THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE (1967) ** You have to wonder about the braintrust on this one. First of all, who would take a novel with the rapturously glorious title of The Gods Hate Kansas, and place it in Cornwall? I found nothing particularly amiss in Kansas on my brief forays through, and I suffer even less question that God took particular care in crafting Cornwall. Then there's the matter of formulating a credible astronomical theory positing and placing the moon "beyond space." Unlikely. So anyway these space creatures inhabit relatively innocent Cornwallians and make them work hard. Well, that is diabolical, isn't it!? But first the aliens go to a bank, which is a brush with realism. I myself recall joining a horde of rampant tourists stampeding down the main street of Penzance in search of any ATM that hadn't already been emptied. So the aliens were quite clever to actually enter the inner sanctum of a financial institution. The sounds are great (thonks, hydraulics), I wouldn't argue with anyone who claims this as an aural masterpiece-but mainly because I don't have a working definition of what one is and am not interested enough in the thought to have to listen to much about it. The incidental music is good though, and spectacularly varied, little stints of swingin' London bleeding through. It's never really exciting and does eventually get downright dull-I would be lying if I said anything else-but it's a film with some character, and a semi-endearing one. Freddie Francis' idea of an art shot is a desktop, or a gun barrel or a boot.and his vision is enough to pull you kind of towards it at times. I appreciate the nudge anyway. The film benefits from neither steadfast acting nor outstanding plot, and suffers from a near record number of "Well why doesn't he just." and "Why don't they." moments. For your viewing pleasure these are best ignored, it's a skill that may also serve elsewhere in life.
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