 257 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 3: body snatching movie, you know, assuming it's about fears of 258 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 3: secret political infiltration. I really don't agree with that reading. 259 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 3: I think the themes of identity and mistrust raised by 260 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 3: the body snatching plot here are actually in service of 261 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 3: a different constellation of ideas, mostly related to sex and gender. 262 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 3: Actually that and actually I'll come back to this in 263 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 3: a second, but the same ideas are raised by the 264 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:27,880 Speaker 3: second main familiar sci fi premise this movie uses, which 265 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 3: is the reproductive conspiracy. 266 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I agree that this film seems mostly concerned 267 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 2: with relationships and distance in those relationships, and there are 268 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 2: various ways you can interpret that. I've noticed some online 269 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 2: re examining this film in terms of closeted nineteen fifty 270 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 2: sexual identity and orientation, and I can see where those 271 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 2: connections can be strongly made with a lot of it, 272 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 2: I think, hinging on what we now know about star 273 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 2: Tom Tryan's closet homosexuality, at least as far as his 274 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 2: public persona was concerned as first an actor and then 275 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 2: as a writer. 276 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 3: I would be interested to read about that. I would say, 277 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 3: I don't know at the surface level if I see 278 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 3: that kind of content intended within the film itself, but 279 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 3: maybe I don't know. Yeah, yeah, but anyway, So the 280 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 3: other thing that is, like a common type of fifties 281 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 3: sci fi horror movie plot that appears here is the 282 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 3: reproductive conspiracy. So the idea is space aliens have lost 283 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 3: the ability to reproduce sexually on their own. Often these 284 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 3: plots are because one of the sexes has been wiped 285 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 3: out by a catastrophe, so they decide they need to 286 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 3: mate with humans in order to continue their line. We 287 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 3: have covered several movies like this before, though always sillier 288 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 3: versions like Ship of Monsters from nineteen sixty. Actually one 289 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 3: of my favorite movies we've ever done on the show. 290 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, love, and I can't believe you're arguing that it's 291 00:16:58,880 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 2: not serious. 292 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:05,680 Speaker 3: Well, yeah, it's It's seriousness is masked by the heart 293 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 3: of a clown. There's that one. And then also Devil 294 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,440 Speaker 3: Girl from Mars, which is less overtly silly than Ship 295 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 3: of Monsters, but is still pretty silly. 296 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:16,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, it has a certain amount of cant to it. 297 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 3: Yeah. I would say that the reproductive plot in I 298 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 3: Married a Monster from Outer Space feels significantly more serious 299 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 3: and frightening than it does in those two movies, which 300 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 3: is partly due to just approach, you know, differences in 301 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 3: the writing like those movies are sillier, but also because 302 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,439 Speaker 3: of the swap to gender dynamics, like in those movies 303 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 3: women from space need earth Men, which is usually played 304 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,639 Speaker 3: for comedy in the movies. In I Married a Monster 305 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 3: from Outer Space, men from space are trying to have 306 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:52,400 Speaker 3: offspring with Earth women, which that premise tends to create 307 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 3: a darker and more threatening tone. And I think I 308 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 3: think also in an interesting way, indirectly racist theme of 309 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:04,200 Speaker 3: sexual autonomy and reproductive rights for women. I don't want 310 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 3: to overstate that element or overstate the feminist credentials of 311 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 3: this film. Because it is a drive in movie from 312 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 3: nineteen fifty eight, You're not going to get explicit discussion 313 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 3: of stuff like that on screen, but it does, I think, 314 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 3: raise those ideas in an interesting and provocative way. And 315 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 3: I think one cool power of speculative genres like science 316 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 3: fiction and horror is that within them you can sometimes 317 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 3: raise questions by implication and analogy which might not be 318 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 3: given a fair hearing by the same audience if you 319 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 3: just brought them up directly. 320 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a great point, and I 321 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 2: would agree that it is treated with I mean that 322 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 2: this is saying men, but it is treated with a 323 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 2: lot more seriousness than say nineteen sixty eight's Mars Needs 324 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 2: Women or sixty fives Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, in 325 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 2: which you have like bikini ladies brought into parade before 326 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 2: the Martian overlords so forth. 327 00:18:57,119 --> 00:18:59,159 Speaker 3: I guess, yeah, there are some movies like that that 328 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 3: also just treat it for comedy. Sometimes that for some 329 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 3: reason feels just more in bad taste. 330 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 2: Yea, we may have to come back to Frankenstein Meets 331 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 2: the Space Monster. Though there's a lot of as I 332 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 2: recall there's a lot of canned footage in there of 333 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 2: like planes and rockets and whatnot, but also some legitimately 334 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:19,360 Speaker 2: goofy weirdness. 335 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 3: Is that the one with the bald guy with the 336 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 3: pointy ears. 337 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, he's another one that I remember mostly from 338 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 2: it came from Hollywood. 339 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 3: Yeah, But anyway, I think maybe we can talk a 340 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:35,240 Speaker 3: bit more about these themes when we get into the 341 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 3: plot section later in the episode. 342 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I'm just going to throw out here real quick. 343 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 2: We've been doing Weird House Cinema for a few years now. 344 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 2: You can find all those episodes in the audio archive 345 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcast. We cover movies from different decades. 346 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:51,760 Speaker 2: This is our twenty third Weird House Cinema selection from 347 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 2: the nineteen fifties, and I often will look and see, well, 348 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:57,640 Speaker 2: what did Michael Weldon have to say about this film 349 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 2: and psychotronic Encyclopedia film or it's companion book, and he 350 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 2: describes this one as quote an overlooked, well made science 351 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 2: fiction hit that should appeal especially to women. I mean, yes, 352 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 2: but I mean I think it would appeal to everybody. 353 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 2: It's it's a pretty solid film, all right, Joe, do 354 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 2: you have an elevator pitch. 355 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 3: The title is already an elevator pitch. But yeah, the 356 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 3: other one is just what time is it? Totally unclear? 357 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, is it day? 358 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:26,680 Speaker 3: Is it night? 359 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 2: Sometimes there are there's some strong hints, like, well, they're 360 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,640 Speaker 2: having a picnic outside surrounded by the people. It has 361 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 2: to be daytime. 362 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:37,880 Speaker 3: The only business that's opened seems to be the bar, 363 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:38,919 Speaker 3: so I think it's night. 364 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, you're wearing your nightgown. Must be night. Though the 365 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:47,159 Speaker 2: nightgowns of the late nineteen fifties are not that now 366 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 2: it's harder for us to necessarily distinguish if this is 367 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,640 Speaker 2: a nightgown or this is a dayware. So yeah, all right. 368 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 2: If you were interested in watching I Married a Monster 369 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 2: from Outer Space, well, it is widely available. You can 370 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 2: stream it or buy it digitally in a number of places, 371 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 2: and if you would like to get a little physical 372 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,119 Speaker 2: media while, it's available on Blu Ray from Imprint as 373 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 2: well as Shout Factory. Shout Factory put out a double 374 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 2: feature set that also includes nineteen fifty five's Conquest of Space. 375 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 2: All right, let's get into the folks behind this film, 376 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 2: starting with the director, who was also a producer on 377 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 2: this film. That's Gene Fowler Junior, who of nineteen seventeen 378 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:40,120 Speaker 2: through nineteen ninety eight. I think we already alluded to 379 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,400 Speaker 2: his past as an editor. He was actually an Academy 380 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 2: Award nominated film editor or would become one for nineteen 381 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 2: sixty four's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World. He 382 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,440 Speaker 2: worked primarily as an editor of TV and film from 383 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 2: about thirty five through nineteen eighty five, but he also 384 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 2: directed a series of projects along the way, beginning with 385 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 2: the nineteen fifty two TV film China Smith, which spawned 386 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 2: a TV series of the same name, which he also directed, 387 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 2: and he followed that up with the nineteen fifty seven 388 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,040 Speaker 2: trend setting hit I Was a Teenage Werewolf, starring a 389 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 2: young Michael Landon. 390 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 3: According to the Turner Classic Movies Retrospective by Richard Harlan 391 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,840 Speaker 3: Smith I mentioned earlier, Fowler took the chance to helm 392 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 3: I Was a Teenage Werewolf because he wanted to try 393 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,919 Speaker 3: his hand at directing, and then, based on the title, 394 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 3: he assumed nobody was gonna see this movie and he 395 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 3: was wrong. 396 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, And it was a hit. The film was 397 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 2: enough of a success, and it hit enough of a 398 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,240 Speaker 2: nerve with the teen powered pop culture of the day. 399 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:43,199 Speaker 2: That it led to multiple mostly unrelated projects looking to 400 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,479 Speaker 2: cash in on success, and then later It's cult following 401 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,880 Speaker 2: a nostalgia factor, but basically a whole string of teensploystation 402 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 2: films followed, and these included Let's See I Was a 403 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 2: teenage Frankenstein from fifty seven, The Blood of Dracula from 404 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,639 Speaker 2: fifty seven, which, despite the rather generic Dracula title, is 405 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 2: apparently essentially a teenage vampire movie. 406 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:07,199 Speaker 3: Oh that's funny. I would have assumed that has Christopher 407 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:07,639 Speaker 3: Lee in it. 408 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, teenage cave Man from fifty eight, Teenagers from Outer 409 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 2: Space from fifty nine. That one has some really cool 410 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 2: effects in it as well. 411 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 3: One that one was on Mystery Science Theater was there's a. 412 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 2: There's in particular, the teens look a bit old. These 413 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 2: are your you know, your standard issue twenties and thirties teens. 414 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,400 Speaker 2: But there's a great scene where somebody kills a dog 415 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:32,360 Speaker 2: with a ray gun. 416 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 3: Points the ray gun at it, and then it just 417 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 3: turns into a skeleton. Yeah. 418 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:40,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, really solid old time the effect. But yeah. Fowler 419 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 2: of though he'd moved on to a handful of nonspecuative 420 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 2: genre of films before coming back in fifty eight to 421 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 2: him today's film I Married a Monster from Outer Space, 422 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 2: which isn't a teen movie, but benefits from that same 423 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,119 Speaker 2: sort of snappy title composition as we discussed, you know, 424 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 2: I Married a blank instantly draws you in. 425 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 3: Yeah. 426 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 2: So Fowler went on to direct I'll See nineteen fifty 427 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 2: nine's The Revel Set, also seen on Mystery Science Theater 428 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 2: three thousand, nineteen fifty nine's Here Come the Jets spoiler 429 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 2: the Jets are not warm in this case, and various 430 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,879 Speaker 2: TV show episodes. He may have had a hand in 431 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 2: a final film, nineteen seventy eight's The Astral Factor later 432 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 2: re released as Invisible Strangler starring Robert Foxworth. The workpieces 433 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,639 Speaker 2: the workpiece, but details on his involvement in that particular 434 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 2: film are sketchy, so I can't tell he actually had 435 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 2: anything to do with it, and if he did, do 436 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 2: what degree. 437 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,320 Speaker 3: Fowler allegedly took the job to direct I Married a 438 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,400 Speaker 3: Monster from Outer Space in part because he was promised 439 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 3: broad creative freedom. The one stipulation from the financiers was 440 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,520 Speaker 3: that the aliens had to glow, and you know what, 441 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 3: I'll take that as far as creative metaling goes, I 442 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 3: think that idea works. It looks good. I like the 443 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 3: glowing aliens. 444 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, as we'll come back to the glowing effect is 445 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,360 Speaker 2: absolutely solid. So they nailed it. They nailed the one 446 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 2: thing that was required, and then they delivered on pretty 447 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 2: much everything else as well. All right. The screenplay for 448 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 2: this film comes to us from Lewis Vittis, who have 449 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 2: nineteen eleven through nineteen sixty nine. A screenwriter who frequently 450 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 2: worked with Fowler, including on Jets and Rebel Set. His 451 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,919 Speaker 2: speculative titles include the nineteen sixty four sleepwalking thriller The 452 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 2: Eyes of Annie Jones and the nineteen fifty seven atomic 453 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 2: monster film Monster from Green Hell and By the Way 454 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 2: I Married. A Monster from Outer Space was remade as 455 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 2: a TV film in nineteen ninety eight, directed by Nancy Malone. 456 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 2: I have not seen it. I looked at some stills 457 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,639 Speaker 2: from it, and as I expected from a nineteen nineties 458 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 2: TV film, I wasn't really impressed by what I saw. 459 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 2: Maybe the film is good, but I'm not so certain 460 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 2: about those effects. 