- Actors: Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Peter Reynolds, Adrienne Corri, Joseph Tomelty
- Directors: David MacDonald
- Classification: U
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00008T53V
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 18,808 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This little gem is one of those under-rated minor classics of the genre, too easily dismissed on account of its corny title and somewhat outrageous plot. But look closely and you'll see it is much more than a potboiler made for a quick profit by uncaring producers. In fact, the Danziger brothers were behind this "beautifully crafted production" (DVD sleevenote). The beautiful Hazel Court (who, in her autobiography Hazel Court - Horror Queen: An Autobiography described the film as "goofy, but fun") actually steals every scene from the titular 'Devil Girl', the ice maiden Patricia Laffan.
All the players, including that stalwart stereotype Scotsman, John Laurie, do very well and I particularly found Peter Reynolds' escaped murderer (who isn't) a truly sympathetic character. Untypically for the time (1954) the obviously small budget still allowed for some groundbreaking effects - the landing and taking-off of the alien craft is really impressive, not the usual wobbly plate on strings! And the production design inside the craft is awesome.
Overall, the script by John Maher and James Eastwood, and the direction by David MacDonald, is considerably better than one expects from this type of film. It has gained a bit of a cult following in the U.S. but is largely unknown in Britain. Jonathan Rigby in his seminal work English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema dismissed this as "pedestrian" and only for "connoisseurs of the unconsciously kitsch" but I would disagree. Those who normally jeer at a movie whose tag line is 'Mars Needs Men...So They Sent A Woman!' will be in for an unexpectedly enjoyable 77 minutes if they give this movie a chance.
This version from Image Entertainment is part of The Wade Williams Collection and is also available in their FEMME FATALE COLLECTION Femme Fatale Collection [1954] (REGION 1) (NTSC). It looks great - a lovely, sharp picture and a clear hiss-free soundtrack. Obviously, it's black-and-white and Region 1 only but that's no reason to deny yourself this treat.
All the players, including that stalwart stereotype Scotsman, John Laurie, do very well and I particularly found Peter Reynolds' escaped murderer (who isn't) a truly sympathetic character. Untypically for the time (1954) the obviously small budget still allowed for some groundbreaking effects - the landing and taking-off of the alien craft is really impressive, not the usual wobbly plate on strings! And the production design inside the craft is awesome.
Overall, the script by John Maher and James Eastwood, and the direction by David MacDonald, is considerably better than one expects from this type of film. It has gained a bit of a cult following in the U.S. but is largely unknown in Britain. Jonathan Rigby in his seminal work English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema dismissed this as "pedestrian" and only for "connoisseurs of the unconsciously kitsch" but I would disagree. Those who normally jeer at a movie whose tag line is 'Mars Needs Men...So They Sent A Woman!' will be in for an unexpectedly enjoyable 77 minutes if they give this movie a chance.
This version from Image Entertainment is part of The Wade Williams Collection and is also available in their FEMME FATALE COLLECTION Femme Fatale Collection [1954] (REGION 1) (NTSC). It looks great - a lovely, sharp picture and a clear hiss-free soundtrack. Obviously, it's black-and-white and Region 1 only but that's no reason to deny yourself this treat.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Devil Girl From Mars is a studio bound piece of British science fiction from 1954. To be honest, there's not a lot of action and it's very talkey but hey, who cares? Get a load of Patricia Laffan as Nyah in that PVC outfit! Wow! I looked her up on the International Movie Data Base website, it seems she's just turned 90!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A lonely inn Scottish highland is visited by a meteor. Also the usual collection of personalities. After we get all the introductions and drinks on the house, an unexpected visitor appears from the sky.
Yep looks like a neighboring planet is deficient of a certain commodity. Yep it is Nyah (Patricia Laffan) an aloof min-skirted man less female alien. To satisfy the sci-fi in all of us the mention antimatter (in so many words) and the nest dimension. Does the space vehicle look like a prototype of the familiar Spielberg vehicles?
Will Ellen Prestwick (Hazel Court) suddenly switch from tomato juice to whisky?
Will Robert Justin (Peter Reynolds) kill or make time?
Will Nyah get what she came for or more than she bargained for?
See Patricia Laffan in a more dangerous role as Miss Alice MacDonald in "23 Paces to Baker Street" (1956) adapted from the book "Warrant for X"
Yep looks like a neighboring planet is deficient of a certain commodity. Yep it is Nyah (Patricia Laffan) an aloof min-skirted man less female alien. To satisfy the sci-fi in all of us the mention antimatter (in so many words) and the nest dimension. Does the space vehicle look like a prototype of the familiar Spielberg vehicles?
Will Ellen Prestwick (Hazel Court) suddenly switch from tomato juice to whisky?
Will Robert Justin (Peter Reynolds) kill or make time?
Will Nyah get what she came for or more than she bargained for?
See Patricia Laffan in a more dangerous role as Miss Alice MacDonald in "23 Paces to Baker Street" (1956) adapted from the book "Warrant for X"
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