''Visit to a Small Planet'' is a 1960 American
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Norman Taurog
Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...
and starring
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
,
Joan Blackman
Joan May Blackman (born May 17, 1938, in San Francisco, California) is an American actress.
Film
Blackman appeared in her first motion picture, ''Good Day for a Hanging'', in 1959. She had a significant role in two Elvis Presley films. She play ...
,
Earl Holliman
Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film '' ...
, and
Fred Clark
Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American film and television character actor.
Early years
Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to become ...
. Distributed by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, it was produced by
Hal B. Wallis
Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...
.
''Visit to a Small Planet'' debuted as an original television production by
Gore Vidal
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...
, then was reworked by Vidal as a
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
play starring
Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...
and
Eddie Mayehoff
Edward Mier Mayehoff (July 7, 1909 – November 12, 1992) was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Harold Lampson, the henpecked husband and incompetent lawyer in ''How to Murder Your Wife'' (1965). Mayehoff could also be s ...
.
The film was released on February 4, 1960. It was re-released in 1966 on a
double bill
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.
Opera use
Opera ho ...
with another
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
film, ''
The Bellboy
''The Bellboy'' is a 1960 American comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on July 20, 1960 by Paramount Pictures and marked Lewis's directorial debut.
Plot
In a prologue sequence, fictitious execut ...
''.
Plot
Kreton is an
alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
from the planet X-47 who is fascinated by human beings. Against the wishes of his teacher, he repeatedly visits Earth. During his latest visit, his teacher reluctantly agrees to allow him to stay and study the humans. Kreton becomes friends with a
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
family and stays with them after they agree to keep his alien status a secret. Along the way, he falls in love with their daughter. However, there is a
force field around him that prevents any physical contact. His race has abolished any form of affection.
Kreton's otherworldly abilities include
levitation
Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact.
Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...
; the ability to communicate with the family dog; and forcing people he doesn't like to recite
Mary Had A Little Lamb
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an English language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin, first published by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7622.
Background
The nursery rhyme was ...
in public.
After repeatedly breaking his teacher's rule against getting involved in humans' lives, all Kreton's powers are stripped away. This is so he can discover for himself that being human comes with other, less desired, emotions like pain, sadness, and jealousy. Once his cover is blown on Earth and he is reported to the police, Kreton decides that those emotions are not worth the trouble, so he returns to his own planet.
Cast
*
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
as Kreton
*
Joan Blackman
Joan May Blackman (born May 17, 1938, in San Francisco, California) is an American actress.
Film
Blackman appeared in her first motion picture, ''Good Day for a Hanging'', in 1959. She had a significant role in two Elvis Presley films. She play ...
as Ellen Spelding
*
Earl Holliman
Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film '' ...
as Conrad
*
Fred Clark
Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American film and television character actor.
Early years
Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to become ...
as Major Roger Putnam Spelding
*
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
as Delton
*
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early years
Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...
as George Abercrombie
*
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...
as Bob Mayberry
*
Lee Patrick as Rheba Spelding
*
Milton Frome
Milton Frome (February 24, 1909 – March 21, 1989) was an American character actor.
Career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Frome landed his first acting job in the short subject ''Daredevil O'Dare'' in 1934. He did not act again until 1939 ...
as Police Commissioner
*
Ellen Corby
Ellen Hansen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. She played the role of Esther "Grandma" Walton on the CBS television series ''The Waltons'', for which she won three Emmy Awards. She was also ...
as Mrs. Mabel Mayberry
*
Paul Wexler as Beatnik (uncredited)
*
Barbara Bostock
Barbara Bostock (born December 19, 1935) is a retired American actress. She was sometimes credited as Barbara Lawson.
Early years
Bostock was born in Palm Beach, Florida as an only child to George Bostock, a shoemaker, who came to Florida from G ...
(credited as Barbara Lawson) as Beatnik Dancer Desdemona
*
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.
Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...
as Beatnik Drummer
*
Orangey
Orangey, also known as Orangey Minerva (c. 1950–1967), was a male marmalade tabby cat, who was an animal actor owned and trained by the cinematic animal handler Frank Inn.
Career
Orangey (credited under various names) had a prolific career in f ...
as Clementine (uncredited); voice of
June Foray
June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...
Production
''Visit to a Small Planet'' was filmed from April 28 through July 3, 1959.
Awards and nominations
Hal Pereira
Hal Pereira (April 29, 1905 – December 17, 1983) was an American art director, production designer, and occasional architect.
Pereira was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (Friedberg) and Saul Pereira. In the 1940s through the 1960s ...
,
Walter Tyler,
Samuel M. Comer
Samuel M. Comer (July 13, 1893 – December 27, 1974) was a set decorator who worked on over 300 films during a career spanning four decades. He won four Academy Awards and was nominated for another 22 in the category Best Art Direction.
He guid ...
, and
Arthur Krams
Arthur Krams (July 15, 1912 – September 29, 1985) was an American set designer. He first made a name for himself working for MGM on films such as '' Holiday in Mexico'', '' Easter Parade'' and ''The Student Prince'' in the mid 1940s. Later, he ...
were nominated for the 1960
Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Black and White), but lost to
Alexandre Trauner
Alexandre Trauner (born Sándor Trau; 3 August 1906 in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary – 5 December 1993 in Omonville-la-Petite, France) was a Hungarian film production designer.
After studying painting at Hungarian University of Fin ...
and
Edward G. Boyle for ''
The Apartment
''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Dav ...
''.
Original play
Gore Vidal
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...
wrote ''Visit'' as a
television play
A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...
in which form it debuted on May 8, 1955, on ''
Goodyear Television Playhouse
''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television.
Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the ''Philco Tel ...
''. Later, he reworked it for the stage. Starring
Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...
, who also directed, and
Eddie Mayehoff
Edward Mier Mayehoff (July 7, 1909 – November 12, 1992) was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Harold Lampson, the henpecked husband and incompetent lawyer in ''How to Murder Your Wife'' (1965). Mayehoff could also be s ...
, the play had tryouts at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut January 16–19, 1957. On
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, it debuted on February 7, 1957, and ran for 388 performances. Ritchard received a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
nomination for his performance as Kreton. Mayehoff also received a nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor.
Vidal intended the play as a
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
on the post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
fear of
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
The term origin ...
,
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
military paranoia and the rising importance of television in American life. A major critical success, it was subtitled ''A Comedy Akin to
Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
''.
The play tells the story of Kreton, an alien from an unnamed planet who lands on Earth intending to view the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. He miscalculates and lands instead 100 years later. Having missed the opportunity to see conflict first hand, but delighted with all the new playthings the 20th century has invented for war-making, he decides to create a war for himself.
Home media
The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 22, 2017.
Legacy
The film was selected by Quentin Tarantino for the third Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas in 1999.
See also
*
List of American films of 1960
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
Bibliography
*
Warren, Bill. ''Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties'', 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009 (First Edition 1982). .
External links
* (1955 TV production)
* (1957 Broadway show)
* (1960 film)
*
{{Gore Vidal
1960 films
1960s science fiction comedy films
American science fiction comedy films
American black-and-white films
1960s English-language films
Fiction portraying humans as aliens
Films about extraterrestrial life
Films directed by Norman Taurog
Films produced by Hal B. Wallis
Paramount Pictures films
Films scored by Leigh Harline
Films based on works by Gore Vidal
1960 comedy films
1960s American films