461 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,199 Speaker 3: Well. The poster for it, which we looked up is 462 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 3: the poster from Basic Instinct. Both the text and the 463 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,320 Speaker 3: actors swapped out. That's an interesting choice. 464 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. It's like, this film does such 465 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 2: a great job with everything that it has, and its 466 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,120 Speaker 2: effects are so stellar, especially for the time. Yeah, it's 467 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,440 Speaker 2: It's a great concept though, and I celebrate the idea 468 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 2: that it was remade and maybe it is good it. 469 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 2: Folks out there, if you've seen I Married a Monster, 470 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 2: the remake of I Married a Monster from outer Space 471 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:23,680 Speaker 2: right in and let's know what you thought. 472 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,120 Speaker 3: Let's talk about Gloria Talbot, our star. 473 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,400 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, she has second billing, but she's our clear 474 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:34,040 Speaker 2: protagonist here, Gloria Talbot playing Marge. She lived nineteen thirty 475 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 2: one through the year two thousand. Nineteen fifties, Brunette Starlett 476 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 2: perhaps best remembered for her various B movies, which also 477 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:44,600 Speaker 2: include nineteen fifty seven's The Cyclops as well as Daughter 478 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,080 Speaker 2: of Doctor Jekyl. And then there's nineteen sixties The Leech Woman, 479 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,560 Speaker 2: another film that has been featured on Mystery Science Theater 480 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 2: three thousand and one that I remember being pretty fun 481 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 2: and having some legitimately creepy moments in it. 482 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,199 Speaker 3: I want to see Daughter of Doctor Jekyl because for 483 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,880 Speaker 3: several reasons, one of which is that it follows up 484 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,439 Speaker 3: on the premise of Doctor Jekyl and Mister Hyde the novel, 485 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 3: which is that, as you'll recall, doctor Jekyll turns into 486 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 3: a werewolf. 487 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,119 Speaker 2: Hmm all right, Yeah, there are a lot of I 488 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 2: feel like when it comes to some of the classic 489 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,440 Speaker 2: literary monsters, Doctor Jekyl and Mister Hyde is one of 490 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 2: those where interpretations can vary in very specific but very 491 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 2: interesting ways, Like you can't. I don't know, we need 492 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 2: to come back at some point and do a jacculine 493 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 2: Hyde movie. I don't think we've actually done one, but 494 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:39,400 Speaker 2: there are numerous choices to be made there. 495 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:40,720 Speaker 3: Maybe this is the one. 496 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,919 Speaker 2: Yeah. She also appeared in a number of Western She 497 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,439 Speaker 2: did a lot of TV work, and that included various 498 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 2: Western TV properties as well. But I have to say 499 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 2: she's pretty great in this. I thought, yeah, perfectly wonderful 500 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 2: performance and while at the same time delivering on sort 501 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:02,400 Speaker 2: of that nineteen fifties starling eye candy as well. Obviously 502 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 2: gorgeous woman opposite gorgeous lead male performance. Is that necessary 503 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 2: for a film, Well, if you're going to if it's 504 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 2: a nineteen fifties drive in it's kind of like, that's 505 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 2: the idea, these two will kiss, don't you want to 506 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:15,320 Speaker 2: see it? 507 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,919 Speaker 3: Yeah, Tom Tryon's hunkiness is its own kind of thing. 508 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,120 Speaker 3: It's a major presence in the film, and I think 509 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 3: affects how the movie is received. And maybe we should 510 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,320 Speaker 3: come back and talk to that, talk about that later, 511 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:27,359 Speaker 3: but yes. 512 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:27,679 Speaker 2: So. 513 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:31,960 Speaker 3: Gloria Talbot was at least retrospectively known as a scream 514 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,919 Speaker 3: queen of the fifties. She did a number of horror movies, 515 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 3: and apparently Talbot said in interviews that she considered working 516 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 3: on this movie a significant step up in her career. 517 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:45,960 Speaker 3: Both of the horror movies she did in fifty seven 518 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 3: were very low budget. For example, I was reading some 519 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 3: stories about the production of The Daughter of Doctor Jekyl. 520 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 3: According to Talbot, the majority of the production took place 521 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 3: at somebody's house, and in the final film you could 522 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 3: occasionally see cars driving by in the street outside through 523 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 3: the windows, and the movie's supposed to take place in 524 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 3: like nineteen ten. Her other movie from fifty seven, The Cyclops, 525 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,160 Speaker 3: was a bert I Gordon feature not regarded as one 526 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 3: of bert I Gordon's best movies. Mister Big, by the Way, 527 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 3: directed some other movies we've done in Weird House before 528 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 3: Attack of the Puppet People and The Magic Sword. We've 529 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:25,000 Speaker 3: done another one. 530 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 2: No, I mean, we want to do The Amazing Colossal 531 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 2: Man at some point, but that one has been just 532 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,960 Speaker 2: very hard to source legitimately for a long time. I 533 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 2: don't think it's received an official Blu Ray release. You 534 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 2: can't stream it anywhere. But I really want to come 535 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:40,200 Speaker 2: back to that one. 536 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 3: It's in Blu Ray purgatory. Yeah. So by contrast, I 537 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 3: Married a Monster from Outer Space was a modest, mid 538 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 3: budget production, and in that article for TCM I mentioned 539 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 3: earlier by Smith, he mentioned he says that Talbot has 540 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 3: said she quote appreciated the relative luxury of the Paramount backlot. 541 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 3: A few more details from that article, which are most 542 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 3: of which are originally sourced to an interview Gloria Talbot 543 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 3: gave to the film historian Tom Weaver in nineteen eighty six. Overall, 544 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 3: she liked the experience of making this movie, and she 545 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 3: was proud of the final film, but noted a few frustrations. 546 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 3: One is that during the middle of production she developed 547 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 3: an absessed tooth ough yikes, and so I was looking 548 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 3: for that once I knew that detail, Like, can you 549 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 3: see the pain in any of the scenes. I don't 550 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 3: know if I can tell that. 551 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,800 Speaker 2: I did not need to know that about my actors, please. 552 00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:37,719 Speaker 3: I don't know if I can tell that from the acting. 553 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:41,240 Speaker 3: I mean, she is going through pain in some scenes. 554 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,040 Speaker 2: Well, you don't use it if you got it, But yeah, 555 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 2: I don't need to know about their dental pain. 556 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 3: She also claims she found the screenwriter Lewis Vittis to 557 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 3: be something of a stickler. She says he would park 558 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 3: his body right underneath the camera and watch the actors 559 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 3: like a hawk to make sure that they did not 560 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 3: change a single word of his dialogue. Which that is 561 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,480 Speaker 3: an approach, you know, that is maybe not an improv 562 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 3: friendly set. But uh then again, as a writer, I 563 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 3: can sympathize somewhat. 564 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:11,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean I don't know. I'm always the 565 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:15,080 Speaker 2: mind like when I when I have written text that 566 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,560 Speaker 2: an actor is going to read, I'm always kind of like, 567 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 2: is this is this good? I don't know, Like you 568 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:22,200 Speaker 2: I'm going to pass the ball to you and then 569 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 2: you score the touchdown with it. That's kind of my approach. 570 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 2: Maybe I'm just that says more about my uh, you know, 571 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 2: my relationship with with acting and you know, and and writing. 572 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 3: But you know, I guess it would just depend what 573 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,480 Speaker 3: they're doing with it, Like, yeah, I feel like they're 574 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 3: improving it. Oftentimes I would feel that way. 575 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, But you know, there's a lot to be said 576 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,000 Speaker 2: of both approaches. You know, Obviously a lot of filmmakers 577 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:48,600 Speaker 2: have made some wonderful discoveries and created some great content 578 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:52,840 Speaker 2: by enabling there and allowing their actors to bring stuff 579 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 2: to life in their own words. But if you're if 580 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 2: you're more of a script purist, and then you've got 581 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 2: good company with the likes of the Coe Brothers, who 582 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 2: pretty famously don't use much in the way of improv 583 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 2: on the part of their actors and pretty much stick 584 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 2: to the script. 585 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 3: Yeah. One final detail from that article is that Talbot 586 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:15,960 Speaker 3: remembered her co star Tom Tryan playing her husband quote 587 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,600 Speaker 3: as cordial but aloof and that Tryan hated making the film. 588 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 3: So it's a good experience for her at least as 589 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 3: far as she remembered, not so fun for him. 590 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 2: Well, that'll be interesting to contemplate because on one hand, 591 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,120 Speaker 2: maybe he's able to bring that energy into his performance 592 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 2: because there is this you know this distance to him, 593 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,160 Speaker 2: and there should be, because he is an alien for 594 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 2: most of the picture. Most of the picture, he is 595 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 2: an alien pretending to be a human named Bill, and 596 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 2: while he doesn't hate humanity, he is having an interesting 597 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 2: time trying to figure out how it works, especially from 598 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 2: an emotional perspective. 599 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 3: The character of the alien Bill, I think is really interesting, 600 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 3: and Tom Tryan's performance is really good. He of course, 601 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,840 Speaker 3: it is valuable to the film that he is an 602 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,960 Speaker 3: incredibly handsome actor, I think, because that changes the way 603 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:19,040 Speaker 3: this character is received. That he has amid this amid 604 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 3: this coldness and the problems within the relationship. He does 605 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 3: have a kind of raw sexual appeal, and that keeps 606 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 3: things especially weird and complicated when we're working through these 607 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:34,080 Speaker 3: scenes where he's displaying this coldness or you know, there's 608 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 3: this threat about what he represents. 609 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:38,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think one of the great things about 610 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 2: this film too, is that there's not a point in 611 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 2: the film where Bill is just like, oh, you got me. 612 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:46,000 Speaker 2: I'm an alien and now I'm just going to be 613 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 2: a straight heel for the rest of the picture, Like 614 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 2: we're we end up in a much more thought provoking area, 615 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:55,720 Speaker 2: where as we'll discuss you know, it's like his alien 616 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 2: nature is known, but he's also not like but he's 617 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 2: also trying to be more human. Like they're trying to 618 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 2: make it work even though one of them is an 619 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 2: alien from another planet. Yeah, so yeah. Tom trying Here 620 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,200 Speaker 2: lived nineteen twenty six through nineteen ninety one. Golden Globe 621 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 2: nominated Actor for nineteen sixty fours The Cardinal. That was 622 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,719 Speaker 2: an Auto Priminger film that co starred John Houston. It 623 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:23,680 Speaker 2: was an inter war drama that took on various social 624 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,359 Speaker 2: issues as well as the rise of fascism through a 625 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 2: Catholic lens. It was not a hit. And you know, 626 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 2: without knowing exactly how career concerns factor and had everything, 627 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:40,680 Speaker 2: I wonder if Tryan's feelings about this movie might have 628 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,640 Speaker 2: been related to that. Like, you know, in the Hollywood 629 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:47,640 Speaker 2: of the nineteen fifties, generally speaking, like starring in a 630 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,960 Speaker 2: horror movie or a sci fi film wasn't necessarily like 631 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,640 Speaker 2: you're ascending the latter. I mean sometimes it worked out 632 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:56,560 Speaker 2: that way. We were talking about the Blob. Steve McQueen. Obviously, 633 00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,240 Speaker 2: Steve McQueen went on to much bigger and greater things, 634 00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 2: but it wasn't always seen as you know, a step 635 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:04,080 Speaker 2: in the right direction. 636 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:07,080 Speaker 3: Yes, and that wasn't just the nineteen fifties. I mean, 637 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:09,880 Speaker 3: we were recently talking about actors reflecting on working in 638 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:14,279 Speaker 3: the in the eighties, when it was still widely believed like, look, 639 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 3: you do horror movies, you're just not going to be 640 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:19,439 Speaker 3: in mainstream movies. After that, people don't want to mess 641 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:21,640 Speaker 3: with you. They think, okay, you're you're dealing in the 642 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 3: in the weird genres. You know, you're not part of 643 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,200 Speaker 3: what we're doing now. Yeah. 644 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,359 Speaker 2: Absolutely, this in a similar way, It's like they used 645 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:29,799 Speaker 2: to say that about TV. I was like, oh, you're 646 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,319 Speaker 2: doing TV. Now you're a TV actor. You're done with 647 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 2: mainstream cinema. And you know, nowadays it's a little more 648 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:35,759 Speaker 2: complicated than that. 649 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,160 Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, and obviously even at both of these times 650 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:41,640 Speaker 3: in history, you could find exceptions people who went from 651 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 3: one to the other. But at least there was a 652 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:47,440 Speaker 3: wide perception among actors that you know, in the genres 653 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:49,759 Speaker 3: that's sort of on the downslope, or at least you're 654 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:51,520 Speaker 3: you're not getting out of that valley. 655 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,840 Speaker 2: Right, especially if you were a star player, if you 656 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:56,080 Speaker 2: were if you were a featured player, as opposed to 657 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 2: a character actor who maybe sometimes character actors maybe had 658 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:00,799 Speaker 2: a little bit more of along jayvity and a little 659 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 2: bit more ability to move between these sorts of things. 