The Day it Came to Earth (1977)

A glowing meteor falls into a secluded pond into which Mafia hitmen have dumped the body of one of their victims. Radiation from the meteor bring the dead body back to life and it rises from the pond seeking revenge on the mobsters. Students from the local college, using the pond for a swimming hole, discover the meteor and take it to Professor Bartholomew (George Gobel) at the local university. The monster rises again to recover the stone and goes around wreaking havoc, stalking our teen protagonists in an old, supposedly haunted mansion, where they spend a stormswept night as a college initiation. Meanwhile, two local police detectives trail the monster.

Delightfully charming tribute to 1950s science fiction, the film evokes a nifty, Hardy Boys style atmosphere - the fogshrouded quarry, the girls spending the night in a supposedly haunted house during a thunderstorm, the young couple necking in the woods stalked by the lumbering creature - making use of some evocative locations - the quarry is pretty sweet spot for a picknick and a swim during the daytime, and effectively creepy at night, particularly with a monster periodically rising to the surface. The 1950s sleepy University town setting is nicely rendered, making use of suitably period-style clothes and music, and the two lovely young heroines are simply gorgeous, particularly in their bathing suits during an extended swimming sequence, or surrounded by their equally yummy girlfriends during the initiation sleepover. No nudity though, just long slender legs and the occassional glimpse of cleavage. The meteor FX are cheesy but likeable - check out the gorgeous sunset above the treeline as the meteor hits - the lumbering creature looks like he stumbled in from Halloween Eve, cheap mask and all, and there are quite some enjoyable and moody shots to be found throughout the proceedings. Add some goofy humour, some Scooby Doo-style hysterics and running about, and some likeable characters - the cop who, for once, believes their wild stories, the slightly goofy but sympathetic local college professor nicknaming the monster GeGaGoo (short for Geophysical Gaseous Goon) - while there is some good chemistry between the kids. At one point the film even harks back to the 1940s with a Mantan Moreland-style frightened black character, scared out of his wits after encountering the monster. And hell, even the title sound like a genuine 1950s drive-in movie. And did Fred Dekker see this movie while contemplating 'Night of the Creeps'?

Upon its release, The Day It Came to Earth enjoyed a modest success at drive-ins. The film was filmed in and around Little Rock, featuring a number of local Arkansas actors, such as comedian George Gobel near the end of his career and actress Rita Wilson at the beginning of hers. Arkansan Harry Thomason had filmed several other Arkansas-based features: 'Encounter with the Unknown' (1972), 'So Sad about Gloria' (1975) and 'Revenge of Bigfoot' (1979). He also produced the television series 'The Fall Guy' in 1981.