THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1957)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *cosmological*

I'm among the first to celebrate the wonky charms of B-level science fiction films of the fifties, and I've often found hidden complexities in their apparently simple setups. In fact, one year after director Nathan Juran completed this journey into cerebral horror, he helmed ATTACK OF THE 50-FOOT WOMAN, a movie whose mythic elements are often ignored due to its (intentional) risible moments. But there's nothing comparable in THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS. 

Steve March (John Agar) is an independent scientist who never has to punch a time-clock. (Late in the film it's revealed that he's working on a grant; would've been nice to know that going in.) He and a junior scientist named Dan (Robert Fuller) operate a small lab in the country where they monitor radioactivity for some reason. Not far away lives Steve's fiancee Sally, and (in a separate residence) her father John, who's also a scientist of some sort. One day Steve and Dan detect an unusual burst of gamma rays near "Mystery Mountain," so after a barbecue with Sally, Steve and Dan lay plans for an expedition. Dan, who's not going be around that long in the movie, tellingly reminds his superior Steve that he Dan is the real brain of the team.

The setup is moderately intriguing. When Steve and Dan reach the mountain, they find that some force has hollowed a new cave in the rocky mass, though there's no evidence of human trespass. The guys scan the area with their radiation counters but evidence of radiation seems to wax and wane. Then the two scientists meet floating brain-alien Gor, presumably the source of the variable radiation. Gor announces his plans to conquer Earth, kills Dan with a ray blast and then possesses the body of Steve. Later it's said that Steve and Dan are absent from their lab for about a week, but all the action at the cave seems to take a couple of hours, so I don't know why Gor's plans were delayed.

In due time Gor seeks out Sally and initially fools her, but he becomes intoxicated with Earth femininity (maybe all those lady brains back on his homeworld just lack a certain something). Using Steve's body Gor tries to make love to Sally on the spot, but her dog senses that Gor's an enemy and interferes. Sally's a little freaked out but doesn't yet suspect the awful truth.

Because "Steve" starts talking crazy about taking over the world, Sally and her father check out the cave. They not only find the dead body of Dan, they're also approached by a second alien brain, Vol, who has tracked Gor to Earth in order to stop the evildoer. Vol informs the duo that Gor has some vulnerabilities, in that once every 24 hours he must exit any body he possesses in order to get oxygen. Writer Ray Buffum doesn't develop this idea so it comes off as entirely jury-rigged in order to set up the climax.

Vol possesses Sally's dog in order to keep an eye on Possessed Steve. The fact that the good guys have to wait around gives Gor the chance to begin his campaign of terror. He intimidates a gaggle of Army generals by demonstrating his telekinetic ability to blast planes out of the sky, and then demands a summit with world leaders to introduce himself as Earth's new ruler. Joyce, her dad and the brain-possessed dog must find a way to ambush Gor when he leaves Steve's body-- which leads to a scene where Steve attacks his enemy the floating brain with a fire axe, and then acts like he doesn't believe Sally when she tells him about a second, separate brain in town.

I can see why some fans like the goofier scenes of AROUS, which has resulted in its becoming a minor cult-film. And if I thought the script was at all clever, I wouldn't mind the cheapjack alien-effects, which consist of balloons painted to look like brains with eyes. But Buffum's script is as journeyman an effort as most of his other credits. (His best film-work might be the "teensploitation" flick TEENAGE CRIME-WAVE.) Agar, a limited actor given to lots of "Joe Everyman" roles, can't pull off the scenes in which he becomes the "evil ID" of an alien conqueror. I like the basic idea of a disembodied alien who gets horny for Earth-chicks-- he is, after all, from Planet "Eros"-- but given the G-rated requirements for B-films of the time, there was no way that a writer like Buffum could deliver on this premise, even indirectly.