660 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:10,879 Speaker 2: So Trian was mostly a serious dramatic actor who's only other, 661 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,760 Speaker 2: even faintly horror sci fi related credit was nineteen sixty 662 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:17,600 Speaker 2: two's Moon Pilot. This was a Disney comedy. This was 663 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:19,399 Speaker 2: not a serious sci fi film, so it was only 664 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 2: marginally sci fi. His other credits include nineteen sixties The 665 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 2: Story of Ruth, sixty two Is The Longest Day, and 666 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:30,640 Speaker 2: sixty five's In Harm's Way. However, just because he only 667 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,880 Speaker 2: ever acted in one horror movie doesn't mean that he 668 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,680 Speaker 2: didn't have a taste for horror as a genre, because 669 00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:42,120 Speaker 2: apparently the story goes that after he experienced Rosemary's Baby 670 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:44,440 Speaker 2: in nineteen sixty eight, I think maybe was a combination 671 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 2: of seeing the film and reading the book, he wrote 672 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,719 Speaker 2: his own horror novel. He switched careers, he dropped out 673 00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:53,800 Speaker 2: of acting, devoted himself to writing, and he wrote nineteen 674 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:58,120 Speaker 2: seventy one's The Other, a supernatural horror tale about identical 675 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:03,200 Speaker 2: twins that became a best sell. He adapted it himself 676 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:07,000 Speaker 2: to screenplay for a film the following year, and you know, 677 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:10,480 Speaker 2: from that point on just focused on writing. He followed 678 00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:13,719 Speaker 2: that book up with seventy three's Harvest Home, which was 679 00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:16,839 Speaker 2: made into a nineteen seventy eight mini series, The Dark 680 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,960 Speaker 2: Secret of Harvest Home with Betty Davis, and then the 681 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:23,239 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy eight Billy Wilder movie Fedora, was based on 682 00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:26,400 Speaker 2: one of his short stories. He wrote six more novels, 683 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:31,000 Speaker 2: culminating with the posthumously released Night Magic in nineteen ninety five. 684 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:36,279 Speaker 2: So yeah, I think he's pretty great in this. You know, 685 00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:40,040 Speaker 2: whatever attitudes he had about the project, he either uses 686 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 2: those or you know, gets those out of the way, 687 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:46,040 Speaker 2: because it's just, you know, a great kind of distant, 688 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:50,040 Speaker 2: brooding performance for the most part, that also has its own, 689 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:52,480 Speaker 2: like weird alien heart to it, as we'll discuss. Like 690 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,160 Speaker 2: we reached the point in the picture where he describes 691 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,920 Speaker 2: to Marge that like he doesn't know what love is, 692 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:02,920 Speaker 2: but he's trying to learn what love is, you know, 693 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:05,400 Speaker 2: And I don't know you can single that line out 694 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,000 Speaker 2: as being a little hammy, but I thought it was 695 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 2: pretty pretty strong within the context of the scene. 696 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,280 Speaker 3: Oh, I feel like it only sounds hammy by virtue 697 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:15,799 Speaker 3: of appearing out of context like this, I think in 698 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:17,520 Speaker 3: the scene it hits pretty hard. 699 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:21,360 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah, well acted on both counts. It's a 700 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:25,440 Speaker 2: great scene between the two of them. Yeah, all right, 701 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:27,799 Speaker 2: So we'll have more to say about these two performances 702 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:31,680 Speaker 2: because these are the main performances there everyone there. There 703 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 2: are so many supporting fifties white guys in this movie 704 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:39,480 Speaker 2: that I'm honestly not even gonna attempt to classify them 705 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:40,640 Speaker 2: all and credit them all. 706 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,120 Speaker 3: Because he's a note about this later. He just like 707 00:38:43,239 --> 00:38:45,080 Speaker 3: cannot keep up with all of Bill's friends. 708 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,520 Speaker 2: Yeah. Bill has a number of friends, and you know, 709 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:49,839 Speaker 2: they're all well acted, but they're not main characters. They're 710 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:52,200 Speaker 2: just his buddies. And some of them are replaced by 711 00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:53,920 Speaker 2: aliens as well. Some of them are not. 712 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,399 Speaker 3: Most of them, I think are replaced by aliens. Yeah, 713 00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:58,480 Speaker 3: and aren't they Yeah. 714 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:00,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, So I'm not gonna mentioned them all. I'm just 715 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:03,239 Speaker 2: going to mention a few of these supporting players here. 716 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,439 Speaker 2: Some of them have interesting connections. First of all, there's 717 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:10,080 Speaker 2: Officer Hank Swanson played by Peter Baldwin, who lived nineteen 718 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:12,440 Speaker 2: thirty one through twenty seventeen. An actor of the fifties 719 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 2: and sixties whose credits include fifty eighth, The Space Children 720 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:18,560 Speaker 2: and one episode of the original Outer Limits. He went 721 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:21,840 Speaker 2: on to become a pretty prolific TV director on shows 722 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,120 Speaker 2: like Newhart in The Wonder Years. I think he was 723 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,400 Speaker 2: at least nominated for an Emmy for his work on 724 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:30,319 Speaker 2: The Wonder Years. Oh okay, let's see. We also have 725 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:33,960 Speaker 2: Doctor Wayne played by Ken Lynch, who lived nineteen ten 726 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,840 Speaker 2: through nineteen ninety American character actor who often played cops 727 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:40,400 Speaker 2: and detectives. And you can get that, you get that 728 00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:45,319 Speaker 2: energy off of this performance because I don't know, there's 729 00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:50,360 Speaker 2: something He's very authoritative, and he also ends up playing 730 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,279 Speaker 2: that role. He ends up becoming more of the like 731 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,399 Speaker 2: not really local law enforcement. He essentially becomes like the 732 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:02,200 Speaker 2: vigilante leader once the people are brought around to Marge's story. 733 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:05,120 Speaker 3: I want to talk about this later if it means anything, 734 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:07,560 Speaker 3: And maybe it doesn't, or maybe it's not supposed to 735 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:11,360 Speaker 3: mean anything, but like, why is it that Marge's doctor 736 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:15,160 Speaker 3: ends up being the one trustworthy man in town? 737 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:16,120 Speaker 2: Yeah? 738 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:19,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, interesting. 739 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:21,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, but anyway, he's good in this. His credits also 740 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,400 Speaker 2: include fifty nine's North By Northwest and Anatomy of a Murder. 741 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:28,759 Speaker 2: All right, I'm gonna skip over a few people here, 742 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:31,920 Speaker 2: let's see. I'm gonna and I may come back to 743 00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,000 Speaker 2: them later as we get through the plot. Oh but 744 00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:38,239 Speaker 2: we have a character named Helen Rhodes. She's Helen is 745 00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:41,040 Speaker 2: one of Marge's friends, and she ends up married to 746 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,400 Speaker 2: one of the guys Sam. 747 00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:45,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the one guy whose name I know. 748 00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:47,920 Speaker 2: Okay, she ends up marrying Sam. And she's played by 749 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,080 Speaker 2: Gene Carson, who lived nineteen twenty three through two thousand 750 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:54,160 Speaker 2: and five. She appeared in the original Twilight Zone episode 751 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:57,719 Speaker 2: A Most Unusual Camera, and she often played comedic roles 752 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:01,200 Speaker 2: on TV. She had kind of like this kind of 753 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:05,400 Speaker 2: this husky voice that she could like play up. For instance, 754 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,080 Speaker 2: on The Andy Griffiths Show, she had a recurring role 755 00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:10,239 Speaker 2: with this character Daphney, who was one of these two 756 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:12,400 Speaker 2: fun girls who had come to town and get Andy 757 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:16,600 Speaker 2: into trouble. So a couple couple of blonds that were up. 758 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:19,040 Speaker 3: To the fun girls from Mount Pilot. 759 00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:21,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, those are the Oka yeahose are them? Yeah? 760 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:23,399 Speaker 2: I'm not to say they were up to no good. 761 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:26,600 Speaker 2: I don't think they were necessarily criminals. But they were 762 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:38,680 Speaker 2: fun ladies all right, going behind the camera, but also 763 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:43,960 Speaker 2: someone in front of it too. We have he's uncredited officially, 764 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:49,160 Speaker 2: but we have another monster suit superstar in this picture, 765 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,120 Speaker 2: and that is Charles Gamora, who lived nineteen oh three 766 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:54,840 Speaker 2: through nineteen sixty one. We've talked about him on the 767 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:58,040 Speaker 2: show before. He was born in the Philippines, a Hollywood 768 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,960 Speaker 2: makeup artist who became known is the King of the 769 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:03,719 Speaker 2: Gorilla Men because he did a lot of gorilla costume 770 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,360 Speaker 2: and monster suit work in his career, both in making 771 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:09,560 Speaker 2: the costumes and then wearing them as well. 772 00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:15,080 Speaker 3: How many full time gorilla suit performers do you think 773 00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:17,360 Speaker 3: there were in Hollywood at any given time. 774 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:20,560 Speaker 2: I mean, there's only going to be room for a few, 775 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:23,920 Speaker 2: you only they're they're they're yeah, few and far between. 776 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,000 Speaker 2: But even today we have some some folks who, in 777 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:29,279 Speaker 2: their own way and with the current technology, are sort 778 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:30,239 Speaker 2: of like the gorilla men. 779 00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:34,239 Speaker 3: But oh, like the Andy Cirkus. I'd say that. 780 00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:36,600 Speaker 2: I mean Andy Cirkus, you know, his abilities, you know, 781 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:40,520 Speaker 2: certainly go beyond being a gorilla man. But yeah, absolutely 782 00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:42,440 Speaker 2: a gorilla man in the best sense of the word. 783 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,040 Speaker 3: But a seasoned creature performer. 784 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:49,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so yeah. Gomora has like sixty makeup credits 785 00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:53,319 Speaker 2: on IMDb, but also sixty acting credits. Most of them 786 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:57,920 Speaker 2: are gorillas. He designed and sculpted the excellent monster costume 787 00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:02,280 Speaker 2: in this picture and seemingly wore it. I was looking 788 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:05,240 Speaker 2: at the book Keep Watching the Skies by film historian 789 00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:08,160 Speaker 2: Bill Warren, and he pointed out that in the original 790 00:43:08,239 --> 00:43:11,440 Speaker 2: script for I Married a Monster from Outer Space, the 791 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,320 Speaker 2: alien is kind of as described as having a mask 792 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,440 Speaker 2: that featured various breathing tubes running from a helmet to 793 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:21,880 Speaker 2: the chest, so very much like a fifties helmet alien. 794 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:27,200 Speaker 2: But in what is sometimes categorized as a miscommunication, Gemora 795 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:32,040 Speaker 2: designed and sculpted these elements not as technology but as 796 00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:35,960 Speaker 2: organic parts of the creature's whole body. So tubes not 797 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:39,080 Speaker 2: going from a helmet to the chest, but growing like 798 00:43:39,239 --> 00:43:41,720 Speaker 2: out of the face of the creature and then into 799 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,960 Speaker 2: the torso of the creature. And the result is just 800 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:48,359 Speaker 2: top notch. Here it looks, i mean, to my eye, 801 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:51,719 Speaker 2: unlike anything we'd seen before, and really there's not a 802 00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:53,680 Speaker 2: lot that looks like it. You could you could make 803 00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:56,359 Speaker 2: an argument for it almost being gigorsque in a way. 804 00:43:56,440 --> 00:44:01,360 Speaker 2: Without that without like the Freudian energy of Geeker's design, 805 00:44:01,480 --> 00:44:04,439 Speaker 2: but very much in terms of just its fleshiness. 806 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,600 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, man, it would fit in with the themes 807 00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:10,440 Speaker 3: of the movie if the costumes were more sexually charged. 808 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:13,400 Speaker 3: They're not really at all. But it is absolutely the 809 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:18,520 Speaker 3: case that it looks like a mix of technology and biology. 810 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:21,919 Speaker 3: And so yeah, we get these hoses that play into 811 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:24,799 Speaker 3: this gross, weird ripping thing that happens at the end 812 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:28,640 Speaker 3: with dogs, which I can't wait to talk about. But yeah, 813 00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:31,960 Speaker 3: it's like that. But also I mentioned this earlier. To me, 814 00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:37,560 Speaker 3: the way the biological elements and the helmets look is 815 00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:41,279 Speaker 3: almost as much plant as it is animal. Do you 816 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:43,040 Speaker 3: see what I'm saying. It has a kind of bark 817 00:44:43,239 --> 00:44:43,880 Speaker 3: like texture. 818 00:44:44,239 --> 00:44:46,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, it reminds one of things a little bit of 819 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:49,399 Speaker 2: like swamp thing or man thing in that regard, very 820 00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:52,960 Speaker 2: rooty looking. And I think it's great that this works 821 00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:54,719 Speaker 2: so well in black and white because we don't get 822 00:44:54,719 --> 00:44:56,840 Speaker 2: a sense of the color, like it could be green, 823 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:00,640 Speaker 2: it could be brown, it could be pale white, and 824 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:02,680 Speaker 2: we don't have to fill in that blank. It takes 825 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:05,760 Speaker 2: on this it feels it does feel kind of corpse 826 00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:06,719 Speaker 2: like in its own way. 827 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, I didn't think about that with the color, but yeah, 828 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:11,719 Speaker 3: it's a welcome ambiguity. 829 00:45:11,880 --> 00:45:16,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, all right. One more actor note, just because his 830 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:19,040 Speaker 2: story is a little interesting and also his name's funny. 831 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:22,400 Speaker 2: But we have a bartender that we see and the 832 00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:26,160 Speaker 2: bartender's name is Max but been. He's played by Slapsy 833 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:30,200 Speaker 2: Maxy Rosenbloom, who lived nineteen oh four through nineteen seventy six, 834 00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:33,600 Speaker 2: a pro boxer or former pro boxer by this point, 835 00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:38,080 Speaker 2: so nicknamed apparently because of his open gloved boxing style. 836 00:45:38,520 --> 00:45:40,480 Speaker 2: I do not know what this means, but I guess 837 00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:42,759 Speaker 2: whatever it means, it made him look like he was 838 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:44,840 Speaker 2: slapping people when he was boxing. 839 00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:47,759 Speaker 3: Slapping instead of punching. I don't know how would that work. 840 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:50,040 Speaker 2: I'm not sure. I put the call out to our 841 00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:53,480 Speaker 2: boxing fans out there, what is open glove boxing style? 