“Two-and-a-half years in the making!” No, that is not how long it took me to come up with the recipe for my witch’s brew: it was a selling point for one of Universal International’s best-loved movies, This Island Earth. Completed in 1955, it was a science-fiction fan’s dream. It had everything: spaceships, strange-looking aliens, lots of scientific talk, an interplanetary communications device, a war-torn planet, “demolition rays”, spectacular special effects, and…a mu-TANT! I bat-mailed my nephew, Crazy Gary (he works in the dead letter office over at the local post office), and asked if he had any thoughts on the movie. This is what I received back:
“It was a cold, snowy December 23, 1961, when my father fired up the old Buick and took me to the drive-in to see This Island Earth for the first time. I had seen photos in various monster magazines and I had the Castle Films 8mm, 200’ version which I had watched over and over. But where did the mutant fit in and how did the movie start? I had questions and could hardly wait to see the complete movie, and in color, too! So, true monsterkid that I was, I carried along my small battery operated reel-to-reel tape recorder, all set to record neat sound effects and action to accompany my “War of the Planets” film.
“We arrived late, due to the road conditions, and we missed the first ten minutes or so. Little did I know what I was in for, though. The visuals were spectacular and the music was fantastic! I was enthralled. I had finally seen This Island Earth! “That’s all I could think of for days after, even though Christmas was coming. I listened to my two, three-inch reel tapes over and over, and could even pair up the music to my 8mm film…somewhat, anyway. From that point on, This Island Earth became one of my all-time favorite films.”
Whew! That boy is never at a loss for words! But, I agree with his sentiments 100%! You know, your Old Granny has vowed to spend my last years preserving radio spots for the classic movies we all remember and love. I was able to obtain the original 12” vinyl record of TIE radio spots about thirty years ago. The spots capture the excitement of the movie and tell of the things to see. I’m just glad I can share these with you today. I hope you enjoy them, and don’t let the mu-TANTS put the pinch on you! (And about those mutant pants showing in the photo? I prefer to call them ‘skin membranes’ since they blend in with its lower legs.)
15 seconds a and b
20 seconds a and b
30 seconds a and b
60 seconds a and b
Do you have any radio spots you would like to share? Contact Granny (Gary Fox) at [email protected].