THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS On Blu-ray From The Film Detective

 

The 1957 science-fiction film THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS is one of my guilty pleasures. It's also one of the most notable (some would say notorious) examples of 1950s low-budget big-screen sci-fi. The Film Detective has now released it on Blu-ray, with all sorts of trimmings. 

Somewhere in the American Southwest, a nuclear scientist named Steve March (John Agar) has discovered strange radiation readings from a nearby mountain. Steve ventures out to the location, accompanied by fellow scientist Dan (Robert Fuller). While inside a cave, a giant floating brain attacks the two men, killing Dan and inhabiting Steve. The brain reveals to Steve that it is named Gor, and that it comes from a planet called Arous. Gor wants to use Steve's knowledge in order to take over the Earth. Meanwhile, Steve's girlfriend Sally (Joyce Meadows) notices Steve's strange behavior--Gor is inexplicably attracted to her. Sally and her father go off to the cave where the trouble began and encounter another giant floating brain--this one named Vol, who has been in intergalactic pursuit of Gor. Vol enlists Sally's help in keeping an eye on Steve, while also inhabiting the woman's dog! Can Vol and Sally stop Gor/Steve's mad plans for conquest??

The reason I enjoy THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS so much is that it contains my favorite John Agar performance. Is it his best performance? Well, let's just say it's his most notable. Agar usually played the decent (if a bit goofy) ordinary guy hero in numerous sci-fi/horror films of the 1950s and 60s. Here, he gets to go all out as the possessed Steve--treating his girlfriend like a love toy, ranting and raving about taking over the universe, and browbeating assembled world dignitaries. Gor-as-Steve also has the ability to destroy objects (and people) through his eyes, which turn silver when doing so. (Agar's silvery orbs and accompanying Joker-like grin are quite creepy). 

Agar is matched by Joyce Meadows, whose Sally winds up being one of the best heroines of 1950s sci-fi cinema. Even though Meadows was very young when this film was made, and THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS was one of her earliest movie roles, her Sally is mature, intelligent, and realistic. Meadows gives the outlandish elements of the story a solid foundation. 

Producer-cinematographer Jacques Marquette didn't spend a lot of money on this production, and it shows. But this movie has a silly charm all its own, and veteran director Nathan Juran (who is credited as Nathan Hertz) does the best he can with the material. The combination of a possessed Agar, giant floating brains, and an unusual story line puts THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS above the many other cheap science-fiction flicks made during the same period. 

The Film Detective company has done a superlative job in giving this movie a special edition Region Free Blu-ray release. The film has been presented in two different aspect ratios: 1.85:1 and 1.33:1. I have to admit that the full-frame version fits the production's low budget much better. The black & white print (which comes from the Wade Williams collection) looks sharp in both ratios, even though there are a few scratches visible. I doubt that there's a better-looking version of this film somewhere else. 

The Blu-ray has plenty of extras. A short introduction called NOT THE SAME BRAIN features Joyce Meadows (and her character Sally) returning to the movie's Bronson Canyon locations and reminiscing about the shoot. It's a fun little program created by David Schecter (with help from Joshua Kennedy). 

There's also two featurettes on the life and career of director Nathan Juran. These programs remind one that even though Juran directed THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS and ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN, he also was an Academy Award-winning art director who helmed one of the greatest fantastic films of all time, THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. 

A new audio commentary is included, featuring genre expert Tom Weaver. Despite the short running time of THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS, Weaver packs in as much info as one could want to hear about the movie, with help from Joyce Meadows and Larry Blamire. At one point Weaver steps aside and allows David Schecter to provide a thorough analysis on Walter Greene's impressive music score for the film. 

Finally, a 10 page booklet is included inside the disc case, which is made up of an article written by Tom Weaver looking at the Sci-Fi career of producer-cinematographer Jacques Marquette. 

I love the fact that The Film Detective went all out to give a movie like THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS a deluxe home video release. Is this movie a brilliant, underrated science-fiction classic?? No...but it's more entertaining (and more memorable) than many serious, big-budgeted speculative films. And, if a evil, giant floating brain from a faraway planet has the hots for a young Joyce Meadows.....can you blame him?