842 00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:57,759 Speaker 2: Why would you name him Slapsy? But at any rate, 843 00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:00,520 Speaker 2: he was I guess, well thought of in and out 844 00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:03,200 Speaker 2: of boxing circles and got into acting, played a lot 845 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:06,040 Speaker 2: of heavies and is simply essentially worked out a niche 846 00:46:06,040 --> 00:46:10,400 Speaker 2: for himself playing lovable but sometimes comedic heavies, which is 847 00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:12,480 Speaker 2: essentially what he has here. Like he's kind of a 848 00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:15,759 Speaker 2: rough looking dude, but he clearly seems to have a 849 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:17,839 Speaker 2: heart of gold and seems like, you know, kind of 850 00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:18,919 Speaker 2: a funny, silly guy. 851 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,640 Speaker 3: And in one scene he gets mad at all the 852 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:23,600 Speaker 3: aliens because they're not drinking alcohol. 853 00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:25,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's like, what's wrong with my liquor? You just 854 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:27,319 Speaker 2: order it and you sit there and you don't even 855 00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:28,080 Speaker 2: talk to each other. 856 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's our business if we want to order it 857 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:33,360 Speaker 3: and not drink it. And then he presses the issue 858 00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:36,040 Speaker 3: and ends up punching Tom Tryan a bunch of times 859 00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:36,880 Speaker 3: and it does nothing. 860 00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:40,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, and maybe that would I think maybe the idea 861 00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:42,719 Speaker 2: here is that a lot of the viewers would know 862 00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:45,919 Speaker 2: that Slapsy Maxi should be able to punch somebody really hard. 863 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:47,560 Speaker 3: Oh okay, Yeah. 864 00:46:47,920 --> 00:46:50,480 Speaker 2: But outside of that, he also apparently ran a nineteen 865 00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:54,400 Speaker 2: forties Hollywood nightclub called you guessed it, Slapsey Maxis. 866 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:57,719 Speaker 3: It had a drink called the Slapsy Maxi and the 867 00:46:57,760 --> 00:46:59,200 Speaker 3: sandwich called the Slapsy Maxi. 868 00:46:59,239 --> 00:47:02,520 Speaker 2: I would hope, so, I would hope, So all right. 869 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:06,640 Speaker 2: Special photographic effects in this film came from John P. Fulton, 870 00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:09,480 Speaker 2: who lived nineteen oh two through nineteen sixty six and 871 00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:13,919 Speaker 2: those those those photographic effects are on excellent display here. 872 00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:16,319 Speaker 2: We'll talk about all the various things that they do, 873 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,760 Speaker 2: from making the aliens glow to that soul stealing black mist, 874 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:24,600 Speaker 2: really terrific stuff. Fulton was a six time Academy Award 875 00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:27,880 Speaker 2: nominee for Special Effects and won the award twice for 876 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:31,320 Speaker 2: nineteen forty six is wonder Man and nineteen fifty seven's 877 00:47:31,360 --> 00:47:33,840 Speaker 2: The Ten Commandments, so you know, the parting of the 878 00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:36,480 Speaker 2: Red Sea, I think. In particular, he worked on a 879 00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:39,879 Speaker 2: number of the classic universal horror films, including Frankenstein Meets 880 00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:43,120 Speaker 2: the Wolfman, Bride of Frankenstein, The Visible Man, and The Mummy. 881 00:47:43,440 --> 00:47:46,120 Speaker 2: He also worked on nineteen fifty seven's Funny Face and 882 00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:52,040 Speaker 2: sixty one's Breakfast at Tiffany's. And we'll just basically skip 883 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:54,360 Speaker 2: over the music. The music here is all stock music. 884 00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:58,560 Speaker 2: The title music is I believe credited to Van Cleeve, 885 00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:01,440 Speaker 2: who lived nineteen ten through nineteen seventy. The music is 886 00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:04,200 Speaker 2: mostly what you would expect, leaning a good bit on 887 00:48:04,239 --> 00:48:06,560 Speaker 2: the melodrama of the scenes, and there is a lot 888 00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:08,560 Speaker 2: of melodrama in here, so it plays well. 889 00:48:09,160 --> 00:48:11,040 Speaker 3: All right, are you ready to talk about the plot 890 00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:14,000 Speaker 3: let's get into it. So we open on the planet 891 00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:16,600 Speaker 3: Earth hanging in space. Someday I would like to do 892 00:48:16,640 --> 00:48:21,280 Speaker 3: a breakdown of the broad differences between sci fi films 893 00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:24,800 Speaker 3: that begin in space versus the ones that begin on Earth. 894 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:28,880 Speaker 3: I wonder if there's anything happening there, Like what's the difference? 895 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,640 Speaker 3: Like why? How does it change the film when the 896 00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:36,160 Speaker 3: first thing we see is stars and the blackness instead 897 00:48:36,200 --> 00:48:37,480 Speaker 3: of just a scene on Earth. 898 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:39,839 Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean we can instantly think of any number 899 00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:42,000 Speaker 2: of films that begin out of space looking at Earth. 900 00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:43,239 Speaker 2: But what if they just all did? 901 00:48:43,760 --> 00:48:44,080 Speaker 3: What if? 902 00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:47,359 Speaker 2: What if? What if every movie had to begin with 903 00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:49,479 Speaker 2: this shot? What would it mean? What would it change? 904 00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:52,960 Speaker 2: How would it change things? It breakfast? Tiffany's began with 905 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:54,760 Speaker 2: a wide shot of the planet Earth. 906 00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:57,520 Speaker 3: I don't know, Jumanji begins with the Earth and the 907 00:48:57,920 --> 00:49:03,840 Speaker 3: moon rise. Yeah. So yeah, we open on the planet 908 00:49:03,880 --> 00:49:06,200 Speaker 3: Earth and you could see like the Milky Way galaxy 909 00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:11,040 Speaker 3: spanning the background. A very classic opening, and the opening 910 00:49:11,160 --> 00:49:13,600 Speaker 3: music is also very classic for this kind of film. 911 00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:16,640 Speaker 3: It's like a cold, eerie texture that sounds like twinkling 912 00:49:16,719 --> 00:49:20,719 Speaker 3: stars and then this blast of aggressive horns. This's climbing 913 00:49:20,719 --> 00:49:23,920 Speaker 3: and climbing sounds like an alien menace is drawing closer 914 00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:27,280 Speaker 3: and closer. Then we zoom in on Earth and eventually 915 00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:30,400 Speaker 3: drop in on a town somewhere in Middle America. I 916 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:33,719 Speaker 3: think this town is called Norrisville, so it doesn't seem 917 00:49:33,760 --> 00:49:34,520 Speaker 3: to be a real location. 918 00:49:34,600 --> 00:49:36,360 Speaker 2: Ye might as well be Normalville. 919 00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:41,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, Normalville, Americaville, USA. And so the action begins at 920 00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:45,640 Speaker 3: a lakeside drinking establishment where a group of five or 921 00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:50,200 Speaker 3: six men are meeting for a bachelor party. Extremely handsome 922 00:49:50,239 --> 00:49:53,279 Speaker 3: bachelor Bill Ferrell this is Tom Tryan is about to 923 00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:56,400 Speaker 3: get married to his sweetheart Marge. This is Gloria Talbot, 924 00:49:56,719 --> 00:50:00,479 Speaker 3: and the boys are out having a few rounds. Now. 925 00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:03,560 Speaker 3: This is not one of those movie bachelor parties with 926 00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:06,560 Speaker 3: like strippers and loud music and high energy. This is 927 00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:10,520 Speaker 3: more like a funeral for bachelorod. It is a neutral 928 00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:14,480 Speaker 3: to bad vibe. Before we meet the boys, the camera 929 00:50:14,760 --> 00:50:17,200 Speaker 3: pauses with a couple of ladies drinking at the bar 930 00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:19,560 Speaker 3: and they're like, you know, what's up with those guys 931 00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:21,879 Speaker 3: over there? You know they're handsome guys, but we keep 932 00:50:21,880 --> 00:50:23,880 Speaker 3: making eyes at them, and not one of them has 933 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:26,279 Speaker 3: come over to buy us a drink, And so the 934 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:29,480 Speaker 3: ladies decide maybe the guys are all married, and then 935 00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:31,680 Speaker 3: what do you know, when we get over to the table, 936 00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:36,720 Speaker 3: it is indeed just a festival of complaining, complaining about women, 937 00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:40,040 Speaker 3: complaining about married life, old battlax stuff. 938 00:50:40,160 --> 00:50:43,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, the movie frequently goes here with our male characters, 939 00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:46,239 Speaker 2: and as a twenty twenty six of youer, it does 940 00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:49,320 Speaker 2: make me wonder how much of it is just snapshot 941 00:50:49,400 --> 00:50:51,640 Speaker 2: at the times you know, this is how men talk 942 00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:53,919 Speaker 2: and we're just trying to be real, and how much 943 00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:56,000 Speaker 2: of it is a deliberate part of the texture of 944 00:50:56,040 --> 00:50:59,640 Speaker 2: the film, in which a cosmic distance exists between the 945 00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:01,520 Speaker 2: men and women of contemporary America. 946 00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:04,200 Speaker 3: I think it's got to be intentional because of the 947 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:07,000 Speaker 3: way it plays so directly into the themes of the 948 00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:10,960 Speaker 3: film of like, you know this distance in relationships and 949 00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:14,879 Speaker 3: you know things about men and women in marriage. But yeah, 950 00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:17,160 Speaker 3: I also had the same question of just like, I 951 00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:19,680 Speaker 3: don't know how common was it back then for regular 952 00:51:19,719 --> 00:51:22,279 Speaker 3: people to actually just talk like this, just we get 953 00:51:22,280 --> 00:51:27,360 Speaker 3: together and complain about marriage, ah, women, or is that 954 00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:29,600 Speaker 3: more something that was like really played up in the 955 00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:32,279 Speaker 3: movies because it made good dialogue, or they thought it did. 956 00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:37,239 Speaker 3: I don't know anyway, one of these guys is, and 957 00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:39,759 Speaker 3: again I cannot keep all of Bill's friends sorted out. 958 00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:42,720 Speaker 3: There's a bunch of them. One of these guys calls 959 00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:45,239 Speaker 3: for a drink. He calls the waiter over and he's like, 960 00:51:45,560 --> 00:51:47,719 Speaker 3: mister Ferrell is getting married in the morning. He needs 961 00:51:47,760 --> 00:51:50,920 Speaker 3: a stiff drink. He asks for freedom on the rocks. 962 00:51:51,239 --> 00:51:54,360 Speaker 3: I didn't get it, yeah, and then oh, he just 963 00:51:54,520 --> 00:51:58,560 Speaker 3: keeps going, piling on. Another guy's like, I'm already married. 964 00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:02,800 Speaker 3: I really need a drink. And then they decide that well, 965 00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:06,400 Speaker 3: every one of them either was married, is married, or 966 00:52:06,480 --> 00:52:08,520 Speaker 3: is about to get married, so they all have to 967 00:52:08,520 --> 00:52:12,880 Speaker 3: get hammered. They have no choice, but Bill, the guy 968 00:52:12,920 --> 00:52:15,600 Speaker 3: who's getting married in the morning. Bill is actually kind 969 00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:17,640 Speaker 3: of the odd man out. He's the only one who's 970 00:52:17,719 --> 00:52:22,000 Speaker 3: not sitting here complaining about women. So he, you know, 971 00:52:22,080 --> 00:52:24,160 Speaker 3: the rest of the guys are like, we must get 972 00:52:24,200 --> 00:52:27,279 Speaker 3: miserably drunk with the he man woman haters club, and 973 00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:29,480 Speaker 3: he's like, no, I need to go see my fiance. 974 00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:31,920 Speaker 3: So he gets up and leaves. He's going to stop 975 00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:34,239 Speaker 3: by and see Marge on the way home. And then 976 00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:37,239 Speaker 3: it takes a dark turn. One of the guys makes 977 00:52:37,280 --> 00:52:40,800 Speaker 3: a joke that's kind of over the line and provides 978 00:52:40,840 --> 00:52:43,840 Speaker 3: some foreshadowing. I think the guy says he has found 979 00:52:43,840 --> 00:52:46,680 Speaker 3: the only viable way for men to avoid the pain 980 00:52:46,800 --> 00:52:50,480 Speaker 3: and struggle of matrimony, which he says is mass suicide. 981 00:52:51,160 --> 00:52:53,360 Speaker 3: And at this point the other guys stop laughing and 982 00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:56,920 Speaker 3: they just kind of look forlorn. So it's like, I 983 00:52:56,920 --> 00:52:59,040 Speaker 3: think these guys have some issues about women. I think 984 00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:02,359 Speaker 3: they do, yes, or at least all of them except Bill. 985 00:53:03,360 --> 00:53:06,560 Speaker 3: Now there's one thing I wanted to note here that 986 00:53:06,719 --> 00:53:08,680 Speaker 3: it was kind of interesting. I don't know if it's 987 00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:11,640 Speaker 3: supposed to mean something, but on the way into the bar, 988 00:53:12,560 --> 00:53:16,279 Speaker 3: we pass by a man and a woman kissing passionately, 989 00:53:16,320 --> 00:53:19,359 Speaker 3: and a convertible in the parking lot, and a guy 990 00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:21,800 Speaker 3: who's walking by the car tries to get their attention 991 00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:24,759 Speaker 3: with a loud noise, but they just ignore him. And 992 00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:27,120 Speaker 3: then later, when Bill is coming out of the place, 993 00:53:27,160 --> 00:53:30,320 Speaker 3: he passes them again and they're still kissing. He stops 994 00:53:30,320 --> 00:53:32,760 Speaker 3: and looks at them for a second, almost kind of sadly, 995 00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:37,040 Speaker 3: and then suddenly the kissing stops, and the woman slaps 996 00:53:37,080 --> 00:53:39,320 Speaker 3: the man in the face and looks at him coldly. 997 00:53:39,920 --> 00:53:42,279 Speaker 3: You don't see what provoked that reaction, but it's an 998 00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:45,759 Speaker 3: interesting detail. I think it in a subtle way, just 999 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:49,880 Speaker 3: raises things about tension in romantic relationships, ideas of crossing 1000 00:53:49,920 --> 00:53:53,880 Speaker 3: the line, or the idea that intimacy entails vulnerability and 1001 00:53:53,920 --> 00:53:54,920 Speaker 3: sometimes danger. 1002 00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:57,279 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I mean it could be as simple as like, 1003 00:53:57,360 --> 00:54:01,200 Speaker 2: oh wow, even this relationship which was going so great 1004 00:54:01,280 --> 00:54:04,160 Speaker 2: and has been going great for maybe twenty minutes, has 1005 00:54:04,200 --> 00:54:05,880 Speaker 2: suddenly it hit a rocky patch. 1006 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:10,319 Speaker 3: Yeah, something went wrong. Yeah. So Bill gets in his 1007 00:54:10,400 --> 00:54:12,839 Speaker 3: car and drives away from this bar where he's been 1008 00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:15,719 Speaker 3: drinking with his friends. It's implied that he's they've been 1009 00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:19,440 Speaker 3: drinking a good bit, so I don't know. In nineteen fifties, 1010 00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:24,239 Speaker 3: the car is a mid fifties American station wagon with 1011 00:54:24,320 --> 00:54:26,960 Speaker 3: tail fins that feels the size and mass of an 1012 00:54:26,960 --> 00:54:29,960 Speaker 3: aircraft carrier. Every time it came on screen, we were 1013 00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,200 Speaker 3: in awe. We were like, it's the car. It's so big. 1014 00:54:32,280 --> 00:54:34,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like some sort of massive plymouth. 1015 00:54:34,239 --> 00:54:39,080 Speaker 3: Right. Yeah, So Bill is driving drunk down a lakeside 1016 00:54:39,080 --> 00:54:42,160 Speaker 3: country road. This is the first of many what time 1017 00:54:42,239 --> 00:54:45,240 Speaker 3: is it supposed to be things The context would suggest evening, 1018 00:54:45,280 --> 00:54:48,320 Speaker 3: but The scene is shot in broad daylight, and suddenly 1019 00:54:48,360 --> 00:54:51,120 Speaker 3: Bill notices a man's body lying in the road, so 1020 00:54:51,160 --> 00:54:54,600 Speaker 3: he slams on the brakes, stops the car, and gets out, 1021 00:54:55,040 --> 00:54:57,080 Speaker 3: but then there's nobody there. He like looks in the 1022 00:54:57,160 --> 00:54:58,479 Speaker 3: road and it's empty. Yeah. 1023 00:54:58,520 --> 00:55:01,000 Speaker 2: Wait, at first it looks like the body's lifeless husk 1024 00:55:01,080 --> 00:55:03,480 Speaker 2: of some sort. But there's not really much follow up here, 1025 00:55:03,520 --> 00:55:04,640 Speaker 2: so I don't know what we were supposed to. 1026 00:55:05,239 --> 00:55:08,239 Speaker 3: The car bumps the body and it moves as if 1027 00:55:08,320 --> 00:55:10,200 Speaker 3: it's weightless, like hollow inside. 1028 00:55:10,680 --> 00:55:11,640 Speaker 2: Maybe it was a trap. 1029 00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:14,680 Speaker 3: Oh maybe. So it's like he gets out and it's 1030 00:55:14,680 --> 00:55:17,800 Speaker 3: not there anymore. And then suddenly, while while Bill is 1031 00:55:17,840 --> 00:55:23,280 Speaker 3: standing there, from off screen, a clawed, glowing reptilian hand 1032 00:55:23,440 --> 00:55:27,759 Speaker 3: with long crooked fingers reaches out and grabs Bill by 1033 00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:31,560 Speaker 3: the shoulder. He whirls around and he sees the alien. 1034 00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:35,520 Speaker 3: So interesting thing about I married a monster from outer 1035 00:55:35,600 --> 00:55:38,719 Speaker 3: space does not make you wait till the final reel 1036 00:55:38,880 --> 00:55:41,200 Speaker 3: to see the alien in its true form. You get 1037 00:55:41,239 --> 00:55:42,480 Speaker 3: to see it a few minutes in. 1038 00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:44,759 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really kind of surprising because the glove is great. 