'I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE'.....WELL, NOBODY'S PERFECT....

I Married A Monster From Outer Space (1958)  The general consensus.......better than you'd expect, given that glorious, National Enquirer-worthy title......the jokey outrageousness of  which was an inspired way to make the film stand out in the staid, complacent 1950's.....

            The 'monster' in question is Tom Tryon, the towering Rock Hudson clone who labored through an unhappy brief career as a standard Hollywood studmuffin until he re-invented himself as a best selling novelist. ("The Other", "Harvest Home", etc, ect)......(his brutal treatment at the hands of director Otto Preminger in "The Cardinal" and "In Harm's way" were probably the last straws for him)

             Tom's unlucky bride: Gloria Talbott, a striking brunette with big expressive eyes that made her perfect for the low budget horror films and melodramas she toiled in........you knew, sooner or later ,that Gloria's peepers would pop wide open at something she couldn't unsee......

              Wedded bliss hits a snag, when Tom gets himself abducted and duplicated (along with a bunch of other guys) by squishy, rubbery aliens.......like most 50's space invaders, they're horny refugees from a dying planet.......who enjoy long walks on the beach, sharing wine by a fireplace and plowing human women to overrun the earth with their own mutant spawn.

              It's unlikely going on 'The Dating Game' or e-Harmony would've helped these creatures make their love connections....

              Gloria, no dummy, senses Tom hasn't been quite....uh.....himself since they tied the knot.......he can see in the dark enough to drive without headlights and strangles the puppy she bought for him as an anniversary present.......(hey, she' s lucky he didn't eat it alive....)

              The film takes a surprising even-handed tone toward Tom and his fellow space monsters......after all, they're just trying to get laid to survive........though when threatened with exposure,  they're not above zapping a few random innocents with their frickin' laser beams.......

               And as we've previously seen with Tom's puppy murder, they seriously hate dogs......canines more than return the favor in the pitched townies-vs-aliens smackdown that concludes the film.....(the monster-guys appear to dissolve into puddles of oatmeal.....)

               It's all very efficient ultra low budget sci-fi......and Tom even take a few stabs at displaying the conflicted feelings of the cold-hearted alien hubby who finds himself falling for his cute earth-girl wife,,,,,,(as would we if we'd been old enough to mate with Gloria Talbott when we first saw this movie.....)

                 So, 3 flying saucers for 'I Married A Monster From Outer Space' (***).......and a special nod to legendary boxer-actor 'Slapsie' Maxie Rosenbloom, playing a aggravated bartender serving a table full of aliens can't tolerate alcohol,,,,,,,,

                   Maxie knows exactly how to treat a carload of extraterrestrial creeps who nurse their drinks all night.....less talking, more punching.......if only he'd been around for "War Of The Worlds".......