Watch Out! Evil Brains From Outer Space!

John Agar & Joyce Meadows

Depending on when you first viewed them, there are some films which are much more than simple “B Movies.” These movies transcend the term “guilty pleasure” and tend to permanently lodge themselves into your psyche. They’re not necessarily considered classics of their genre, but they’re often the most fun to watch. I’m thinking of films like House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price, which I first saw (and loved) on Creature Features as a young fan of macabre cinema. Many of us who are of a certain age caught movies like this for the first time on our local stations, often presented by “horror hosts” like The Creep and Zacherle, on programs like Chiller Theatre or Fright Night. One of my favorite films of this type is The Brain From Planet Arous, a 1957 sci-fi thriller starring John Agar and Joyce Meadows. It’s the story of a scientist named Steve March, who becomes possessed by an evil floating brain from outer space. Yes, you read that correctly, our hero is taken over by Gor, a megalomaniacal alien brain who plans to conquer the world using his superior intellect. Oh, and since Gor’s controlling Steve’s mind and body, he also figures he can enjoy a dalliance with his fiancé, Sally. Gor is definitely bad news.



Who can save us from this vile villain? Well, maybe Vol can! Before you ask, Vol is another floating brain from Arous, and he’s here to apprehend Gor, who’s a wanted criminal on their home world. Vol decides to inhabit Sally’s dog, and work with her to stop Gor, in order to curtail his plans for world domination. Will they stop him in time? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out! The Brain From Planet Arous is a lot of fun, and it’s a prime example of 1950s low-budget sci-fi film-making. The movie was produced by Jacques Marquette, who also served as the cinematographer for the film. Marquette was behind the camera for another fondly remembered 1950s sci-fi flick, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. The Brain From Planet Arous was written by Ray Buffum, and it shares some thematic similarities with science-fiction writer Hal Clement’s 1949 novel Needle, about an alien policeman sent to Earth to capture an evil villain. The central idea of heroic and villainous body-possessing aliens would also be explored in the 1987 film The Hidden, starring Kyle MacLachlan.



John Agar, best known for his work in films like Sands of Iwo Jima and Fort Apache (where he co-starred with John Wayne) as well as several other 1950’s sci-fi movies, including Revenge of the Creature and Invisible Invaders, plays Steve. Agar essentially chews up every bit of scenery that’s not nailed down in his performance as the alien-possessed scientist. Joyce Meadows is good as Steve’s fiancé Sally, and there’s fine support from Robert Fuller (in a brief role as Steve’s fellow scientist), and character actor Thomas Browne Henry (a familiar face from genre films like 20 Million Miles To Earth) as Sally’s father. The film was directed by Nathan Juran, who also helmed The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and First Men in the Moon. When he wasn’t happy with the final results of a film, as was the case with The Brain From Planet Arous as well as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, he used the pseudonym Nathan Hertz for his director credit.

I really dug this movie when I first saw it in my younger years, and I’ve always found it enjoyable when re-watching it as an adult. Those floating brains are pretty creepy, and what self-respecting kid (of any age) doesn’t enjoy it when a dog (albeit an alien-possessed one) gets to help out with the heroics in the story? The Brain From Planet Arous has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray by the fine folks at The Film Detective. The disc includes a new short film with Joyce Meadows, a pair of featurettes on the career of Nathan Juran, and a commentary track featuring noted film historians Tom Weaver, Larry Blamire and David Schecter, as well as co-star Meadows. You have a choice of viewing the film in either 1.33 or 1.85 aspect ratios. The movie runs about an hour and 10 minutes so it’s a perfect candidate for half of a cool 1950s sci-fi double feature on movie night. Perhaps you can pair it with Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Invasion of the Saucer Men or Tarantula, which also stars John Agar. Here’s a link to The Film Detective website: https://www.thefilmdetective.com/, and a link to the film’s trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcHuR7Cir50.