1039 00:55:44,800 --> 00:55:46,759 Speaker 2: I love a good monster glove. But then you know 1040 00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:49,160 Speaker 2: the next step generally comes a bit later where you 1041 00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:50,840 Speaker 2: get to see the rest of or at least the 1042 00:55:50,880 --> 00:55:53,000 Speaker 2: face of the creature. But now he turns around, he 1043 00:55:53,080 --> 00:55:57,120 Speaker 2: sees it, and yeah, great, look to this creature. As 1044 00:55:57,160 --> 00:55:59,759 Speaker 2: I mentioned earlier, by all accounts, this film should have 1045 00:56:00,160 --> 00:56:03,160 Speaker 2: and very well could have had a generic space helmet 1046 00:56:03,200 --> 00:56:06,880 Speaker 2: wearing alien, but perhaps due to a miscommunication or maybe 1047 00:56:06,920 --> 00:56:11,600 Speaker 2: just pure creativity, we ended up with this fantastic organic 1048 00:56:11,680 --> 00:56:14,040 Speaker 2: design that's brought to the next level via the lighting 1049 00:56:14,040 --> 00:56:17,719 Speaker 2: and the special effects. The design also works especially well 1050 00:56:17,800 --> 00:56:20,880 Speaker 2: later on when we'll get the special effects shots of 1051 00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:24,959 Speaker 2: the actor's faces shifting to the creature's warped visage during 1052 00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:26,040 Speaker 2: flashes of lightning. 1053 00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:30,200 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I love that. So when Bill sees the figure, 1054 00:56:30,560 --> 00:56:35,120 Speaker 3: something begins to emit, a high pitched, throbbing electronic sound. 1055 00:56:35,200 --> 00:56:37,319 Speaker 3: We will hear the sound at times throughout the movie, 1056 00:56:37,320 --> 00:56:41,759 Speaker 3: whenever the aliens are using their powers and Bill collapses 1057 00:56:41,800 --> 00:56:45,080 Speaker 3: against the car and then a bizarre thing happens. I 1058 00:56:45,120 --> 00:56:51,760 Speaker 3: love this effect. A slowly expanding, blooming cloud of dark 1059 00:56:51,960 --> 00:56:56,640 Speaker 3: smoke or mist flows into the movie frame. It's like 1060 00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:59,399 Speaker 3: a jet of ink expanding in a pool of water. 1061 00:56:59,480 --> 00:57:01,719 Speaker 3: But it's very, very dark. Very opaque. You can't see 1062 00:57:01,719 --> 00:57:05,840 Speaker 3: through it, and gradually it blots out Bill's form, and 1063 00:57:05,880 --> 00:57:07,840 Speaker 3: then when it recedes, Bill is gone. 1064 00:57:08,280 --> 00:57:11,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, looks amazing, Like this is one of the I'm 1065 00:57:11,160 --> 00:57:14,960 Speaker 2: not a you know, I'm not opposed to great digital 1066 00:57:14,960 --> 00:57:18,680 Speaker 2: effects by any means, but this is a practical effect. 1067 00:57:18,720 --> 00:57:22,360 Speaker 2: Just looks amazing, And in the context of watching it, 1068 00:57:22,360 --> 00:57:24,160 Speaker 2: I'm like, it just looks ahead of its time. It 1069 00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:27,200 Speaker 2: looks better than anything I can compare it to digitally. 1070 00:57:27,320 --> 00:57:33,160 Speaker 2: Just amazing. Yeah, dark, otherworldly cloud just creeping out. 1071 00:57:34,040 --> 00:57:37,880 Speaker 3: So the next morning we meet our protagonist Marge. Marge 1072 00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:40,520 Speaker 3: is at her wedding. She's wearing a white wedding dress 1073 00:57:40,520 --> 00:57:42,880 Speaker 3: and a veil, staring out the window of the chapel 1074 00:57:42,920 --> 00:57:45,240 Speaker 3: to see if Bill is going to arrive. He was 1075 00:57:45,320 --> 00:57:47,120 Speaker 3: supposed to come and see her the night before, like 1076 00:57:47,160 --> 00:57:49,959 Speaker 3: he said, but he never showed up. Andy never called 1077 00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:53,320 Speaker 3: to explain, and now he's late for the wedding itself. 1078 00:57:54,320 --> 00:57:58,200 Speaker 3: So Marge is obviously upset. She doesn't understand what's happening. 1079 00:57:58,800 --> 00:58:02,720 Speaker 3: She pulls as his groomsmen to interrogate them. She says, 1080 00:58:02,720 --> 00:58:05,240 Speaker 3: what exactly were you boys drinking last night? And two 1081 00:58:05,240 --> 00:58:08,080 Speaker 3: of them answer at the same time, but give different answers. 1082 00:58:08,080 --> 00:58:11,040 Speaker 3: One says wine and the other says beer. So I 1083 00:58:11,080 --> 00:58:13,120 Speaker 3: think maybe it was neither wine nor beer. I think 1084 00:58:13,520 --> 00:58:16,280 Speaker 3: it was a hard liquor kind of night. Yeah, And 1085 00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:19,360 Speaker 3: so they try to cover for Bill, but Marge is 1086 00:58:19,480 --> 00:58:23,560 Speaker 3: not impressed with their assurances, and this raises something about 1087 00:58:23,600 --> 00:58:28,000 Speaker 3: Marge's personality. I'm interested in the way she's characterized. She 1088 00:58:28,400 --> 00:58:35,000 Speaker 3: is not portrayed as an especially suspicious person, like. She 1089 00:58:35,200 --> 00:58:39,160 Speaker 3: is portrayed as somebody who really wants to trust and 1090 00:58:39,360 --> 00:58:42,600 Speaker 3: wants to see the good in her husband and make 1091 00:58:42,640 --> 00:58:46,720 Speaker 3: the relationship work. She's like not looking for fault in 1092 00:58:46,840 --> 00:58:49,800 Speaker 3: things or in people. And at the same time, she's 1093 00:58:49,920 --> 00:58:53,880 Speaker 3: not a dummy, like, she's not gullible, and that creates 1094 00:58:53,920 --> 00:58:57,760 Speaker 3: an interesting tension in her character that, like, she is 1095 00:58:57,960 --> 00:59:00,600 Speaker 3: quick to pick up on when there are problems and 1096 00:59:00,880 --> 00:59:05,000 Speaker 3: is sharp about observing things, but also has this emotional 1097 00:59:05,120 --> 00:59:09,880 Speaker 3: desire to maybe sometimes overlook problems and make things work 1098 00:59:09,920 --> 00:59:11,240 Speaker 3: out and make things all right. 1099 00:59:11,360 --> 00:59:14,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, but she has right to be concerned here, because again, 1100 00:59:14,600 --> 00:59:16,400 Speaker 2: he is late to his own wedding at this point 1101 00:59:16,440 --> 00:59:19,760 Speaker 2: and she hasn't heard from him in hours and hours. 1102 00:59:20,400 --> 00:59:23,120 Speaker 3: However, Suddenly Bill comes through the door. You know, better 1103 00:59:23,200 --> 00:59:25,960 Speaker 3: late than never, I guess. He comes in looking bewildered 1104 00:59:26,120 --> 00:59:29,640 Speaker 3: and at a loss for words. He apologizes for being late, 1105 00:59:29,680 --> 00:59:32,800 Speaker 3: and Marge rushes to kiss him. So they get married, 1106 00:59:32,880 --> 00:59:35,440 Speaker 3: and then they come out of the chapel. They sprint 1107 00:59:35,480 --> 00:59:38,240 Speaker 3: to the tail fin station wagon while their friends are 1108 00:59:38,240 --> 00:59:40,720 Speaker 3: throwing rice. You know it was a pre bird seed era. 1109 00:59:41,480 --> 00:59:43,280 Speaker 3: We're getting the rice going all over the car and 1110 00:59:43,280 --> 00:59:45,520 Speaker 3: you can see it bouncing off of the hood. And 1111 00:59:45,560 --> 00:59:48,840 Speaker 3: then they drive away, and for a very brief period 1112 00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:52,480 Speaker 3: it seems like Marge is truly happy. They drive along 1113 00:59:52,520 --> 00:59:55,480 Speaker 3: to their honeymoon destination with Bill at the wheel and 1114 00:59:55,560 --> 00:59:58,360 Speaker 3: Marge is sleeping with her head on his shoulder. But 1115 00:59:58,640 --> 01:00:01,840 Speaker 3: Bill does not have a peaceful expression like March does. 1116 01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:06,280 Speaker 3: He's looking grim and cautious. At one point while they're driving, 1117 01:00:06,360 --> 01:00:09,200 Speaker 3: Bill almost gets into a collision with another car turning 1118 01:00:09,200 --> 01:00:12,040 Speaker 3: onto the highway. The other guy stops and yells at 1119 01:00:12,080 --> 01:00:13,880 Speaker 3: him about how he should have had his lights on. 1120 01:00:14,640 --> 01:00:17,040 Speaker 3: Marge wakes up and points out that the guy is 1121 01:00:17,200 --> 01:00:21,840 Speaker 3: right the lights were off, but raises a question, how 1122 01:00:21,880 --> 01:00:24,480 Speaker 3: could Bill have been driving at all without his head 1123 01:00:24,560 --> 01:00:26,040 Speaker 3: lights when it's so dark outside. 1124 01:00:26,120 --> 01:00:28,440 Speaker 2: Oh he has dark vision, not a human. 1125 01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:31,800 Speaker 3: Another weird thing here. Bill snaps at Marge when she 1126 01:00:31,920 --> 01:00:35,600 Speaker 3: mentions the lights. You know, he would never snap like 1127 01:00:35,640 --> 01:00:38,680 Speaker 3: that before. It doesn't seem like the Bill she knows. Anyway. 1128 01:00:38,840 --> 01:00:41,680 Speaker 3: They make their way out to the resort where they're 1129 01:00:41,720 --> 01:00:44,000 Speaker 3: staying for their honeymoon. I'm not sure exactly where this 1130 01:00:44,080 --> 01:00:46,040 Speaker 3: is supposed to be, but they say it's on the ocean. 1131 01:00:46,120 --> 01:00:48,320 Speaker 3: It's on the sea, so it's like a hotel on 1132 01:00:48,400 --> 01:00:51,960 Speaker 3: a dark waterfront with churning black waves stretching out to 1133 01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:56,040 Speaker 3: the horizon. It's a very cool scene that where the 1134 01:00:56,200 --> 01:00:58,959 Speaker 3: you know, the weather and the landscape and indicates something 1135 01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:03,320 Speaker 3: about the relationship to Yeah, and as they settle in, 1136 01:01:03,640 --> 01:01:07,080 Speaker 3: Marge is again trying so hard to make things work, 1137 01:01:07,720 --> 01:01:11,040 Speaker 3: but something is off about Bill. He literally forgets her 1138 01:01:11,080 --> 01:01:13,640 Speaker 3: and leaves her in the car when they arrive. And 1139 01:01:13,680 --> 01:01:15,520 Speaker 3: this is an era where I think she's expecting he's 1140 01:01:15,520 --> 01:01:17,520 Speaker 3: supposed to come around and open her door for her, 1141 01:01:18,200 --> 01:01:20,880 Speaker 3: but he just forgets. He does not want to have 1142 01:01:21,040 --> 01:01:24,080 Speaker 3: a drink with her at the restaurant. He has developed 1143 01:01:24,120 --> 01:01:27,280 Speaker 3: a sudden aversion to alcohol, which he did not have before. 1144 01:01:27,360 --> 01:01:30,040 Speaker 2: This is really telling of the time period that it's 1145 01:01:30,080 --> 01:01:33,560 Speaker 2: a big red flag when your man is not having 1146 01:01:34,280 --> 01:01:39,040 Speaker 2: a tumbler of hard dark spirits every night, like on 1147 01:01:39,080 --> 01:01:42,000 Speaker 2: a weak night. It's like, something's the matter here. This 1148 01:01:42,080 --> 01:01:42,760 Speaker 2: is not healthy. 1149 01:01:43,200 --> 01:01:46,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, he did red flags for about men. He does 1150 01:01:46,320 --> 01:01:50,479 Speaker 3: not reach for the scotch. So and then also they're 1151 01:01:50,520 --> 01:01:53,280 Speaker 3: at the restaurant eating and he's just a cold fish. 1152 01:01:53,320 --> 01:01:57,680 Speaker 3: He's aloof he's barely talking. Marge is repeatedly trying to 1153 01:01:57,720 --> 01:01:59,600 Speaker 3: find things to engage him on. You can see her 1154 01:01:59,600 --> 01:02:02,920 Speaker 3: searching for conversation topics, and he just is not picking 1155 01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:03,880 Speaker 3: up what she's putting out. 1156 01:02:03,960 --> 01:02:06,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, they've only just gotten married. They surely haven't heard 1157 01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:09,520 Speaker 2: all of each other's stories yet, you know. 1158 01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:15,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, and all through this part, Bill, so there's a 1159 01:02:15,720 --> 01:02:18,480 Speaker 3: menacing element in that he seems to have changed and 1160 01:02:18,560 --> 01:02:23,080 Speaker 3: become cold. At the same time he is strangely innocent, 1161 01:02:23,760 --> 01:02:26,640 Speaker 3: almost childlike. At one point, the two of them are 1162 01:02:26,680 --> 01:02:29,880 Speaker 3: standing out on the balcony overlooking the water and there's 1163 01:02:29,920 --> 01:02:32,360 Speaker 3: a crack of thunder in the distance, and Bill asks 1164 01:02:32,440 --> 01:02:36,040 Speaker 3: what the sound was, and Marge tells him it was thunder, 1165 01:02:36,080 --> 01:02:38,840 Speaker 3: and he says thunder like he's learning a new word 1166 01:02:39,440 --> 01:02:42,880 Speaker 3: or experiencing it, Yeah, experiencing it for the first time. 1167 01:02:43,000 --> 01:02:47,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, because to be clear, yeah, Bill has been replaced 1168 01:02:47,160 --> 01:02:50,280 Speaker 2: by an alien at this point. Yeah. But it's like 1169 01:02:50,400 --> 01:02:54,480 Speaker 2: the alien is wearing like a copy of his body, 1170 01:02:54,600 --> 01:02:59,160 Speaker 2: but also wearing his thoughts and memories and his knowledge, 1171 01:02:59,280 --> 01:03:00,880 Speaker 2: but not in a way where like he just has 1172 01:03:01,320 --> 01:03:05,280 Speaker 2: instant natural access to it all. Like he's having to 1173 01:03:05,680 --> 01:03:07,760 Speaker 2: like sort of if it's like a costume. It's like 1174 01:03:07,760 --> 01:03:10,000 Speaker 2: he's having to like put his fingers into the glove 1175 01:03:10,080 --> 01:03:12,840 Speaker 2: and then see how that glove moves with his hand, 1176 01:03:13,240 --> 01:03:15,280 Speaker 2: so like he might, you know, he knows what thunder is, 1177 01:03:15,640 --> 01:03:18,200 Speaker 2: but has he experienced it before? Has he has he 1178 01:03:18,280 --> 01:03:21,240 Speaker 2: had had that sort of relationship to the concept, and 1179 01:03:21,280 --> 01:03:23,720 Speaker 2: so he's having to like, really he's having to learn 1180 01:03:23,800 --> 01:03:25,840 Speaker 2: everything in real time here. 1181 01:03:26,520 --> 01:03:29,240 Speaker 3: And you can see him trying to fake it. He's 1182 01:03:29,240 --> 01:03:32,440 Speaker 3: not doing a very good job, but he he gets 1183 01:03:32,520 --> 01:03:35,400 Speaker 3: the sense that he needs to say something to assure her. 1184 01:03:35,960 --> 01:03:38,480 Speaker 3: So he tells Marge he loves her more than anything, 1185 01:03:38,520 --> 01:03:43,120 Speaker 3: but the words feel awkward, something doesn't work, and Marge, 1186 01:03:43,160 --> 01:03:45,880 Speaker 3: seeming a little bit sad, goes inside. And then here's 1187 01:03:45,920 --> 01:03:50,760 Speaker 3: the part where we first see this weird, asymmetrical inhuman 1188 01:03:50,960 --> 01:03:55,640 Speaker 3: face superimposed over Bill's face. The lightning flashes and then 1189 01:03:55,760 --> 01:03:58,920 Speaker 3: an animated alien layer of his face is revealed. 1190 01:03:59,360 --> 01:04:04,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, looks really good, especially with that perfect hair and everything. Yeah. Again, 1191 01:04:04,880 --> 01:04:08,640 Speaker 2: that monster's weird organic vibe just melts so well here 1192 01:04:08,680 --> 01:04:10,320 Speaker 2: and just looks great in black and white. 1193 01:04:10,800 --> 01:04:19,560 Speaker 4: Yeah. 1194 01:04:19,640 --> 01:04:22,480 Speaker 2: Now, there's a there's a scene here on the Honeymoon 1195 01:04:22,520 --> 01:04:26,000 Speaker 2: that I really loved. There's a there's the blocking in 1196 01:04:26,000 --> 01:04:28,400 Speaker 2: particular of this one scene where Bill and Marge are 1197 01:04:28,480 --> 01:04:31,480 Speaker 2: chatting and there's a mirror in the shot, and we 1198 01:04:31,520 --> 01:04:35,840 Speaker 2: see reflected in the mirror the twin beds. So twin 1199 01:04:35,880 --> 01:04:39,800 Speaker 2: beds like this were, of course to a large degree, 1200 01:04:40,160 --> 01:04:43,280 Speaker 2: but not entirely a product of censorship of the day. 1201 01:04:44,080 --> 01:04:44,240 Speaker 3: Though. 1202 01:04:44,640 --> 01:04:47,520 Speaker 2: The story behind like why we see so many twin 1203 01:04:47,600 --> 01:04:50,640 Speaker 2: beds instead of like a king or queens size bed 1204 01:04:51,000 --> 01:04:55,520 Speaker 2: typically in like a married couple's bedroom, The actual story 1205 01:04:55,520 --> 01:04:57,720 Speaker 2: behind it is a bit more complex, but more complicated 1206 01:04:57,720 --> 01:05:01,760 Speaker 2: than I than I anticipated. I actually ran across a 1207 01:05:01,800 --> 01:05:06,200 Speaker 2: book by Hillary Hines titled A Cultural History of Twin Beds, 1208 01:05:06,880 --> 01:05:09,360 Speaker 2: and it pointed out that while media is part of 1209 01:05:09,400 --> 01:05:13,880 Speaker 2: the situation, twin beds were actually a seemingly popular sleeping 1210 01:05:13,960 --> 01:05:17,400 Speaker 2: arrangement for married couples between eighteen seventy and nineteen seventy 1211 01:05:17,840 --> 01:05:21,800 Speaker 2: for a number of reasons, including consumer preference, social mores, 1212 01:05:22,200 --> 01:05:26,360 Speaker 2: and product placement as well. But when it came to films, 1213 01:05:26,480 --> 01:05:29,160 Speaker 2: it did become a standard. I'm going to read a 1214 01:05:29,240 --> 01:05:32,520 Speaker 2: quote from this work. Quote. While the code referring to 1215 01:05:32,520 --> 01:05:36,000 Speaker 2: the Hayes code here itself did not specify the need 1216 01:05:36,040 --> 01:05:39,240 Speaker 2: for twin beds, by nineteen thirty seven the advice to 1217 01:05:39,320 --> 01:05:43,720 Speaker 2: movie makers was unequivocal. A double bed was too explicit 1218 01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:48,200 Speaker 2: in its sexual associations for safe presentation in films intended 1219 01:05:48,440 --> 01:05:52,040 Speaker 2: for the general cinema going public. Only twins had the 1220 01:05:52,160 --> 01:05:56,680 Speaker 2: necessary cultural delicacy. They had the advantage of implying marital 1221 01:05:56,760 --> 01:06:01,040 Speaker 2: sexual intimacy without showing a bed that might have facilitated it. 1222 01:06:01,640 --> 01:06:06,000 Speaker 3: Wow, I can't have film audiences knowing where babies come from. 1223 01:06:05,840 --> 01:06:08,600 Speaker 2: Right even though again, especially in this film, because we're 1224 01:06:08,640 --> 01:06:11,040 Speaker 2: about to like leap forward a year and part of 1225 01:06:11,080 --> 01:06:13,600 Speaker 2: what we learn is like they've been trying to conceive 1226 01:06:13,720 --> 01:06:17,360 Speaker 2: for a year, they've been having sex, and it's an 1227 01:06:17,360 --> 01:06:20,960 Speaker 2: important part of the storyline. But yeah, you had to 1228 01:06:21,080 --> 01:06:23,280 Speaker 2: in the words of the Hayes Code, what you had 1229 01:06:23,280 --> 01:06:26,680 Speaker 2: to think about the sacred intimacies of modern life or 1230 01:06:26,800 --> 01:06:31,200 Speaker 2: marital life. So in this particular scene, though I don't know, 1231 01:06:31,240 --> 01:06:33,320 Speaker 2: I thought it played really well, at least to the 1232 01:06:33,360 --> 01:06:37,560 Speaker 2: like the modern twenty twenty six viewer, because the twin 1233 01:06:38,480 --> 01:06:41,560 Speaker 2: I suspect it was unintended. But it just feels kind 1234 01:06:41,600 --> 01:06:45,280 Speaker 2: of palpable. You know that we have distance between this 1235 01:06:45,400 --> 01:06:49,040 Speaker 2: newly pronounced man and wife, the awkwardness of implied physical 1236 01:06:49,040 --> 01:06:52,360 Speaker 2: intimacy to follow in the symbol of those twin beds 1237 01:06:52,360 --> 01:06:55,720 Speaker 2: in the mirror, as if illustrating the golf between them, 1238 01:06:55,880 --> 01:06:59,160 Speaker 2: a golf that is at once between romantic partners and 1239 01:06:59,240 --> 01:07:03,040 Speaker 2: the golf between far flung planets, between different species with 1240 01:07:03,040 --> 01:07:04,600 Speaker 2: different evolutionary origins. 1241 01:07:05,120 --> 01:07:08,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I did not notice that the first time 1242 01:07:08,440 --> 01:07:10,240 Speaker 3: I watched it, but I saw your note here and 1243 01:07:10,320 --> 01:07:12,400 Speaker 3: I caught that the second time. I think that works 1244 01:07:12,440 --> 01:07:14,480 Speaker 3: really well and it's subtle. It's like, yeah, like you said, 1245 01:07:14,480 --> 01:07:17,200 Speaker 3: it's reflected in the mirror while they're facing each other 1246 01:07:17,240 --> 01:07:17,680 Speaker 3: in the room. 1247 01:07:17,800 --> 01:07:19,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not sure how much of that is, just 1248 01:07:19,880 --> 01:07:22,080 Speaker 2: like the modern viewer looking back on it, how much 1249 01:07:22,080 --> 01:07:23,960 Speaker 2: of it was an intended part of the film, but 1250 01:07:24,320 --> 01:07:27,080 Speaker 2: it may have well been very intended. Like I said, 1251 01:07:27,080 --> 01:07:29,440 Speaker 2: it's a very well composed shot. And you know, they 1252 01:07:29,480 --> 01:07:31,400 Speaker 2: knew what the twin beds were about. They knew why 1253 01:07:31,400 --> 01:07:33,440 Speaker 2: they were using twin beds and films like this, and 1254 01:07:33,440 --> 01:07:38,160 Speaker 2: there's explicitly they're expressly trying to tell a story that 1255 01:07:38,240 --> 01:07:41,280 Speaker 2: has a major plot about human reproduction and sexual relations. 1256 01:07:41,840 --> 01:07:44,640 Speaker 3: So after this we cut to the future. A year 1257 01:07:44,720 --> 01:07:48,000 Speaker 3: has passed and in the transition we see Marge writing 1258 01:07:48,040 --> 01:07:50,680 Speaker 3: a letter to her mother. She says it's been a 1259 01:07:50,720 --> 01:07:54,080 Speaker 3: horrible first year of marriage. She is frightened and bewildered, 1260 01:07:54,360 --> 01:07:57,200 Speaker 3: and she writes, quote, Bill isn't the man I fell 1261 01:07:57,240 --> 01:08:01,280 Speaker 3: in love with. He's almost a stranger. There is a 1262 01:08:01,360 --> 01:08:04,880 Speaker 3: scene where two of Bill's friends from the bachelor party 1263 01:08:04,920 --> 01:08:08,600 Speaker 3: are drinking together at the Bar and Grill, a recurring 1264 01:08:08,640 --> 01:08:11,240 Speaker 3: location for the rest of the film. Surprising amount of 1265 01:08:11,240 --> 01:08:13,040 Speaker 3: this movie takes place at Bar and Grill. 1266 01:08:13,360 --> 01:08:14,840 Speaker 2: This is where Slapsy Maxie works. 1267 01:08:15,200 --> 01:08:18,080 Speaker 3: Yes, he's the bartender there, and it's also right next 1268 01:08:18,120 --> 01:08:22,240 Speaker 3: to a building call a store that sells church supplies 1269 01:08:22,680 --> 01:08:24,760 Speaker 3: that just says church supplies in the window. I like 1270 01:08:24,840 --> 01:08:25,360 Speaker 3: that detail. 