In addition to being the first 3-D science fiction film, It Came from Outer Space marked the beginning of Universal-International’s remarkable science fiction series, and was the first 3-D film to be released in the new «wide-screen» 1.85 :1 aspect ratio. As the first film based on a story by Ray Bradbury, it also had a considerable effect on the style of subsequent films of its genre, especially for its atmospheric use of southwest desert locations and its introduction of the 1950s science fiction hero type. It was shot in black and white, though some prints are tinted sepia to enhance the desert locations and skin tones. The sound track is stereophonic. The polarized light 3-D image is of very high quality: unfortunately, only anaglyph prints, as for Creature from the Black Lagoon, remain. For the world premiere at the Pentage Theatre in Hollywood, an additional effect was added. The most startling 3-D shot in the film is an avalanche along the crater wall. Everyone ducks as massive boulders really seem to tumble out of the screen. Right at that moment, Arnold gave the cue to trip catapults set up at the sides of the screen, scattering Styrofoam rocks into the audience. «You should have heard them scream» he says.

Philippe-Alain Michaud