- Original movie poster - image courtesy of Wrong Side of the Art
The best of science fiction tends towards the metaphoric side of storytelling, but even amongst a genre rich with allegory, I Married a Monster from Outer Space stands apart from the herd. The story, about a young groom, Bill (Tom Tryon), accosted the night before his wedding and replaced by a mysterious glowing being (the aliens here suggest a dreadlock-deprived precursor to the titular star of Predator) able to mask its otherworldly form and appear human, is standard fodder for the genre, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.
Even with a conventional execution, this setup would have likely made for a camp classic. The more subtle joys, then, come from how this scenario functions as a tongue-in-cheek examination of the ways commitment tends to toy with the male brain, amongst other quicksands of gender politics. Bill's wife, Marge (Gloria Talbott), is quick to sense that something isn't right with her spouse, his doppelganger figuratively groping in the dark, trying to blend in as his fellow aliens infiltrate the town. Science fiction elements notwithstanding, the film is a spot-on satire of typical relationship woes.
Beginning with a cynical call for a round of drinks (for all men who are, have been, or are going to be married), the film pokes at sexual tensions with equal parts affection and disdain, as if it were calculated to appeal equally to the disgust both genders often harbor for each other. In a genre frequently laced with sexist digs, it must have been a welcome change of pace for women in the audience in 1958 (the same year as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, no less).
Refreshingly textured in characterizations and motivations, the extraterrestrials here are less malicious than your typical invaders (they still have death rays, of course), unless you're one of the women they intend on reproducing with--their female population has been wiped out, and they're combing the galaxy in hopes of saving their species. This scenario makes for a savory, layered subtext, elevating I Married a Monster above the majority of its kind.
This surprisingly racy film is as much science fiction as black comedy, from the exploitative title (itself a joke, as if daring you not to take the film seriously) down to the implicit commentary on feminine existence in a masculine world. Nervous laughs are laced with equally disturbing imagery, from the funnel-like plumes of smoke that absorb the human bodies the aliens later duplicate and inhabit to the applesauce-like goo left behind by the invaders' corpses. Atmosphere abounds, lending further dread to a film audacious enough to not portray the titular monster as evil so much as a tragic figure in a doomed scenario. Ignored by most during its initial release, I Married a Monster from Outer Space has since found its rightful place in the ranks of the science fiction pantheon.
I Married a Monster from Outer Space. Dir. Gene Fowler, Jr. Perf. Tom Tryon, Gloria Talbott, Peter Baldwin, Robert Ivers, Chuck Wassil. Paramount Pictures., 1958. Running Time: 78 min.