1271 01:08:25,479 --> 01:08:27,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's one. 1272 01:08:27,880 --> 01:08:30,559 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. This is where you buy your wafers in bulk. 1273 01:08:30,880 --> 01:08:34,559 Speaker 3: It's like a costco for churches. And then so we 1274 01:08:34,680 --> 01:08:37,360 Speaker 3: join the couple of guys here in the bar, and 1275 01:08:37,400 --> 01:08:39,880 Speaker 3: they are still complaining about women. They're still on the 1276 01:08:39,920 --> 01:08:43,280 Speaker 3: same stuff. One of them, the guy named Sam, he 1277 01:08:43,760 --> 01:08:47,360 Speaker 3: you know, has enough complaining and he walks out, stumbling drunk, 1278 01:08:47,400 --> 01:08:50,439 Speaker 3: to head home. But on the way he stops to 1279 01:08:50,520 --> 01:08:52,920 Speaker 3: puke in an alley and then he gets smoke bloomed 1280 01:08:52,920 --> 01:08:54,679 Speaker 3: by the a lad and so they come get him. 1281 01:08:55,360 --> 01:08:57,880 Speaker 3: And then the next time we see him he has 1282 01:08:57,960 --> 01:09:01,800 Speaker 3: a very different vibe. In the very next scene, we 1283 01:09:01,960 --> 01:09:05,240 Speaker 3: learn that he has suddenly proposed to his girlfriend Helen, 1284 01:09:05,320 --> 01:09:08,400 Speaker 3: and now they're going to get married. There's also a 1285 01:09:08,439 --> 01:09:11,080 Speaker 3: scene a little bit later where we see a police 1286 01:09:11,080 --> 01:09:13,719 Speaker 3: officer get claimed by the smoke in the same alley. 1287 01:09:14,200 --> 01:09:17,120 Speaker 3: I think it's making the point that slowly, one by one, 1288 01:09:17,200 --> 01:09:19,120 Speaker 3: over the course of this year, the men of the 1289 01:09:19,120 --> 01:09:20,520 Speaker 3: town are being replaced. 1290 01:09:20,600 --> 01:09:23,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, the entire local patriarchy is being supplanted. 1291 01:09:24,960 --> 01:09:28,320 Speaker 3: There's also a scene where Marge goes to visit her doctor, 1292 01:09:28,439 --> 01:09:33,160 Speaker 3: doctor Wayne. Marge is concerned because, as we alluded to earlier. 1293 01:09:33,200 --> 01:09:35,080 Speaker 3: She and Bill have been trying to have children, but 1294 01:09:35,120 --> 01:09:38,320 Speaker 3: so far they haven't been able, and doctor Wayne gives 1295 01:09:38,320 --> 01:09:40,879 Speaker 3: her a checkup and says he can't find any evidence 1296 01:09:40,880 --> 01:09:43,240 Speaker 3: of a condition that would prevent her from getting pregnant, 1297 01:09:43,560 --> 01:09:46,320 Speaker 3: so he tries to give her some confidence. He reassures her, 1298 01:09:46,560 --> 01:09:48,880 Speaker 3: but he also suggests Bill come in for a checkup 1299 01:09:48,920 --> 01:09:52,439 Speaker 3: as well. Now after this we get into an early 1300 01:09:53,720 --> 01:09:56,880 Speaker 3: more menacing subplot of the movie, because for a lot 1301 01:09:56,920 --> 01:10:00,840 Speaker 3: of the film we're really balancing this question of exactly 1302 01:10:00,920 --> 01:10:04,599 Speaker 3: how dangerous is the alien Bill. We the audience already 1303 01:10:04,640 --> 01:10:07,599 Speaker 3: knows he's been replaced, but we're trying to figure out 1304 01:10:07,640 --> 01:10:10,000 Speaker 3: what is he going to do? How dangerous is he? What? 1305 01:10:10,080 --> 01:10:13,920 Speaker 3: You know, what kind of threat does he represent? So, 1306 01:10:14,160 --> 01:10:18,200 Speaker 3: in what comes off as a desperate attempt to inject 1307 01:10:18,240 --> 01:10:21,880 Speaker 3: some joy into their marriage, Marge buys a dog from 1308 01:10:21,920 --> 01:10:25,400 Speaker 3: a pet shop as an anniversary present for Bill, very 1309 01:10:25,479 --> 01:10:28,720 Speaker 3: weird domed cage. She's carrying the dog around in She 1310 01:10:28,880 --> 01:10:31,000 Speaker 3: like carries it up. It's this huge, almost kind of 1311 01:10:31,040 --> 01:10:35,240 Speaker 3: dog suitcase. But when she lifts the tarp off the 1312 01:10:35,240 --> 01:10:37,479 Speaker 3: top of the cage to show it to Bill, the 1313 01:10:37,560 --> 01:10:41,240 Speaker 3: dog cannot stand him. It growls and snaps at him 1314 01:10:41,280 --> 01:10:43,719 Speaker 3: on side. It's like a terminator, you know, dogs can't 1315 01:10:43,720 --> 01:10:47,400 Speaker 3: stand him. And Bill says, maybe dogs don't like me, 1316 01:10:47,720 --> 01:10:51,160 Speaker 3: and she says, but Bill, you've had dogs all your life. 1317 01:10:51,720 --> 01:10:54,639 Speaker 3: And then he says, maybe I'm a little out of practice. 1318 01:10:56,439 --> 01:10:59,600 Speaker 3: And then later in this scene he says, maybe he 1319 01:10:59,760 --> 01:11:02,080 Speaker 3: just needs a little time to get accustomed to me. 1320 01:11:03,760 --> 01:11:07,559 Speaker 3: Knowing the premise, you might assume this part comes off 1321 01:11:07,600 --> 01:11:11,880 Speaker 3: as like chilling and overwhelmingly threatening, But there's a complexity 1322 01:11:11,920 --> 01:11:14,519 Speaker 3: to Alien Bill that I really appreciate. Here. It's a 1323 01:11:14,600 --> 01:11:18,280 Speaker 3: kind of sadness, like he hoped maybe it wouldn't be 1324 01:11:18,479 --> 01:11:20,960 Speaker 3: this way, but he doesn't know how to fix it 1325 01:11:21,040 --> 01:11:22,040 Speaker 3: and wishes he could. 1326 01:11:22,320 --> 01:11:24,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, so he tells her go put it in the basement. 1327 01:11:25,600 --> 01:11:27,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, and then this leads to a horrible dog murder 1328 01:11:27,960 --> 01:11:30,320 Speaker 3: scene in the basement. I mean, the murder itself happens 1329 01:11:30,360 --> 01:11:34,000 Speaker 3: off off screen, but yeah. Bill goes down there and 1330 01:11:34,040 --> 01:11:36,120 Speaker 3: the dog is still snapping and growling at him, and 1331 01:11:36,120 --> 01:11:39,120 Speaker 3: he realizes, like this can't go on, you know, there's 1332 01:11:39,160 --> 01:11:40,960 Speaker 3: no way for him to continue with this dog in 1333 01:11:41,000 --> 01:11:43,680 Speaker 3: the house. So he kills the dog and then he 1334 01:11:44,040 --> 01:11:46,920 Speaker 3: tells a very implausible story to Marge to cover it up. 1335 01:11:47,120 --> 01:11:48,880 Speaker 2: It's like the dog slipped in a puddle March and 1336 01:11:48,960 --> 01:11:50,960 Speaker 2: is dead now No, I think he says that it's 1337 01:11:51,760 --> 01:11:53,960 Speaker 2: collar too tied or something. 1338 01:11:54,040 --> 01:11:57,960 Speaker 3: Yeah. So later Marge and Bill are sitting on the 1339 01:11:57,960 --> 01:12:00,919 Speaker 3: couch together and Marge brings up the top of children. 1340 01:12:01,560 --> 01:12:05,519 Speaker 3: She reiterates how much she really wants children, and she 1341 01:12:05,720 --> 01:12:08,880 Speaker 3: brings up how the doctor wanted to have Bill come 1342 01:12:08,920 --> 01:12:13,719 Speaker 3: for a checkup about this, to see if that maybe something, 1343 01:12:14,040 --> 01:12:15,960 Speaker 3: maybe something about Bill could be addressed to deal with 1344 01:12:16,000 --> 01:12:20,240 Speaker 3: fertility issues. Bill verbally agrees to do this, but you 1345 01:12:20,280 --> 01:12:23,759 Speaker 3: can see his frustration and even rage kind of contained 1346 01:12:23,840 --> 01:12:27,040 Speaker 3: under the surface. Marge steps away to answer the door, 1347 01:12:27,160 --> 01:12:30,320 Speaker 3: and when she's out of the room, Bill crushes this 1348 01:12:30,400 --> 01:12:33,120 Speaker 3: heavy metal cigarette lighter with his hand, so it's like 1349 01:12:33,280 --> 01:12:39,120 Speaker 3: he's he's feeling extremely frustrated with the situation, and this 1350 01:12:39,240 --> 01:12:43,320 Speaker 3: leads into a tense and interesting scene. It's a visit 1351 01:12:43,520 --> 01:12:49,599 Speaker 3: from Sam, the New Sam, the Alien Sam. There's one 1352 01:12:49,680 --> 01:12:52,040 Speaker 3: kind of interesting wrinkle here, which is that in some 1353 01:12:52,120 --> 01:12:55,680 Speaker 3: of these body Snatcher movies, the aliens can always recognize 1354 01:12:55,680 --> 01:12:58,400 Speaker 3: one another on site, even if they're disguised as humans, 1355 01:12:58,439 --> 01:13:02,559 Speaker 3: so the alien always knows another alien. In this movie, 1356 01:13:03,120 --> 01:13:06,599 Speaker 3: it seems like the disguise works against their own kind 1357 01:13:06,640 --> 01:13:10,160 Speaker 3: as well. So these aliens in human skin are kind 1358 01:13:10,200 --> 01:13:13,960 Speaker 3: of wary of each other at first, like I don't 1359 01:13:14,000 --> 01:13:16,120 Speaker 3: know if you're cool. I don't know if we can talk. 1360 01:13:16,560 --> 01:13:19,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. I like this detail. I wonder if the vibe 1361 01:13:19,120 --> 01:13:21,759 Speaker 2: was borrowed from says, sort of like deep cover crime 1362 01:13:21,880 --> 01:13:23,960 Speaker 2: or spy storytelling. 1363 01:13:24,439 --> 01:13:24,639 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1364 01:13:24,720 --> 01:13:26,720 Speaker 2: But in any event, it works well here, and it 1365 01:13:26,760 --> 01:13:30,360 Speaker 2: also plays well into various interpretations of the plot. You know, 1366 01:13:30,640 --> 01:13:33,400 Speaker 2: there's a deeper identity at play here. Is this deeper 1367 01:13:33,439 --> 01:13:37,040 Speaker 2: identity something to do with closeted sexuality? Is it akin 1368 01:13:37,160 --> 01:13:41,720 Speaker 2: to some generally unrecognized aspect of the self concerning attitudes 1369 01:13:41,720 --> 01:13:44,840 Speaker 2: and desires regarding the opposite sex? I mean it's all 1370 01:13:44,880 --> 01:13:45,920 Speaker 2: open to interpretation. 1371 01:13:46,960 --> 01:13:51,640 Speaker 3: Interesting. Yeah. Anyway, Alien Sam wants to share information with 1372 01:13:51,680 --> 01:13:55,320 Speaker 3: Alien Bill even when they're when they're alone together in 1373 01:13:55,360 --> 01:13:58,200 Speaker 3: the room, Sam is kind of dropping hints and Alien 1374 01:13:58,200 --> 01:14:00,439 Speaker 3: Bill resists at first, like he's I'm not sure he 1375 01:14:00,439 --> 01:14:03,200 Speaker 3: can trust him. They talk about alcohol. You know, I've 1376 01:14:03,240 --> 01:14:05,519 Speaker 3: lost my taste for the stuff. I've lost my taste 1377 01:14:05,520 --> 01:14:08,960 Speaker 3: for it too interesting, And this also brought to mind 1378 01:14:10,160 --> 01:14:12,759 Speaker 3: don't people have fans of a theory about the thing 1379 01:14:12,920 --> 01:14:15,799 Speaker 3: where like the thing can't consume alcohol or something? 1380 01:14:16,240 --> 01:14:18,519 Speaker 2: You know, I haven't read that one. But the next 1381 01:14:18,560 --> 01:14:21,280 Speaker 2: time I actually watch, is it Carpenter's the thing we're discussing? 1382 01:14:21,400 --> 01:14:21,599 Speaker 3: Yeah? 1383 01:14:21,640 --> 01:14:23,599 Speaker 2: Yeah, next time I watch where we watch it, I'll 1384 01:14:23,640 --> 01:14:24,479 Speaker 2: have to take that with me. 1385 01:14:26,680 --> 01:14:28,880 Speaker 3: I don't know if that's correct. I'm half remembering that, 1386 01:14:30,160 --> 01:14:33,840 Speaker 3: but anyway. At one point, the conversation shifts and Sam 1387 01:14:33,880 --> 01:14:36,200 Speaker 3: lowers his voice and he says, did you make many 1388 01:14:36,240 --> 01:14:40,320 Speaker 3: mistakes at first? But Bill is still kind of like 1389 01:14:40,400 --> 01:14:43,160 Speaker 3: holding back. He pretends he doesn't know what Sam's talking about. 1390 01:14:43,640 --> 01:14:46,439 Speaker 3: And Sam says humans are not too bright, their bodies 1391 01:14:46,479 --> 01:14:50,439 Speaker 3: are frail, but they do manage to enjoy themselves. And 1392 01:14:50,479 --> 01:14:54,160 Speaker 3: then he says they've improved the methane reservoirs in these bodies. 1393 01:14:54,200 --> 01:14:57,880 Speaker 3: You're due to report to the ship tonight. First Bill 1394 01:14:57,960 --> 01:15:02,000 Speaker 3: still plays dumb, but then final Sam unleashes that throbbing 1395 01:15:02,040 --> 01:15:05,479 Speaker 3: electronic sound and shows his you know the cartoon tree face, 1396 01:15:06,280 --> 01:15:10,439 Speaker 3: and again an interesting question about why Bill takes so 1397 01:15:10,520 --> 01:15:13,639 Speaker 3: much convincing but once it's undeniable Sam gives the orders, 1398 01:15:13,960 --> 01:15:16,960 Speaker 3: you've got to go to the ship tonight. So later 1399 01:15:17,040 --> 01:15:19,960 Speaker 3: that night, once again this is a very daylight filled 1400 01:15:20,080 --> 01:15:23,280 Speaker 3: kind of night, Marge pretends to be asleep because at 1401 01:15:23,280 --> 01:15:27,120 Speaker 3: this point she she already knows something is wrong with Bill, 1402 01:15:27,160 --> 01:15:29,720 Speaker 3: and she she wants to find out more. So she 1403 01:15:29,960 --> 01:15:33,680 Speaker 3: waits until Bill leaves the house and then follows him 1404 01:15:33,720 --> 01:15:36,680 Speaker 3: on foot in her nightgown, kind of draped awkwardly in 1405 01:15:36,720 --> 01:15:40,720 Speaker 3: a long overcoat, and so she follows him through the 1406 01:15:40,760 --> 01:15:43,200 Speaker 3: neighborhoods he's walking out on foot as well. At one 1407 01:15:43,200 --> 01:15:46,360 Speaker 3: point she hears a cat screech, and then following in 1408 01:15:46,400 --> 01:15:48,800 Speaker 3: Bill's path, she finds a dead cat in the road. 1409 01:15:49,280 --> 01:15:50,960 Speaker 3: I didn't understand why this happened. 1410 01:15:51,160 --> 01:15:53,880 Speaker 2: I think dogs are natural enemies of these aliens, and 1411 01:15:53,880 --> 01:15:56,280 Speaker 2: so are cats. So it's like sleepwalker. 1412 01:15:56,400 --> 01:15:58,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, he's attacked on site by cats. 1413 01:15:58,360 --> 01:16:01,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, we have only Officer Cloak was on the case here. 1414 01:16:01,600 --> 01:16:05,519 Speaker 3: Yeah. So she follows Bill to a forested ravine at 1415 01:16:05,560 --> 01:16:08,160 Speaker 3: the edge of town and watches him make his way 1416 01:16:08,160 --> 01:16:11,080 Speaker 3: into the woods, and then eventually she sees him make 1417 01:16:11,160 --> 01:16:16,200 Speaker 3: contact with the ship. So the alien form here somehow 1418 01:16:16,400 --> 01:16:21,040 Speaker 3: exits Bill's body, leaving it frozen standing in this pile 1419 01:16:21,080 --> 01:16:25,240 Speaker 3: of dead leaves, and Marge sees the alien's true form 1420 01:16:25,360 --> 01:16:28,719 Speaker 3: glowing in the dark. It leaves to head inside the ship. 1421 01:16:29,000 --> 01:16:30,760 Speaker 3: Then she goes over to Bill to try to get 1422 01:16:30,760 --> 01:16:34,360 Speaker 3: his attention, but he cannot be roused. He's unresponsive with 1423 01:16:34,439 --> 01:16:38,120 Speaker 3: eyes wide open, like he's frozen alive, and she touches 1424 01:16:38,200 --> 01:16:40,840 Speaker 3: him and he falls over, so she screams in horror 1425 01:16:40,840 --> 01:16:44,880 Speaker 3: and retreats to town. She ends up seeking help at 1426 01:16:45,000 --> 01:16:48,320 Speaker 3: where else the bar and grill, you know, like hot 1427 01:16:48,400 --> 01:16:51,320 Speaker 3: jazz music is playing inside. Everybody's drinking through the night, 1428 01:16:52,000 --> 01:16:54,519 Speaker 3: and she goes up to the bartender and a man 1429 01:16:54,600 --> 01:16:56,840 Speaker 3: sitting at the bar to try to get their help 1430 01:16:57,200 --> 01:17:00,479 Speaker 3: to explain what happened there is there's one of the 1431 01:17:00,479 --> 01:17:02,479 Speaker 3: guys sitting at the bar is this kind of creep 1432 01:17:02,479 --> 01:17:05,479 Speaker 3: who has a almost kind of a here's the guy 1433 01:17:05,479 --> 01:17:09,720 Speaker 3: who hosts Unsolved Mysteries. He has I don't know for 1434 01:17:09,760 --> 01:17:11,800 Speaker 3: why why. He kind of reminded me of that guy, 1435 01:17:11,920 --> 01:17:14,559 Speaker 3: but more of like a criminal vibe to him. 1436 01:17:15,439 --> 01:17:18,760 Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting that you should mention Robert Stack. He was, 1437 01:17:18,800 --> 01:17:22,240 Speaker 2: of course on the old Untouchables TV series of the 1438 01:17:22,240 --> 01:17:25,840 Speaker 2: fifties and sixties, and so was this guy really playing 1439 01:17:25,880 --> 01:17:27,519 Speaker 2: the creep? A guy who by the name of Steve 1440 01:17:27,600 --> 01:17:30,640 Speaker 2: London who lived nineteen twenty nine through twenty fourteen. I 1441 01:17:31,120 --> 01:17:32,880 Speaker 2: did make note of him because I was like, oh man, 1442 01:17:32,880 --> 01:17:36,120 Speaker 2: this guy's good. This is this is a nice, little 1443 01:17:36,200 --> 01:17:39,679 Speaker 2: creepy performance. He's like, clearly, this disturbed woman has come 1444 01:17:39,680 --> 01:17:42,599 Speaker 2: into the bar and he's trying to pick her up. Yes, 1445 01:17:42,680 --> 01:17:47,320 Speaker 2: so we'll see more from him. His is a small 1446 01:17:47,400 --> 01:17:50,360 Speaker 2: role but has a weird character art to it. 1447 01:17:50,720 --> 01:17:54,160 Speaker 3: Well, he presents a parallel threat, you know. It's a 1448 01:17:54,200 --> 01:17:57,439 Speaker 3: different kind of Yeah, it's interesting. So the men here 1449 01:17:57,479 --> 01:18:00,400 Speaker 3: at the bar do not take her story serious. They 1450 01:18:00,439 --> 01:18:02,519 Speaker 3: do not listen to her, and they do not offer 1451 01:18:02,640 --> 01:18:05,120 Speaker 3: genuine help. I mean, they pay attention to her, but 1452 01:18:05,120 --> 01:18:07,880 Speaker 3: it's the wrong kind of attention. The creep at the 1453 01:18:07,920 --> 01:18:12,000 Speaker 3: bar is reacting to her only as a potential sexual partner, 1454 01:18:12,000 --> 01:18:13,599 Speaker 3: so he tries to buy her a drink and hit 1455 01:18:13,720 --> 01:18:17,000 Speaker 3: on her. And it's interesting that these men are not 1456 01:18:17,240 --> 01:18:19,960 Speaker 3: aliens yet as far as we know, but they also 1457 01:18:20,160 --> 01:18:25,559 Speaker 3: cannot be relied on. So the next scene, she decides 1458 01:18:25,680 --> 01:18:28,240 Speaker 3: she needs somebody who can help her, so she goes 1459 01:18:28,280 --> 01:18:30,759 Speaker 3: to see her godfather, who happens to be the local 1460 01:18:30,800 --> 01:18:35,200 Speaker 3: police chief, Chief Collins. He is not dismissive like the 1461 01:18:35,200 --> 01:18:37,800 Speaker 3: men at the bar. He's dismissive in a different way. 1462 01:18:38,320 --> 01:18:40,639 Speaker 3: He has a kindly manner and he tries to put 1463 01:18:40,640 --> 01:18:44,479 Speaker 3: her fierce to rest. He listens and then he tells her, well, 1464 01:18:44,520 --> 01:18:46,400 Speaker 3: you know, I believe maybe you saw something, but it 1465 01:18:46,439 --> 01:18:50,360 Speaker 3: was probably caused by hysteria. But just in case she's right, 1466 01:18:50,439 --> 01:18:53,960 Speaker 3: he promises he'll look into it. And then after she leaves, 1467 01:18:54,040 --> 01:18:56,400 Speaker 3: the Chief turns to face the window and with the 1468 01:18:56,479 --> 01:18:59,240 Speaker 3: lightning flashes, we see, uh, oh, he's got that root 1469 01:18:59,240 --> 01:19:02,000 Speaker 3: ball face as well. Well he's got the alien face. 1470 01:19:02,040 --> 01:19:06,519 Speaker 3: So he's already been gotten. And so finally Marge really 1471 01:19:06,560 --> 01:19:09,120 Speaker 3: has no choice but to go home to Bill. She 1472 01:19:09,200 --> 01:19:12,439 Speaker 3: has made bids for help in these different locations and 1473 01:19:12,640 --> 01:19:16,120 Speaker 3: just nothing went anywhere. So she goes back home to Bill. 1474 01:19:16,439 --> 01:19:18,600 Speaker 3: When she gets there, he's sitting in the dark in 1475 01:19:18,680 --> 01:19:21,080 Speaker 3: a chair in the living room waiting for her, and 1476 01:19:21,200 --> 01:19:23,559 Speaker 3: together they go up to bed and it's just this 1477 01:19:24,000 --> 01:19:28,639 Speaker 3: kind of sad, menacing scene where there's like she doesn't 1478 01:19:28,640 --> 01:19:30,160 Speaker 3: know what else to do except to go home. 1479 01:19:30,280 --> 01:19:34,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, just continue to just go through the sugar d here. 1480 01:19:34,240 --> 01:19:34,920 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1481 01:19:35,000 --> 01:19:45,200 Speaker 4: Yeah. 1482 01:19:45,240 --> 01:19:47,479 Speaker 3: After this, at some point there is an there's a 1483 01:19:47,520 --> 01:19:50,320 Speaker 3: wedding rehearsal scene Helen and Sam are getting married. Of course, 1484 01:19:50,360 --> 01:19:53,200 Speaker 3: remember Sam is alien Sam now, but Helen is getting 1485 01:19:53,200 --> 01:19:57,719 Speaker 3: married to him. Marge at the wedding rehearsal pulls Helen 1486 01:19:57,760 --> 01:20:01,240 Speaker 3: aside after the runthrough, and she herries to convince Helen 1487 01:20:01,360 --> 01:20:03,920 Speaker 3: not to marry Sam, though she has a very hard 1488 01:20:03,920 --> 01:20:07,439 Speaker 3: time explaining why she shouldn't. She's saying, like, it may 1489 01:20:07,479 --> 01:20:09,760 Speaker 3: not be true of Sam, I just don't know. But 1490 01:20:09,880 --> 01:20:12,400 Speaker 3: Helen's like, what is it? What are you trying to say? 1491 01:20:12,760 --> 01:20:15,920 Speaker 3: And Helen is obviously not very happy to be hearing 1492 01:20:15,960 --> 01:20:20,000 Speaker 3: whatever this is. And she's trying to explain to Helen, 1493 01:20:20,080 --> 01:20:21,960 Speaker 3: but she doesn't get a chance. Bill comes in and 1494 01:20:21,960 --> 01:20:26,280 Speaker 3: interrupts them, and there's no opportunity to explain. She never 1495 01:20:26,600 --> 01:20:29,280 Speaker 3: gets a chance in the film to compare notes with 1496 01:20:29,320 --> 01:20:33,360 Speaker 3: another woman, Like she has a few female friends, but 1497 01:20:33,960 --> 01:20:37,479 Speaker 3: she doesn't really she's not given an opportunity to like 1498 01:20:37,720 --> 01:20:41,680 Speaker 3: have a deep and private interaction with them. You know, 1499 01:20:41,760 --> 01:20:45,240 Speaker 3: they can have brief, shallow interactions that are kind of 1500 01:20:45,320 --> 01:20:48,120 Speaker 3: like interrupted and managed by the men around them. 1501 01:20:48,280 --> 01:20:50,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and going back to you know, what we 1502 01:20:50,640 --> 01:20:53,280 Speaker 2: said earlier about the scene at the bar, it's like 1503 01:20:53,560 --> 01:20:56,720 Speaker 2: we're increasingly in a situation where it's clear that, like 1504 01:20:58,120 --> 01:21:00,880 Speaker 2: pretty if you haven't been replaced by an alien being 1505 01:21:00,920 --> 01:21:03,200 Speaker 2: at this point, then you're probably just a local creep 1506 01:21:03,240 --> 01:21:04,960 Speaker 2: who is never going to be able to help you anyway, 1507 01:21:05,040 --> 01:21:08,760 Speaker 2: or you're just completely indifferent. So it's definitely not a 1508 01:21:08,800 --> 01:21:11,000 Speaker 2: scenario where it's like, oh, all the men have been 1509 01:21:11,040 --> 01:21:14,479 Speaker 2: replaced and now all the men are suspicious or no help. 1510 01:21:15,680 --> 01:21:18,240 Speaker 2: And I think that was certainly the better choice here, 1511 01:21:18,640 --> 01:21:22,040 Speaker 2: because there's probably you know, another on another shelf of 1512 01:21:22,040 --> 01:21:24,160 Speaker 2: the library of Babel, there's a version of this film 1513 01:21:24,200 --> 01:21:26,400 Speaker 2: where the aliens just replaced all the men in town 1514 01:21:26,880 --> 01:21:28,320 Speaker 2: and it would be less interesting. 