TARGET EARTH (1954)
Here we have a film that more people should know about. See, this is why I do what I do. I don't know why Target Earth has been condemned to obscurity, but if you'll just hand me that shovel over there, I'll dig it up and praise its peculiarities accordingly. Our story begins with a woman waking to find that her city of residence (Chicago, if I'm not mistaken) has been evacuated. Later, we learn that she was never supposed to regain consciousness at all. She tried to overdose on sleeping pills, which adds dramatic weight to her character. It's a sidenote, but I thought it was a nice touch on screenwriter James H. Nicholson's part. Random trivia! Nicholson later co-founded American International Pictures with Samuel Z. Arkoff. Okay, I have seriously derailed myself. It happens. Anyway, the woman eventually finds a few other folks who were left behind. Is it the end of the world? While I wouldn't describe this landscape as post-apocalyptic, it's certainly a grim situation made all the more grim by the presence of...giant robots!
We never find out where they came from, though a levelheaded Richard Denning posits that they most likely arrived from Venus. It's a full-scale invasion, but we only ever see one robot. It's a testament to Target Earth that the atmosphere is wrought with unease. We don't need to see the rest of the world in chaos; we feel it. Of course, I'm me, so I loved the robot action. As far as robots go, it's no Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, but it's charming nonetheless. With a satisfying climax, everything is wrapped up in a breezy 75 minutes. Given its early release in relation to other sci-fi blue chippers, I'm surprised that Target Earth doesn't command more respect from the nerd community at large. As a nerd myself, I remain perplexed. Definitely check it out. I usually try to end with a stupid joke. Nah, just check it out.
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