The Brain from Planet Arous

Boomers get a bad rap.  Sure, they’re self-centered wealth-hoarders who drive gas-guzzling cars they insist on backing upin to any parking spot, but at least their disposable income drives the physical media sales for titles like The Brain from Planet Arous (1957).  Niche sci-fi programmers from the ‘50s certainly aren’t top of mind for Gen Z, so let’s all be thankful that there’s still a market for cut-rate oddities like director Nathan Juran’s alien brain picture that sneaks in more sex appeal than you’d expect!

 Steve March (John Agar) is a pipe-smoking nuclear physicist with a smoking-hot girlfriend, Sally Fallon (Joyce Meadows), he plans on marrying in the near future.  But after an exploratory trip to the desert Steve returns “different,” power-hungry and sex-crazed to the point of isolating himself from Sally and his colleagues.  The explanation?  Gor, an alien brain from planet Arous, has inhabited Steve’s body and plans on ruling the world…right after he gets Sally in the sack.

 

Luckily, Sally has another alien brain on her side:  Vol, a rival interstellar traveler who plan on returning Gor to their home planet for punishment.  Taking of the body of the family dog, Vol waits for the right time to make his move, when Gor must vacate Steve’s body to rejuvenate himself.  But will they accomplish this before Gor achieves his villainous goals?

 

The Brain from Planet Arous isn’t the best example of ‘50s science fiction.  It isn’t even the best ‘50s killer brain movie (that would be 1958’s Fiend without a Face).  But it still manages to string together one outlandish scene after another in entertaining fashion.  John Agar made a late-career surge out of starring in one B-picture after another, but he rarely got such meaty material.  With his diabolical laugh, reflective contact lenses and rough sex play, Agar makes quite an impression as Gor’s human alter ego.  And Joyce Meadows, whose nervous performance holds the whole film together, never lets on that the material is beneath her…even when facing a brain-shaped balloon.

 

Speaking of which, the film’s effects are notoriously poor, consisting of lazy double exposures, obvious model work and the aforementioned helium extraterrestrial.  But that’s the charm of independent quickies like Arous; films that were never meant to last but somehow lingered in the collective unconsciousness of a generation.  OK boomer, you got it right this time.

 

The Film Detective’s special edition Blu-ray presents both widescreen and full-frame viewing options with a transfer that shines despite a couple instances of film damage and jump cuts.  Special features include a corny 12-minute featurette with Joyce Meadows (still looking spry) trouncing around the desert, and two more detailing the varied career of director Nathan Juran.  But your first stop should be the commentary track from Tom Weaver, which mixes in contributions from Meadows and other film historians.  It’s packed from beginning to end with everything you’d want to know.

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