1515 01:21:28,360 --> 01:21:30,760 Speaker 3: I think I agree with that. I think it is 1516 01:21:30,800 --> 01:21:34,080 Speaker 3: more interesting and kind of says more in that we 1517 01:21:34,080 --> 01:21:37,639 Speaker 3: were getting this mix of different kinds of threats from men, 1518 01:21:37,760 --> 01:21:42,160 Speaker 3: you know, and some are quite mundane. And then so 1519 01:21:43,000 --> 01:21:45,439 Speaker 3: there's this later scene between Bill and Marge at home. 1520 01:21:46,000 --> 01:21:48,160 Speaker 3: This is one of these scenes where Marge points the 1521 01:21:48,400 --> 01:21:50,560 Speaker 3: Bill has not touched his drink and he's like, I 1522 01:21:50,840 --> 01:21:53,000 Speaker 3: told you I have an allergy to alcohol. 1523 01:21:53,040 --> 01:21:57,000 Speaker 2: Now I don't go to the doctor ever, but assure 1524 01:21:57,160 --> 01:21:58,839 Speaker 2: let me assure you, I have an allergy. 1525 01:21:59,320 --> 01:22:05,680 Speaker 3: Yeah. And then Bill starts confronting Marge about her behavior 1526 01:22:05,840 --> 01:22:09,840 Speaker 3: and about her being weird. He's saying, what's wrong, he says, 1527 01:22:09,920 --> 01:22:13,479 Speaker 3: in the last year, you've changed. He says that to her, 1528 01:22:13,960 --> 01:22:16,360 Speaker 3: which I think is a great I think this term 1529 01:22:16,479 --> 01:22:18,120 Speaker 3: was not in wide use of the time, but a 1530 01:22:18,120 --> 01:22:21,080 Speaker 3: great use of gas lighting here. He's trying to make 1531 01:22:21,120 --> 01:22:23,960 Speaker 3: her feel like, no, she's the one who's acting weird. Yeah. 1532 01:22:24,040 --> 01:22:26,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm gonna accuse you of the thing I've been doing. 1533 01:22:26,720 --> 01:22:30,000 Speaker 3: Yeah. So she goes up to bed, but then Bill 1534 01:22:30,120 --> 01:22:34,360 Speaker 3: watches out the window and outside the house there's the 1535 01:22:34,400 --> 01:22:36,680 Speaker 3: creep from the bar, the guy who reminded me of 1536 01:22:36,760 --> 01:22:41,280 Speaker 3: Robert Stack. He's like lurking outside the house on the street. 1537 01:22:41,760 --> 01:22:44,879 Speaker 3: We learn that he has been trying to follow Marge 1538 01:22:44,920 --> 01:22:47,920 Speaker 3: because he thinks her marriage is on the rocks and 1539 01:22:47,960 --> 01:22:49,920 Speaker 3: he thinks he can swoop in and pick her up. 1540 01:22:50,479 --> 01:22:53,400 Speaker 2: Yeah. But it's also interesting, isn't it that he's he's 1541 01:22:53,439 --> 01:22:56,000 Speaker 2: not really positioned this way, but he in many ways 1542 01:22:56,080 --> 01:23:01,000 Speaker 2: is also that outsider who I don't know, Like he's 1543 01:23:01,000 --> 01:23:02,040 Speaker 2: not here to save the day. 1544 01:23:02,560 --> 01:23:06,040 Speaker 3: But he in terms of plot structure, this character would 1545 01:23:06,120 --> 01:23:09,439 Speaker 3: be like that, Yeah, but he's not trying to be helpful. 1546 01:23:09,520 --> 01:23:13,080 Speaker 3: He's he is a different kind of predator Bill. Here 1547 01:23:13,240 --> 01:23:16,280 Speaker 3: he uses his alien powers to summon the alien friends, 1548 01:23:16,360 --> 01:23:19,360 Speaker 3: the ones in the police bodies. They arrive on scene, 1549 01:23:19,400 --> 01:23:22,040 Speaker 3: they confront the bar and grill guy and they kill him. 1550 01:23:22,160 --> 01:23:23,160 Speaker 3: They kill him. 1551 01:23:23,000 --> 01:23:26,519 Speaker 2: There, brutally shoot him in cold blood, just go down 1552 01:23:26,520 --> 01:23:30,160 Speaker 2: in the street. And then inside Mark is like, I've 1553 01:23:30,200 --> 01:23:33,479 Speaker 2: heard something, and Bill's like, don't worry, it's just police 1554 01:23:33,520 --> 01:23:37,400 Speaker 2: firing their guns in our neighborhood. Nothing to be concerned about. 1555 01:23:37,920 --> 01:23:41,439 Speaker 3: Yah, I mean, it's a chilling scene actually what he 1556 01:23:41,520 --> 01:23:44,439 Speaker 3: tells her. He says it's a car backfiring, and she's like, 1557 01:23:44,560 --> 01:23:48,639 Speaker 3: oh wow. Yeah. So anyway, we go to another scene 1558 01:23:48,640 --> 01:23:50,640 Speaker 3: at the bar. We're starting to see, i think, just 1559 01:23:50,840 --> 01:23:58,479 Speaker 3: more scenes of the aliens being directly violent and dangerous. So, uh, 1560 01:23:58,720 --> 01:24:01,320 Speaker 3: there's a scene at the bar where where Bill gets 1561 01:24:01,360 --> 01:24:04,400 Speaker 3: frustrated where with the way Marge is reacting to him. 1562 01:24:04,479 --> 01:24:06,800 Speaker 3: He goes out to the bar and grill and he 1563 01:24:06,880 --> 01:24:09,599 Speaker 3: goes drinking with Sam and one of the other guy friends, 1564 01:24:09,760 --> 01:24:13,559 Speaker 3: which is funny because they're all body snatched, but they're 1565 01:24:13,640 --> 01:24:17,439 Speaker 3: still doing the same. They're still getting together at a 1566 01:24:17,479 --> 01:24:21,160 Speaker 3: bar and complaining about their marriages and avoiding their wives. 1567 01:24:21,360 --> 01:24:23,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think that that is one of the 1568 01:24:23,840 --> 01:24:28,080 Speaker 2: wonderful textures of the film, is that the men who 1569 01:24:28,080 --> 01:24:30,400 Speaker 2: have been replaced by aliens are still doing things that 1570 01:24:30,479 --> 01:24:34,720 Speaker 2: men do. And that's clearly part of the statement that 1571 01:24:34,800 --> 01:24:35,559 Speaker 2: is trying to make here. 1572 01:24:36,160 --> 01:24:38,519 Speaker 3: There's some plot explanation in the scene as well, like 1573 01:24:38,560 --> 01:24:41,080 Speaker 3: when they think nobody's around to hear them, they talk 1574 01:24:41,120 --> 01:24:45,320 Speaker 3: about their plan. One of them says that their scientists 1575 01:24:45,320 --> 01:24:48,200 Speaker 3: are still trying to find a way to make reproduction 1576 01:24:48,320 --> 01:24:51,639 Speaker 3: with human women possible. They're very close. Soon they'll find 1577 01:24:51,680 --> 01:24:54,280 Speaker 3: a way to make the germ cells compatible. So it's 1578 01:24:54,320 --> 01:24:57,000 Speaker 3: almost time. And this is the scene where we get 1579 01:24:57,000 --> 01:24:59,360 Speaker 3: the bartender Slapsey coming over to be like, what's the 1580 01:24:59,360 --> 01:25:03,040 Speaker 3: matter with my liquor? At one point he starts insulting 1581 01:25:03,080 --> 01:25:04,640 Speaker 3: the guys, and one of the I wrote down a 1582 01:25:04,640 --> 01:25:06,760 Speaker 3: line he said. He says, you're like a bunch of 1583 01:25:06,800 --> 01:25:11,639 Speaker 3: ghouls waiting for a corpse to ripen. Whoa nice But this, yeah, 1584 01:25:11,720 --> 01:25:14,160 Speaker 3: this is a scene where he starts punching Bill, and 1585 01:25:14,160 --> 01:25:17,040 Speaker 3: Bill just stands there, absorbing the blows and doing nothing, 1586 01:25:17,080 --> 01:25:20,800 Speaker 3: and the bartender is quite freaked out by this. And 1587 01:25:20,840 --> 01:25:23,800 Speaker 3: then the scene right after this is another frightening scene. 1588 01:25:23,800 --> 01:25:26,599 Speaker 3: It's the death of Francine, the woman who hangs out 1589 01:25:26,640 --> 01:25:30,640 Speaker 3: at the bar. There's implication, it's never stated explicitly, but 1590 01:25:30,760 --> 01:25:33,280 Speaker 3: implication that she's a sex worker. She hangs out at 1591 01:25:33,320 --> 01:25:36,960 Speaker 3: the bart flirting with men, and she leaves the bar 1592 01:25:37,040 --> 01:25:40,879 Speaker 3: alone after the music stops and sees a man standing 1593 01:25:40,880 --> 01:25:44,760 Speaker 3: across the street looking into a shop window. She approaches 1594 01:25:44,800 --> 01:25:48,400 Speaker 3: the man, tries to flirt with him, and then the 1595 01:25:48,439 --> 01:25:52,240 Speaker 3: scene takes this weird, eerie turn. She looks in the 1596 01:25:52,240 --> 01:25:55,920 Speaker 3: shop window and the man is looking at dolls, and 1597 01:25:56,120 --> 01:25:58,439 Speaker 3: she says, I'm crazy about dolls. Would you like to 1598 01:25:58,439 --> 01:26:02,200 Speaker 3: buy me a doll? And then the electronic worrying noise 1599 01:26:02,280 --> 01:26:05,320 Speaker 3: starts up and the man doesn't reply, and she gets 1600 01:26:05,320 --> 01:26:07,680 Speaker 3: angry because he won't say anything, and she says, if 1601 01:26:07,680 --> 01:26:09,600 Speaker 3: you was a gentleman, you'd at least speak to me. 1602 01:26:10,160 --> 01:26:12,960 Speaker 3: But then she sees his face and she screams and 1603 01:26:13,040 --> 01:26:16,280 Speaker 3: runs and he turns and he blasts her with some 1604 01:26:16,360 --> 01:26:19,679 Speaker 3: kind of laser that we have we seen the aliens 1605 01:26:19,760 --> 01:26:20,599 Speaker 3: use it up to this point. 1606 01:26:20,600 --> 01:26:23,000 Speaker 2: I don't think maybe the first the first place where 1607 01:26:23,000 --> 01:26:24,720 Speaker 2: we see it that the effect here is great. It 1608 01:26:24,720 --> 01:26:29,479 Speaker 2: doesn't turn vaporizes her and it looks super super cool, 1609 01:26:29,600 --> 01:26:30,080 Speaker 2: very clean. 1610 01:26:30,640 --> 01:26:34,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, and scary. I thought this is a scary scene. Yeah, yeah, 1611 01:26:34,800 --> 01:26:37,200 Speaker 3: along with the scene with the creep earlier, like the 1612 01:26:37,240 --> 01:26:40,720 Speaker 3: way the aliens are killing people is frightening. Yeah. 1613 01:26:40,720 --> 01:26:42,320 Speaker 2: I mean you can go back and forth about the 1614 01:26:42,439 --> 01:26:45,559 Speaker 2: implied morality of a film like this regarding a character 1615 01:26:45,680 --> 01:26:49,800 Speaker 2: like this, but like, she did nothing to deserve, no, 1616 01:26:50,560 --> 01:26:52,520 Speaker 2: to be vaporized on the city street. 1617 01:26:52,280 --> 01:26:56,000 Speaker 3: Here, totally. No, I mean, she's just a victim who 1618 01:26:56,040 --> 01:26:58,680 Speaker 3: I think the what she got in trouble because she 1619 01:26:58,760 --> 01:27:01,320 Speaker 3: saw the alien's face and so like she knew, so 1620 01:27:01,360 --> 01:27:06,320 Speaker 3: they couldn't let her live. So let's see, after this 1621 01:27:06,400 --> 01:27:09,360 Speaker 3: we get the death by oxygen scene. That's kind of 1622 01:27:09,400 --> 01:27:12,800 Speaker 3: weird thing and one of the more awkward things in 1623 01:27:12,840 --> 01:27:15,360 Speaker 3: this movie, I think is right in the middle of 1624 01:27:15,720 --> 01:27:19,639 Speaker 3: scenes that are working really well as horror and relationship drama, 1625 01:27:20,120 --> 01:27:24,839 Speaker 3: you get some more kind of hard science fiction content 1626 01:27:25,000 --> 01:27:28,400 Speaker 3: insurged in that's a little bit goofier, And this is 1627 01:27:28,439 --> 01:27:30,479 Speaker 3: one of those scenes I think I didn't mean to 1628 01:27:30,520 --> 01:27:34,879 Speaker 3: say hard science fiction, like highly scientifically accurate, but just 1629 01:27:34,000 --> 01:27:39,080 Speaker 3: dealing with the science fiction premises as physical realities. Some 1630 01:27:39,120 --> 01:27:42,040 Speaker 3: of those are some of the weirdest and most awkward 1631 01:27:42,120 --> 01:27:45,799 Speaker 3: parts of the movie. So, like, all of the married 1632 01:27:45,840 --> 01:27:47,519 Speaker 3: couples are out for a day at the lake. They're 1633 01:27:47,560 --> 01:27:50,800 Speaker 3: hanging out having a picnic. Sam and Helen are on 1634 01:27:51,320 --> 01:27:53,679 Speaker 3: They're out in the lake and in a row boat 1635 01:27:53,760 --> 01:27:56,639 Speaker 3: and Sam falls into the water. They pull him out 1636 01:27:56,640 --> 01:27:59,400 Speaker 3: of the water, and then doctor Wayne happens to be there, 1637 01:27:59,439 --> 01:28:01,679 Speaker 3: and I was really confused. I was like, wait, isn't 1638 01:28:01,760 --> 01:28:05,599 Speaker 3: he marches obg y N. But I think maybe it's 1639 01:28:05,720 --> 01:28:08,400 Speaker 3: just like it's a small town and doctor he's the 1640 01:28:08,400 --> 01:28:11,679 Speaker 3: general doctor. He does everything. Okay, Yeah, So doctor Wayne 1641 01:28:11,720 --> 01:28:15,000 Speaker 3: is there and he's got a he's got a giant 1642 01:28:15,080 --> 01:28:19,360 Speaker 3: oxygen tank and a face mask. Uh. And that's weird 1643 01:28:19,439 --> 01:28:21,120 Speaker 3: enough on it. Why does he have a suitcase full 1644 01:28:21,120 --> 01:28:25,960 Speaker 3: of oxygen tanks? But he gives Sam some oxygen after 1645 01:28:26,000 --> 01:28:29,200 Speaker 3: he's been pulled out of the water, and for some reason, 1646 01:28:29,280 --> 01:28:32,519 Speaker 3: when they give him oxygen, he dies. So the doctor says, 1647 01:28:32,560 --> 01:28:34,280 Speaker 3: you know, he was alive when we pulled him out. 1648 01:28:34,320 --> 01:28:37,320 Speaker 3: I'd say it was the oxygen that killed him, And we. 1649 01:28:37,479 --> 01:28:41,000 Speaker 2: The viewer know from earlier that apparently these these creatures 1650 01:28:42,280 --> 01:28:44,880 Speaker 2: depend on methane and they have to have methane reserve 1651 01:28:45,080 --> 01:28:46,160 Speaker 2: reserves in their body. 1652 01:28:46,640 --> 01:28:49,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, so the aliens are vulnerable to oxygen. Uh, and 1653 01:28:49,720 --> 01:28:53,519 Speaker 3: they have to keep these internal tanks to breathe. So 1654 01:28:53,720 --> 01:28:55,320 Speaker 3: there is a part in the middle of the movie 1655 01:28:55,320 --> 01:28:58,880 Speaker 3: where we see Marge making other attempts to try to 1656 01:28:58,880 --> 01:29:01,479 Speaker 3: fix the situation. He's resourceful. She comes up with a 1657 01:29:01,520 --> 01:29:04,280 Speaker 3: lot of ideas. She tries to call Washington d C. 1658 01:29:04,560 --> 01:29:06,559 Speaker 3: I don't know if I don't know who she was 1659 01:29:06,560 --> 01:29:08,360 Speaker 3: trying to call, like put me through to the President, 1660 01:29:08,520 --> 01:29:11,800 Speaker 3: but she learns from the operator that all the lines 1661 01:29:11,840 --> 01:29:15,680 Speaker 3: to Washington are out. She tries to send a telegram, 1662 01:29:15,760 --> 01:29:17,920 Speaker 3: but the guy at the Western Union office takes her 1663 01:29:17,960 --> 01:29:20,920 Speaker 3: telegram and then rips it up. When she leaves, she 1664 01:29:20,960 --> 01:29:23,240 Speaker 3: tries to drive out of town, but the roads are 1665 01:29:23,280 --> 01:29:26,240 Speaker 3: closed and she gets turned back. Almost like the Truman Show, 1666 01:29:26,400 --> 01:29:30,759 Speaker 3: she just can't leave. Finally, we get to a scene 1667 01:29:30,800 --> 01:29:33,840 Speaker 3: that is I think the heart of the film, the 1668 01:29:33,840 --> 01:29:37,519 Speaker 3: scene where she confronts Bill in the living room. So 1669 01:29:37,560 --> 01:29:39,479 Speaker 3: she comes home and they meet each other in this 1670 01:29:39,600 --> 01:29:43,400 Speaker 3: dark room, and she tells him that she knows. Bill says, 1671 01:29:43,400 --> 01:29:46,679 Speaker 3: how about some light? And Marge says, you don't need 1672 01:29:46,720 --> 01:29:50,680 Speaker 3: any and Bill says, don't be too sure, and then 1673 01:29:50,720 --> 01:29:53,040 Speaker 3: he asks her what she knows, and she says, I 1674 01:29:53,080 --> 01:29:56,200 Speaker 3: know you're not Bill. You're some thing that crept into 1675 01:29:56,240 --> 01:29:59,559 Speaker 3: Bill's body, something that can't even breathe the same air 1676 01:29:59,640 --> 01:30:02,880 Speaker 3: we do. Bill says, aren't you afraid to be telling 1677 01:30:02,920 --> 01:30:06,519 Speaker 3: me this? And she says yes. Does frightening women make 1678 01:30:06,560 --> 01:30:10,640 Speaker 3: you proud? Or is pride something monsters don't understand? And 1679 01:30:10,680 --> 01:30:14,200 Speaker 3: Bill says, we understand pride, but we can't afford it. 1680 01:30:14,960 --> 01:30:18,479 Speaker 3: So he's being open now he's admitting it. He levels 1681 01:30:18,520 --> 01:30:21,160 Speaker 3: with her and he explains the alien's backstory. I'm going 1682 01:30:21,240 --> 01:30:23,880 Speaker 3: to read from what he says. Quote. We came from 1683 01:30:23,880 --> 01:30:27,960 Speaker 3: a planet in the Andromeda constellation. Our son became unstable, 1684 01:30:28,120 --> 01:30:30,920 Speaker 3: so we built some spaceships enough to carry all our 1685 01:30:30,960 --> 01:30:34,559 Speaker 3: people safely away before our sun exploded. But it took 1686 01:30:34,640 --> 01:30:37,320 Speaker 3: time to build those ships, and in that time, as 1687 01:30:37,360 --> 01:30:41,400 Speaker 3: our son's rays became more intense, our women died, so 1688 01:30:41,520 --> 01:30:45,800 Speaker 3: they were doomed to extinction until they found Earth. And 1689 01:30:46,240 --> 01:30:48,880 Speaker 3: he says you have no idea how rare life is 1690 01:30:48,960 --> 01:30:53,120 Speaker 3: in those cold, countless miles of space. So I feel 1691 01:30:53,160 --> 01:30:55,639 Speaker 3: like we also might get the idea that this creature 1692 01:30:55,840 --> 01:30:58,799 Speaker 3: could be ancient. Who knows how long he's been alive. 1693 01:30:58,960 --> 01:31:00,120 Speaker 3: They don't specify that. 1694 01:31:00,760 --> 01:31:04,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, And I love that line about because essentially 1695 01:31:04,479 --> 01:31:07,040 Speaker 2: she's like, why us, you know, were not somewhere else, 1696 01:31:07,400 --> 01:31:09,439 Speaker 2: And he's like, yeah, you have no idea how rare 1697 01:31:09,520 --> 01:31:12,519 Speaker 2: life is, Like it's imp heavily imply we did not 1698 01:31:12,600 --> 01:31:15,120 Speaker 2: have a choice. You were maybe all we found. 1699 01:31:15,479 --> 01:31:17,639 Speaker 3: Yeah, we didn't pick you. You were the only ones. 1700 01:31:19,240 --> 01:31:23,080 Speaker 3: And then there's another There's several more really interesting exchanges. 1701 01:31:23,520 --> 01:31:26,679 Speaker 3: Marge says, did you love your women before they died? 1702 01:31:27,120 --> 01:31:30,559 Speaker 3: And Bill says no. Their species did not have love 1703 01:31:30,600 --> 01:31:34,559 Speaker 3: between the sexes. They came together briefly for breeding purposes only. 1704 01:31:35,240 --> 01:31:39,599 Speaker 3: But now here something is different. Bill says, quote something 1705 01:31:39,640 --> 01:31:43,320 Speaker 3: happened that we hadn't foreseen. Along with these bodies, we 1706 01:31:43,360 --> 01:31:48,920 Speaker 3: inherited other things as well, human desires, emotions, And Marge says, 1707 01:31:48,960 --> 01:31:51,800 Speaker 3: are you telling me you're learning how to love? And 1708 01:31:51,840 --> 01:31:54,880 Speaker 3: Bill says, I'm telling you I'm learning what love is. 1709 01:31:56,320 --> 01:32:01,879 Speaker 3: So it's an interesting complication. It doesn't make the aliens friendly, 1710 01:32:01,960 --> 01:32:05,360 Speaker 3: because what they're doing is still evil and horrible. But 1711 01:32:05,479 --> 01:32:09,800 Speaker 3: the aliens do not have they don't have the kind 1712 01:32:09,800 --> 01:32:13,840 Speaker 3: of intentional hate or maliciousness you see in some aliens 1713 01:32:13,880 --> 01:32:17,639 Speaker 3: from movies in the fifties. In their own way, they 1714 01:32:17,680 --> 01:32:22,840 Speaker 3: are trying to understand the emotional dimensions of marriage, but 1715 01:32:23,280 --> 01:32:26,720 Speaker 3: in a way that is wrong because it's an asymmetrical way, 1716 01:32:27,000 --> 01:32:29,800 Speaker 3: like it can never work because it exists within the 1717 01:32:29,840 --> 01:32:34,200 Speaker 3: context of a deception. They're not trying to be cruel, 1718 01:32:34,439 --> 01:32:38,160 Speaker 3: but they are nevertheless cruel. They're acting in a predatory 1719 01:32:38,200 --> 01:32:41,200 Speaker 3: way toward both the men and women of Earth. They're 1720 01:32:41,200 --> 01:32:44,519 Speaker 3: trying to dominate and control the bodies of both sexes 1721 01:32:44,960 --> 01:32:49,439 Speaker 3: without their consent, by stealing men's identities and eventually by 1722 01:32:49,520 --> 01:32:53,559 Speaker 3: deceiving women into procreating with them. And this leads into 1723 01:32:53,560 --> 01:32:57,360 Speaker 3: the exchange where Marge says, your race has no women, 1724 01:32:57,479 --> 01:33:00,799 Speaker 3: it can't have children, it will die out, and Bill says, 1725 01:33:00,920 --> 01:33:05,000 Speaker 3: eventually we'll have children with you. Marge says, what kind 1726 01:33:05,040 --> 01:33:11,600 Speaker 3: of children? And Bill says, our kind. So deeply frightening, disturbing, 1727 01:33:11,640 --> 01:33:14,240 Speaker 3: but interesting scene. And I think this comes back to 1728 01:33:14,920 --> 01:33:16,439 Speaker 3: one of the issues I brought up at the beginning 1729 01:33:16,479 --> 01:33:20,760 Speaker 3: of the episode, how it indirectly highlights issues about like 1730 01:33:20,840 --> 01:33:24,720 Speaker 3: bodily autonomy and reproductive rights, like the horror of the 1731 01:33:24,760 --> 01:33:28,439 Speaker 3: idea that the women in this in this story wouldn't 1732 01:33:28,520 --> 01:33:31,599 Speaker 3: ultimately have a say and when and how they have children, 1733 01:33:32,040 --> 01:33:35,280 Speaker 3: as well as bringing up ideas about how love can't 1734 01:33:35,400 --> 01:33:38,680 Speaker 3: really exist within a lie, even if the liar is 1735 01:33:38,800 --> 01:33:40,719 Speaker 3: trying to love in their own way. 1736 01:33:41,000 --> 01:33:45,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it is. It's just yeah, it's so well composed. 1737 01:33:45,120 --> 01:33:47,400 Speaker 2: And again, this is this is something when i'd seen 1738 01:33:47,439 --> 01:33:49,600 Speaker 2: the film previously, I just I didn't really pick up on. 1739 01:33:50,160 --> 01:33:51,920 Speaker 2: You know, it's probably just what maybe even headed on 1740 01:33:52,000 --> 01:33:54,240 Speaker 2: in the background. It was mostly focusing on the monsters. 1741 01:33:54,240 --> 01:33:57,720 Speaker 2: But the human story here is so well composed. 