Lee Eisenberg One of the many 1950s flicks about monsters wreaking havoc, "20 Million Miles to Earth" puts a nice spin on the genre with its Italian setting. Much of the content is stuff that we've seen in lots of movies, but as the movie reminds us, the monster only turns violent when provoked. That's the case with many species.While the climax is the monster's rampage through Rome, the Sicily scenes were fun. Another unusual spin is that the main female character is a scientist as opposed to a wife or secretary. Basically, the movie makes no pretense about being nice brainless fun. I enjoyed it. Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion effects serve the movie well.And as I often do with these movies, I feel tempted to discuss the rest of the people involved in the production. Nathan Juran also directed "Attack of the 50-Ft Woman" and "Jack the Giant Killer". William Hopper was the son of Hedda Hopper. As for Joan Taylor, this is the first that I've ever heard of her.All in all, good times.

JCS TX Some movies stand the test of time, this one does not. I'm not sure it ever did.The monster was good as far as 50s FX go. Yea Ray. But the opening spacecraft crash - really? So cliché as it floats nose down (I suppose that's where the heavy engines are?) way too high in the water, and then sinks like a rock once the rescuers disembark. It never gets better. The portrayal of the Italians as basically stupid is insulting. Air Force Colonel Robert Calder's (William Hopper) initial interactions with Marisa Leonardo (Joan Taylor) were probably intended to make him look like a forceful military man. Instead he comes off as an arrogant bully. The alien is treated completely without compassion. Grim.Spoiler alert! Bob and Marisa's relationship eventually warms. The "monster" dies. Who would have suspected?Here's the way any outline of this flick should actually read: American astronauts return to Earth with a kidnapped alien from Venus. The alien, struggling to understand its situation and gain its freedom, is brutalized and then killed while the Earthers lament their bad luck at having suffered any losses.

mark.waltz Put em' back where you found him! That's the only solution to this issue, bringing a creature from Venus down to earth in order to study how they can survive on Venus's atmosphere. Of course, if some Earthling was pulled off this planet by a Martian or any other planet for the same reason (or any reason), they wouldn't like it either. This all starts in the coast off of Sicily where a space craft suddenly plunges into the sea as fisherman watch. Two of them and one of their younger sons head to the craft to help rescue any possible survivors, not even sure if they are going to be earthlings. Fortunately, their gamble pays off, but the little boy finds a remnant from the ship which he turns over to a local scientist and his daughter (Joan Taylor) for examination. This object contains a monstrous looking creature from Venus which starts off as arms length but quickly grows thanks to the earth's atmosphere, soon traipsing all over Italy and ending up in Rome where it takes a tour of the grounds where Nero once fiddled and Caligula once tortured Christians. By this time, he's the size of Godzilla and not at all happy that the military (mostly American) won't leave him alone.Superb in every aspect (with a few goofs that only today's audiences would pick up on thanks to advanced special effects that just aren't as fun as what Ray Harryhausen does here), this roars by in under 90 minutes and is filled with so many great sequences that to mention just a few would be a detriment to those who have not seen it before. Still, to see this sad creature being tracked, almost electrocuted and placed in solitary confinement, and finally, breaking out of the zoo and battling an elephant, you can't help but be touched by it. When the creature does finally find some seclusion, it's in the middle of Rome's famous Colosseum where even there he can't find peace. William Hopper's surviving astronaut seems compassionate to the poor creature but, knowing it's too late to take them back to their home planet, is resolved to the fact that he's going to either have to kill it or watch the earth be destroyed by it. His acknowledgment that through every advancement mankind makes, the costs are greater, is one of the great theories of our times, and one which should wake today's audiences up to how we further destroy ourselves and potentially our own planet and species, through messing in science where we should just leave it alone.

Scott LeBrun An American spacecraft that had made it to Venus crashes into the sea off the coast of Sicily. Two survivors are collected, one of them Colonel Robert Calder (William Hopper). Also rescued is a cylindrical container containing a tiny Venusian monster. Exposed to the Earths' atmosphere, the monster continuously grows. When it goes on the inevitable rampage, Calder and others would like to recapture it alive, so that they may learn what keeps the creature alive in the poisonous Venusian atmosphere.Superior Ray Harryhausen technical effects are the true stars of this nicely paced sci-fi thriller from director Nathan Juran. The script, by Robert Creighton Williams and Christopher Knopf (based on a story by Charlotte Knight) is absorbing, and the monster itself (not named in the film, but known as the Ymir to its fans) has quite a bit of personality. Juran gets efficient performances out of Hopper, Joan Taylor as his love interest, and Frank Puglia, John Zaremba, Thomas Browne Henry, Tito Vuolo, Jan Arvan, Arthur Space, and Bart Braverman. Hopper behaves like a real jerk to Taylor at first, but once he's able to calm down, finds himself quite taken with her. Fortunately, Juran never spends too much time with the romantic subplot.Also, the director knows how to maintain a real sense of urgency and excitement for the smashing climax. Eventually, the Ymir makes it to the Roman Colosseum, which adds to the fun. The Ymirs' struggles with a dog, a man, and an elephant are extremely well executed. The stock music is all well selected, and Irving Lippman and Carlo Ventimiglia contribute some very sharp cinematography.All in all, this is solid entertainment and one of the best "monster on the loose" tales ever told.Eight out of 10.