Michael_Elliott Brain from Planet Arous, The (1957) ** (out of 4) Silly sci-fi tale of a scientist (John Agar) who goes into a new cave to see what made it and discovers that it was a large brain (with glowing eyes) from outer space. The brain takes control of his body in hopes of learning the various secrets of Earth but fear not because space also sends a good brain to help. Just reading a plot like that lets you know that you're watching a "B" movie from the 1950s that probably thrilled and scared thousands of kids who were taken to the drive-in by their parents. When seen today these movies certainly don't have the ability to scare and more likely than not they're laughed at due to how melodramatic their story lines are. THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS isn't a very good film but there are a few good things that make it worth viewing. Needless to say, with such a low budget the special effects really leave a lot to desire and this includes our friend, the deadly brain. The effect of the brain is quite simple but my one real question is why on Earth they decided to give the thing eyes. The site of a flying brain is silly enough but to then give it eyes wasn't really a smart move but it does provide a few laughs. Another silly aspect in the story is that Agar's character becomes possessed by this thing and is given the ability to blow things up with his eyes. There are scenes towards the end when he's showing the government his "power" and you have to wonder why they all just sit around and let him do this stuff without even attempting to stop him. Speaking of Agar, he's certainly the main reason to check this film out. Fans of the genre are certainly going to know him from his countless entries into the genre but this here is a rather unique way to see him. For the most part he was always playing the good guy trying to stop the evil monsters but here he gets to play a real jerk and he does a wonderful job with it. There are several scenes where he's abusing his girlfriend (Joyce Meadows) and they're actually quite effective. I thought the actor did a very good job playing bad and it's a shame he wasn't given more opportunities to do this. Meadows is decent in her role of the love interest but you have to admit that she's one of the dumbest girlfriends from this era of films. Robert Fuller, Henry Travis and Thomas B. Henry co-star. Fans of the genre will probably want to check this out simply for the silly nature of it but I'm sure most others will want to skip it and check out something better.

Coventry Generally speaking there are two types of Sci-Fi movies from the 1950's. First and foremost you have the timeless and indisputable classics. These are the highly influential milestones that everybody knows and appreciates, like "The Day The Earth Stood Still", "Forbidden Planet", "This Island Earth" and a selected few others. Secondly you have the massive overload of low-budgeted, insignificant but tremendously amusing campy B-movies. These movies handle about the weirdest and most grotesque alien invasion stories and feature the craziest monster designs and special effects. The majority of those films are long forgotten and very obscure by now, but if you happen to stumble upon a cheap DVD version, you're guaranteed to have a great time! "The Brain from Planet Arous" is such an irresistible camp oldie. The plot is preposterous, the titular monster is a ludicrous creation and the script is chock-full of slightly perverted undertones and insinuations. Dig this: the eminent scientist Steve March and his assistant head out to the remote area of Mystery Mountain because there are unusual fluctuations in the radioactivity measurements. Once there, they run into an evil alien from the planet Arous that goes by the name of Gor. Gor is in fact a gigantic floating brain with a pair of evil penetrating eyes who promptly kills the assistant and possesses the body of Steve. Gor wants to do very sexist things to Steve's fiancée Sally, but his main objective nevertheless remains dominating the entire universe. His hobbies include burning people's faces and causing planes to explode in open air. Luckily, for our planet's sake, Arous also sent a good alien named Vol to prevent Gor from executing his fiendish plans. In order to stay close to Gor, Vol possesses the body of Steve's loyal dog George! Now, through this brief plot description it's probably clear already why "The Brain from Planet Arous" isn't ranked amongst the biggest Sci-Fi classics of the 50's decade, but it's definitely great entertainment. The film is fast-paced and doesn't suffer from dullness at all. Genre expert Nathan Juran ("The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", "20 Million Miles to Earth") assures a tight direction and John Agar is the B-movie veteran actor at your service. There are numerous memorable highlights to be found here, like watching how Agar painfully struggles with his black contact lenses or the meeting of the world leaders gathered in a small office in Indian Springs; Nevada. The abrupt ending leaves many questions unanswered (like how is Steve every going to talk his way out of what happened) and the whole thing only gets sillier if you think about it, but "The Brain from Planet Arous" definitely comes warmly recommended to all tolerant fans of Sci-Fi nonsense.

MartinHafer In the 1950s and 60s, John Agar made a ton of ultra-low budget horror films of varying quality (though most were pretty poor--at least when it came to the technical aspects of the films). While many would make fun of the films, I like them because of their campy qualities and sense of nostalgia. So, when I found THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS, I was thrilled to see it. Oddly, however, the film is a combination of an excellent and rather original plot and super-duper cheese! The film begins with some sort of light crashing in the nearby desert. Agar and an expendable friend go to investigate. It turns out that there is a giant translucent brain with eyeballs named Gor who is waiting to be "rescued"--because he plans on taking over a body and setting about taking over the Earth. You really have to see this stupid special effect to believe it--it's incredibly dumb. Also, having already seen the really bad Peter Graves sci-fi film, KILLERS FROM SPACE (1954), I knew that nothing good would be waiting for him in this cave!! Too bad Agar's character hadn't seen it--he would have known that only bad things are waiting inside! Once back home, you know that the alien living within Agar is evil, as the dog doesn't like him and Agar is really interested in sex---reaaallly interested! This SHOULD have let his fiancée know that he was an alien or a Communist or something bad (as every clean and good American can only think of sex once legally married) and eventually she and her dad go to the cave themselves. This is an interesting point in the film, as ANOTHER floating eyeballed brain appears to them, but this is a good one. It seems that Gor is an evil being that escaped from his prison and he's come to help the Earth rid itself of this over-sexed alien.Who will prevail? Will the evil Gor become our overlord? Is the nice alien really nice or able to defeat Gor? Will Gor get laid? Tune in and find out for yourself! Just be forewarned that the final scene with the inflatable brain suspended by wires is a sight you won't soon forget!! Overall, while silly and cheesy at times, the plot is interesting and it's fun to watch Agar, as he really does great in this sort of role. In other words, while a low-budget horror film, Agar puts a lot of energy into it and plays up the "evil Agar" to the hilt! While for years he's gotten a lot of ribbing for bad acting, in this film he was perfect for the role and I think that sometimes he's unfairly attacked. While certainly no thespian, what could you expect from Agar with the sort of parts he was offered in the years following his divorce from Shirley Temple? Plus, his antics as Gor were just darn funny--and were meant to be.While not a film I'd recommend to the average person, for lovers of 50s sci-fi, this is an absolute must!

oscar-35 I was looking for a very early Leonard Nimoy film appearance and found this corny gem. I have enjoyed Mr. Agar in all his roles and films. I know he was made a star as the on-screen husband of Shirley Temple in Henry Fonda/John Ford film called Fort Apache. (Fort was filmed in Simi Valley's Corriganville theme park of the 50 & 60's.) Temple and Agar became a real life couple, soon after. This film is very reminiscent of many 'aliens landing in the desert' films made on the 50's. But the interesting twist is that the alien brains shown in this film. The alien brain is almost laughable to see in the broad daylight scenes. The brain seems to be made out of a floating brain looking beach-ball with large pair of monster's menacing eyes plastered on the frontal lobes. The plot is well acted out and the ending twist involving another alien chasing the evil brain is nice. The gimmick of the alien good brain living in the body of Jon Agar's personal friendly dog gives the story something different and unique to experience near the end. Fun to experience.