1742 01:33:58,320 --> 01:34:01,679 Speaker 3: And then while we're on the subject of how those 1743 01:34:01,720 --> 01:34:04,759 Speaker 3: two common story types I mentioned earlier in the episode 1744 01:34:04,760 --> 01:34:08,519 Speaker 3: are manifesting here, I guess that's how the movie deals 1745 01:34:08,600 --> 01:34:11,960 Speaker 3: with the reproductive conspiracy and a kind of frightening and 1746 01:34:12,040 --> 01:34:15,479 Speaker 3: interesting way. But the other thing is the body snatching 1747 01:34:15,520 --> 01:34:20,400 Speaker 3: subplot and how that leads to this environment of distrust 1748 01:34:20,439 --> 01:34:24,760 Speaker 3: and paranoia. I mentioned earlier that I don't think this 1749 01:34:24,880 --> 01:34:26,680 Speaker 3: movie uses it the same way a lot of the 1750 01:34:26,720 --> 01:34:29,960 Speaker 3: others do to highlight ideas about the Cold War and 1751 01:34:30,040 --> 01:34:34,719 Speaker 3: political and filtration. Instead, this is using the body snatching 1752 01:34:34,760 --> 01:34:39,320 Speaker 3: and mistrust theme to highlight a tension and imbalance of 1753 01:34:39,360 --> 01:34:44,439 Speaker 3: power between the sexes. Throughout the movie, Marge keeps seeking 1754 01:34:44,600 --> 01:34:47,880 Speaker 3: help she has, but she has to appeal to men 1755 01:34:48,800 --> 01:34:52,000 Speaker 3: because in this movie, in this world, the men have 1756 01:34:52,120 --> 01:34:55,000 Speaker 3: all the guns and the keys and the dogs, and 1757 01:34:55,040 --> 01:34:58,439 Speaker 3: the power and the control over institutions and so like, 1758 01:34:58,680 --> 01:35:03,000 Speaker 3: really the power to do anything to stop this conspiracy. 1759 01:35:03,160 --> 01:35:06,200 Speaker 3: To stop it, you have to appeal to men somehow. 1760 01:35:06,720 --> 01:35:09,800 Speaker 3: But that doesn't work because any of the men she 1761 01:35:09,840 --> 01:35:11,640 Speaker 3: goes to talk to could be a part of the 1762 01:35:11,680 --> 01:35:15,880 Speaker 3: alien conspiracy, or even if they're not aliens, they could 1763 01:35:15,880 --> 01:35:18,720 Speaker 3: be somebody who is just not a reliable helper, someone 1764 01:35:18,760 --> 01:35:21,400 Speaker 3: who doesn't take her seriously, somebody who's just trying to 1765 01:35:21,760 --> 01:35:26,480 Speaker 3: get something from her. So Marge is portrayed as isolated 1766 01:35:26,520 --> 01:35:30,160 Speaker 3: from help and support in a world controlled by men 1767 01:35:30,200 --> 01:35:31,400 Speaker 3: who cannot be trusted. 1768 01:35:31,760 --> 01:35:34,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, and she's a strong character, but in a world 1769 01:35:34,720 --> 01:35:38,440 Speaker 2: that just does not give women a lot of options. 1770 01:35:38,920 --> 01:35:42,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, And so any man she appeals to, even when 1771 01:35:42,240 --> 01:35:44,479 Speaker 3: he claims to want to help her, like Chief Collins 1772 01:35:44,520 --> 01:35:47,680 Speaker 3: could secretly be working against her, and there's no way 1773 01:35:47,720 --> 01:35:51,160 Speaker 3: to tell from the outside. Guys who look human and 1774 01:35:51,240 --> 01:36:04,800 Speaker 3: seem nice might not actually be trustworthy. But anyway, I 1775 01:36:04,800 --> 01:36:07,280 Speaker 3: guess this brings us back to how does Marge actually 1776 01:36:07,320 --> 01:36:10,839 Speaker 3: beat the aliens. I don't know if this means anything. 1777 01:36:10,960 --> 01:36:13,160 Speaker 3: Maybe it's just kind of you know, they had to 1778 01:36:13,160 --> 01:36:16,160 Speaker 3: get to the end somehow, or maybe it does mean something. 1779 01:36:16,200 --> 01:36:19,200 Speaker 3: I don't know. She finally appeals to the one guy 1780 01:36:19,240 --> 01:36:22,559 Speaker 3: in town who can actually be trusted, and it's her doctor. 1781 01:36:23,880 --> 01:36:27,000 Speaker 3: As she goes and she explains things to doctor Wayne, 1782 01:36:27,240 --> 01:36:30,960 Speaker 3: and here I was expecting, I don't know, another scene 1783 01:36:31,000 --> 01:36:32,840 Speaker 3: of maybe he turns out to be an alien too, 1784 01:36:33,600 --> 01:36:36,880 Speaker 3: or he just doesn't listen to her and rebuffs her. 1785 01:36:37,200 --> 01:36:40,320 Speaker 3: But for whatever reason, he's just like, Okay, I understand 1786 01:36:40,360 --> 01:36:43,720 Speaker 3: what you're saying. She makes the case to him, he's convinced, 1787 01:36:43,760 --> 01:36:45,479 Speaker 3: and he's like, I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna figure 1788 01:36:45,479 --> 01:36:49,439 Speaker 3: out how. And the solution that Doctor Wayne comes up 1789 01:36:49,439 --> 01:36:53,559 Speaker 3: with is interesting. I also am wondering exactly what this 1790 01:36:53,680 --> 01:36:55,479 Speaker 3: means in the context of the movie. I don't know 1791 01:36:55,520 --> 01:36:59,080 Speaker 3: how much it is intended to mean but doctor Wayne 1792 01:36:59,120 --> 01:37:02,040 Speaker 3: is like, the only way I can figure out which 1793 01:37:02,160 --> 01:37:07,200 Speaker 3: men haven't yet been replaced by the aliens are the 1794 01:37:07,280 --> 01:37:10,840 Speaker 3: men who have recently fathered children. So he goes to 1795 01:37:10,920 --> 01:37:14,839 Speaker 3: the maternity ward and gets together a posse of new fathers. 1796 01:37:15,200 --> 01:37:17,479 Speaker 2: He goes down there, He's like, men, you're not doing anything. 1797 01:37:17,479 --> 01:37:18,320 Speaker 2: You're just setting around. 1798 01:37:20,360 --> 01:37:22,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, you have brand, you have, you have newborns. But 1799 01:37:23,240 --> 01:37:25,080 Speaker 3: it's time to get your guns and your dogs, and 1800 01:37:25,080 --> 01:37:26,439 Speaker 3: we're going to go destroy the aliens. 1801 01:37:26,479 --> 01:37:28,600 Speaker 2: Yes, so he raises up a breeder posse to go 1802 01:37:28,720 --> 01:37:30,080 Speaker 2: out and look for the aliens. 1803 01:37:30,439 --> 01:37:34,600 Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. So this leads up to the Final Confrontation, 1804 01:37:34,760 --> 01:37:39,720 Speaker 3: where this posse goes out to attack the spaceship and 1805 01:37:40,000 --> 01:37:43,200 Speaker 3: it turns out that there is a way to save 1806 01:37:43,240 --> 01:37:47,040 Speaker 3: the men, to save the men who have been body snatched. Robi, 1807 01:37:47,200 --> 01:37:49,439 Speaker 3: I know you had some notes on the final confrontation here. 1808 01:37:49,439 --> 01:37:50,240 Speaker 3: Do you want to talk about it? 1809 01:37:50,280 --> 01:37:53,960 Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, So, I mean, the basic situation is we're 1810 01:37:53,960 --> 01:37:56,519 Speaker 2: going to learn is that the men who are replaced 1811 01:37:56,520 --> 01:37:59,280 Speaker 2: their bodies are still alive, but in some form of 1812 01:37:59,320 --> 01:38:02,120 Speaker 2: suspended an mation aboard the alien spaceship. We didn't know 1813 01:38:02,160 --> 01:38:05,920 Speaker 2: that until until here in the final stages, and that's 1814 01:38:05,920 --> 01:38:08,040 Speaker 2: how we're going to be able to bring them back 1815 01:38:08,080 --> 01:38:12,920 Speaker 2: and have our you know, perfect resolution. And we also 1816 01:38:12,960 --> 01:38:15,200 Speaker 2: are going to quickly learn that not only can the 1817 01:38:15,640 --> 01:38:19,679 Speaker 2: aliens be killed by at least by dogs, not by guns, 1818 01:38:20,120 --> 01:38:24,760 Speaker 2: but dogs, we can also kill them by breaking the 1819 01:38:24,800 --> 01:38:27,880 Speaker 2: connection between the host bodies and the alien that is 1820 01:38:27,920 --> 01:38:30,120 Speaker 2: pretending to be that person out in the field. 1821 01:38:30,680 --> 01:38:31,200 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1822 01:38:31,280 --> 01:38:35,799 Speaker 2: In any either case, when the creatures die, they melt 1823 01:38:36,040 --> 01:38:39,439 Speaker 2: in this really horrifying way where like, like, you know, 1824 01:38:39,479 --> 01:38:41,839 Speaker 2: it's modern sensibilities in all, but it's kind of crazy 1825 01:38:41,880 --> 01:38:43,880 Speaker 2: that we have we have to show twin beds in 1826 01:38:43,920 --> 01:38:46,679 Speaker 2: this movie. But it's fine to watch even our top 1827 01:38:46,680 --> 01:38:49,320 Speaker 2: build star melt out into a pile of sick, like, 1828 01:38:49,479 --> 01:38:52,919 Speaker 2: you know, out of the the neck of his outfit, 1829 01:38:53,000 --> 01:38:55,519 Speaker 2: that sort of thing out of the cuffs of his coat. 1830 01:38:56,000 --> 01:38:59,599 Speaker 3: It's gross. I mean, it is like a thick, gushing, 1831 01:39:01,120 --> 01:39:05,080 Speaker 3: multi textured slime just pouring out of men's clothes. 1832 01:39:05,240 --> 01:39:07,879 Speaker 2: Yeah, but we end up getting into such an interesting 1833 01:39:07,920 --> 01:39:10,439 Speaker 2: place in the final stretches of this film because in 1834 01:39:10,479 --> 01:39:13,120 Speaker 2: one sense, it's very much a page from the nineteen 1835 01:39:13,160 --> 01:39:17,840 Speaker 2: fifties genre movie playbook Masculine Authority Figures race to save 1836 01:39:17,880 --> 01:39:21,000 Speaker 2: the day. But we've reached that point in the narrative 1837 01:39:21,000 --> 01:39:25,240 Speaker 2: here where our alien impostures are. They're not completely sympathetic, 1838 01:39:25,320 --> 01:39:28,760 Speaker 2: but they're not unsympathetic like we Again, we're in that 1839 01:39:28,800 --> 01:39:32,120 Speaker 2: weird area where they're doing something out of desperation to 1840 01:39:32,120 --> 01:39:35,640 Speaker 2: try and save their race. They're learning what love is, 1841 01:39:35,680 --> 01:39:38,640 Speaker 2: they're trying to adapt. They just like they don't know 1842 01:39:38,760 --> 01:39:41,639 Speaker 2: enough about humans to even know that they are evil. 1843 01:39:41,720 --> 01:39:43,080 Speaker 2: And in some respect, you know. 1844 01:39:43,640 --> 01:39:46,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, of what they're doing is clearly wrong, and we 1845 01:39:46,479 --> 01:39:50,080 Speaker 3: see in deep and profound ways how it's wrong. But 1846 01:39:50,280 --> 01:39:53,959 Speaker 3: also we learned that the aliens are themselves confused and afraid. 1847 01:39:54,200 --> 01:39:57,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, And they're increasingly confused and afraid during this theme 1848 01:39:57,160 --> 01:40:00,360 Speaker 2: because they realize, oh, the vigilantes here have each our 1849 01:40:00,400 --> 01:40:04,200 Speaker 2: spaceship and the use of the attack dogs is also 1850 01:40:04,320 --> 01:40:09,200 Speaker 2: rather vicious. Yeah. So they they'll leap up onto the 1851 01:40:09,280 --> 01:40:11,640 Speaker 2: onto the creatures and like rip their the tubes out 1852 01:40:11,680 --> 01:40:12,240 Speaker 2: of their neck. 1853 01:40:12,680 --> 01:40:14,960 Speaker 3: Yeah. The things that look like roots going into the 1854 01:40:15,000 --> 01:40:18,400 Speaker 3: trees of their heads, you know that are there hoses? 1855 01:40:18,439 --> 01:40:21,360 Speaker 3: I guess there are methane hoses. Those get ripped out 1856 01:40:21,400 --> 01:40:23,120 Speaker 3: and that causes the alien melting. 1857 01:40:23,200 --> 01:40:25,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, and these are like German shepherds. These are you know, 1858 01:40:25,520 --> 01:40:28,719 Speaker 2: police dogs, so they're pretty intimidating. They also do before 1859 01:40:28,760 --> 01:40:31,040 Speaker 2: the dogs attack, they do some sort of weird walk 1860 01:40:31,720 --> 01:40:33,080 Speaker 2: like they're in stealth mode. What is that? 1861 01:40:33,360 --> 01:40:36,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, you see the dogs creeping along on the That 1862 01:40:36,200 --> 01:40:37,760 Speaker 3: was interesting. I didn't know what to make of that. 1863 01:40:37,880 --> 01:40:39,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, so they'll do that creep and then they'll pounce, 1864 01:40:39,880 --> 01:40:43,240 Speaker 2: and then they'll kill an alien. And so yeah, the 1865 01:40:43,240 --> 01:40:46,120 Speaker 2: the the aliens here are being hunted by men with 1866 01:40:46,200 --> 01:40:51,360 Speaker 2: guns and dogs in the woods. And then yeah, this 1867 01:40:51,479 --> 01:40:54,719 Speaker 2: scene where they're unplugging the original bodies one by one, 1868 01:40:55,120 --> 01:40:58,000 Speaker 2: which causes the the impostors out in the field to 1869 01:40:58,040 --> 01:41:02,280 Speaker 2: suddenly die and die so horribly like the pain is 1870 01:41:02,320 --> 01:41:05,439 Speaker 2: I guess so excruciating that the aliens will turn their 1871 01:41:05,479 --> 01:41:09,320 Speaker 2: disintegration rays on each other to keep them from having 1872 01:41:09,400 --> 01:41:14,280 Speaker 2: to experience the full effect of that situation. Yeah, it's 1873 01:41:14,280 --> 01:41:16,439 Speaker 2: also reminiscent of what we would get decades later in 1874 01:41:16,479 --> 01:41:19,040 Speaker 2: the Matrix, where like unplugging people from the matrix and 1875 01:41:19,080 --> 01:41:22,000 Speaker 2: then having them die in the digital world. 1876 01:41:22,760 --> 01:41:23,120 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1877 01:41:23,200 --> 01:41:26,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, so yeah, and then I'll also throw in as 1878 01:41:26,800 --> 01:41:29,439 Speaker 2: well that the way that the original human bodies are 1879 01:41:29,439 --> 01:41:32,880 Speaker 2: positioned in the spaceship. They're kind of hanging, and so 1880 01:41:32,960 --> 01:41:35,639 Speaker 2: there's really this kind of sense of like execution at 1881 01:41:35,640 --> 01:41:39,000 Speaker 2: the gallows as they go, you know, in order sequentially 1882 01:41:39,080 --> 01:41:41,759 Speaker 2: like unhook this one kill an alien out in the field. 1883 01:41:42,000 --> 01:41:44,200 Speaker 2: And as they do this, they eventually get to the 1884 01:41:44,240 --> 01:41:48,400 Speaker 2: alien that has been impersonating Marge's husband. 1885 01:41:49,000 --> 01:41:52,800 Speaker 3: Right, So, ultimately Marge is reunited with the real Bill, 1886 01:41:52,920 --> 01:41:55,240 Speaker 3: who we know very little of actually. 1887 01:41:55,040 --> 01:41:57,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, and she probably knows little of him as well, 1888 01:41:57,360 --> 01:42:00,200 Speaker 2: because she spent the whole last year in a relationship 1889 01:42:00,240 --> 01:42:02,839 Speaker 2: with an alien being disguised as him. 1890 01:42:03,160 --> 01:42:05,920 Speaker 3: More time with the alien than with the real Bill, possibly, 1891 01:42:06,120 --> 01:42:08,240 Speaker 3: I don't know how long they knew each other before 1892 01:42:08,240 --> 01:42:13,080 Speaker 3: their marriage, but yeah, so they're reunited and you get 1893 01:42:13,080 --> 01:42:15,960 Speaker 3: a kind of happy ending there. But you also get 1894 01:42:15,960 --> 01:42:20,559 Speaker 3: this interesting broadcast right where the aliens become aware that 1895 01:42:20,600 --> 01:42:24,960 Speaker 3: they've been discovered and they send out a broadcast to 1896 01:42:25,040 --> 01:42:28,760 Speaker 3: this fleet of other alien ships. They're like, forget about Earth, 1897 01:42:28,800 --> 01:42:30,240 Speaker 3: it's not going to work here. We got to find 1898 01:42:30,240 --> 01:42:30,880 Speaker 3: a different planet. 1899 01:42:30,960 --> 01:42:35,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, Earthlings are too dangerous, and they leave and we 1900 01:42:35,280 --> 01:42:38,320 Speaker 2: get that we close out really with that wide shot 1901 01:42:38,360 --> 01:42:40,160 Speaker 2: again of Earth. At this time, they are all these 1902 01:42:40,400 --> 01:42:43,600 Speaker 2: different spaceships and they're like leaving the planet. So I 1903 01:42:43,600 --> 01:42:49,600 Speaker 2: don't know if this means that more invasions were planned, 1904 01:42:49,800 --> 01:42:52,519 Speaker 2: like this was just like the Seed invasion or was 1905 01:42:52,560 --> 01:42:55,280 Speaker 2: this happening all around the world in different communities. 1906 01:42:55,760 --> 01:42:56,200 Speaker 3: I don't know. 1907 01:42:56,800 --> 01:42:58,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, but there's a you know, so we get our 1908 01:42:58,760 --> 01:43:02,080 Speaker 2: happy ending. We get our you know, humans rally defeat 1909 01:43:02,080 --> 01:43:06,120 Speaker 2: the alien menace, but with a lot more nuanced than 1910 01:43:06,280 --> 01:43:08,240 Speaker 2: you generally get out of a movie like this from 1911 01:43:08,240 --> 01:43:11,240 Speaker 2: the nineteen fifties. Like you're left feeling like, Okay, this 1912 01:43:11,400 --> 01:43:14,080 Speaker 2: was a victory for humanity. It's not you know, it's 1913 01:43:14,080 --> 01:43:18,280 Speaker 2: certainly not shades of gray. But yeah, we feel some 1914 01:43:18,360 --> 01:43:20,479 Speaker 2: amount of sympathy for the aliens here as well. 1915 01:43:21,080 --> 01:43:23,800 Speaker 3: Yes, I mean it's a happy ending in that these 1916 01:43:23,840 --> 01:43:28,080 Speaker 3: aliens are rejected and like Marge is reunited with the 1917 01:43:28,120 --> 01:43:32,040 Speaker 3: real Bill. So that's the good part. But also, yeah, 1918 01:43:32,120 --> 01:43:36,959 Speaker 3: it's bittersweet because, for one thing, a lot of the 1919 01:43:37,040 --> 01:43:39,720 Speaker 3: threats that Marge was dealing with along the way, we're 1920 01:43:39,720 --> 01:43:40,720 Speaker 3: not even from the right. 1921 01:43:40,800 --> 01:43:43,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, all those threats are still very much in play. 1922 01:43:43,600 --> 01:43:46,960 Speaker 2: The world has not changed. Yeah, so we were left 1923 01:43:47,000 --> 01:43:50,800 Speaker 2: to contemplate that as well. Yeah, all right, Well, there 1924 01:43:50,840 --> 01:43:53,559 Speaker 2: you have it. I married a monster from outer space. 1925 01:43:54,880 --> 01:43:57,960 Speaker 2: As we've been discussing, stands up really well, Yeah, I 1926 01:43:58,080 --> 01:43:59,760 Speaker 2: was impressed with this one. It was great to come 1927 01:43:59,800 --> 01:44:02,160 Speaker 2: back can revisit it and really watch it in a 1928 01:44:02,200 --> 01:44:04,719 Speaker 2: way for the first time. A lot of these movies, 1929 01:44:04,800 --> 01:44:07,000 Speaker 2: you know, if I've seen it for Weird House before, 1930 01:44:07,040 --> 01:44:09,360 Speaker 2: that doesn't mean I've necessarily gotten to really settle in 1931 01:44:09,840 --> 01:44:13,120 Speaker 2: and appreciate it. So yeah, I really enjoyed this one. 1932 01:44:14,040 --> 01:44:15,720 Speaker 3: Are we going to come back and watch Daughter of 1933 01:44:15,800 --> 01:44:19,680 Speaker 3: Doctor Jekyl do the full Gloria Talbot film filmography? Maybe so? 1934 01:44:19,760 --> 01:44:22,360 Speaker 2: I mean, she was terrific in this I would not 1935 01:44:22,479 --> 01:44:24,800 Speaker 2: say no to another film featuring her. 1936 01:44:25,840 --> 01:44:28,560 Speaker 3: It doesn't have a reputation for being amazing, but it 1937 01:44:28,680 --> 01:44:30,200 Speaker 3: might be amazing in that other way. 1938 01:44:30,360 --> 01:44:34,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, for that matter, I'm also interested in coming 1939 01:44:34,120 --> 01:44:36,000 Speaker 2: back and maybe doing The Blob at some point. I've 1940 01:44:36,000 --> 01:44:38,439 Speaker 2: always had The Blob is a film I have a 1941 01:44:38,479 --> 01:44:40,519 Speaker 2: lot of love for, But in a way I'd be 1942 01:44:40,720 --> 01:44:43,920 Speaker 2: kind of torn. Do we do the original fifties Blob 1943 01:44:44,000 --> 01:44:45,880 Speaker 2: or do we do the eighties Blob? The Eighties Blob 1944 01:44:46,040 --> 01:44:49,160 Speaker 2: is also a lot of fun, and does you know 1945 01:44:49,280 --> 01:44:53,880 Speaker 2: has amazing effects as well. I think I've found myself 1946 01:44:53,880 --> 01:44:56,120 Speaker 2: in that situation before where I'm like a classic blob 1947 01:44:56,400 --> 01:45:01,080 Speaker 2: blobb remake. Don't make me choose? All right? Well, just 1948 01:45:01,120 --> 01:45:03,959 Speaker 2: to remind everybody, Steff to Blow Your Mind is primarily 1949 01:45:04,000 --> 01:45:06,679 Speaker 2: a science and culture podcast with core episodes on Tuesdays 1950 01:45:06,720 --> 01:45:10,240 Speaker 2: and Thursdays, but on Fridays we set aside most serious 1951 01:45:10,280 --> 01:45:12,719 Speaker 2: concerns to talk about a weird film here on Weird 1952 01:45:12,840 --> 01:45:15,479 Speaker 2: House Cinema. We've been doing this for years now. You 1953 01:45:15,520 --> 01:45:19,320 Speaker 2: can find tons of episodes in the audio archives wherever 1954 01:45:19,400 --> 01:45:22,560 Speaker 2: you get your audio podcasts, and if you are on 1955 01:45:22,880 --> 01:45:25,679 Speaker 2: letterbox dot com, look us up. We are a weird house. 1956 01:45:25,760 --> 01:45:27,680 Speaker 2: On there you can find a list of all the 1957 01:45:27,760 --> 01:45:29,880 Speaker 2: movies we've covered over the years, and sometimes a peek 1958 01:45:29,880 --> 01:45:30,880 Speaker 2: ahead at what comes next. 1959 01:45:31,400 --> 01:45:34,000 Speaker 3: Ohen We've been reminded to say, now, if you happen 1960 01:45:34,040 --> 01:45:36,559 Speaker 3: to be watching us on Netflix, I think the way 1961 01:45:36,600 --> 01:45:39,240 Speaker 3: you can sort of subscribe there is to hit remind 1962 01:45:39,439 --> 01:45:42,360 Speaker 3: me on our show so new episodes will pop up 1963 01:45:42,400 --> 01:45:47,360 Speaker 3: for you. Or Hey, if you found us on Netflix, 1964 01:45:47,439 --> 01:45:49,920 Speaker 3: why not go subscribe to us wherever you get your 1965 01:45:49,920 --> 01:45:53,240 Speaker 3: audio podcasts. Please hop across platforms. We love that makes 1966 01:45:53,320 --> 01:45:53,960 Speaker 3: us very happy. 1967 01:45:54,040 --> 01:45:56,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, can you give us thumbs up on the Netflix platform, 1968 01:45:56,479 --> 01:45:58,599 Speaker 2: the one thumbs up, the two thumbs up, maybe there's 1969 01:45:58,640 --> 01:46:00,760 Speaker 2: a three. I don't know how they do that. 1970 01:46:01,600 --> 01:46:04,799 Speaker 3: I haven't checked, but yeah, so remind me on Netflix 1971 01:46:04,960 --> 01:46:08,840 Speaker 3: and subscribe wherever you get your audio podcasts. Huge thanks 1972 01:46:08,920 --> 01:46:12,519 Speaker 3: as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. If 1973 01:46:12,560 --> 01:46:14,360 Speaker 3: you would like to get in touch with us with 1974 01:46:14,479 --> 01:46:17,120 Speaker 3: feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest a 1975 01:46:17,160 --> 01:46:19,240 Speaker 3: topic for the future, or just to say hello, you 1976 01:46:19,320 --> 01:46:22,120 Speaker 3: can email us at contact at stuff to Blow your 1977 01:46:22,160 --> 01:46:23,000 Speaker 3: Mind dot com. 1978 01:46:29,880 --> 01:46:32,800 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 1979 01:46:32,920 --> 01:46:35,679 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 1980 01:46:35,880 --> 01:46:38,599 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.