Ray Bradbury Movies

It Came From Outer Space is one of a handful of science fiction films from the 1950s that plays as well today as it did on its original release, this despite the fact that its original 3-D elements seem to be lost. It was also the first science fiction effort of director Jack Arnold, and one of three excellent 3-D features that he made (the others were Creature From the Black Lagoon and Revenge of the Creature) during that format's short-lived history. It was also, along with The Incredible Shrinking Man, one of the two most sophisticated films he ever made in that genre. Additionally, it was Arnold's first opportunity to use the desert setting that seemed to inspire him in some of his best subsequent movies. Based on a story by Ray Bradbury, the movie starts off in a gentle, lyrical mode, almost reminiscent of Our Town, as the narrator introduces the tiny Arizona town where the action will take place. Writer John Putnam (Richard Carlson), a new arrival to the town and an amateur astronomer, is looking at the skies with his fiancée, schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush), when they see what looks like a huge meteor crash into the desert. Putnam and Ellen go to the site of the crash and find a huge crater. When he goes down inside, Putnam sees what is very obviously some kind of vehicle or device embedded in the ground, but before he can show it to anyone, a rock slide buries what he saw. He reports that a spacecraft of some kind is buried there and is duly ridiculed by the local press and some of his own colleagues in the astronomical community, and even Ellen has her doubts. The local sheriff, Matt Warren (Charles Drake), is downright hostile because he believes that Putnam is not only an interloper, but has also taken Ellen away from him. Putnam is at a loss as to what to do, and doing something -- or, perhaps, not doing anything -- becomes a critical matter when various townspeople start to disappear, including Ellen, to be replaced by alien "duplicates." A small but significant part of this action is told from the standpoint of the aliens, who are only glimpsed in brief flashes as they move through the desert and the underground caves where they are hiding. Putnam ultimately comes to understand that the aliens are actually benign and only need time to repair their ship and leave; but by then, the sheriff and the rest of the town have started taking his original warning seriously and their intervention threatens the lives of everyone. Reason and a peaceful approach prevail, but only just barely, and the space travelers are allowed to go on their way -- in return, they restore the real townspeople. The movie ends on a hopeful note as Putnam predicts that someday, when we're ready here on Earth, the visitors will be back to make formal, peaceful introductions. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Retired insurance salesmen Mr. Fox (Robert H. Harris) and Mr. Shaw (John Qualen) are of the theory that the hotter the temperature, the more likely people are to commit murder. Upon making the acquaintance of the nagging Mrs. Shrike (Jo Van Fleet), Mr. Fox and Mr. Shaw are convinced that she is doomed to die at the hands of her henpecked husband (Mike Ross), and thus attempt to save her from this fate. The results are a bit surprising, not to mention slightly surreal. "Shopping for Death" is the first of several Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes based on the works of Ray Bradbury; in this case, the source material is Bradbury's short story "Touched by Fire." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charlie Brailing (Norman Lloyd) dreams of leaving his wife, Lydia (Marian Seldes), and flying off to Rio. Of course, if he were to do this, it would cause nothing but shame and humiliation for all concerned. Thus, Charlie concocts a "foolproof" scheme to make his getaway without detection: he builds a robot lookalike, intending to leave his mechanical double with his wife while he skips town. Trouble is, the robot has a few plans of its own. One of the few "supernatural" Hitchcock episodes, "Design for Loving" was written by no less than Ray Bradbury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though he'd originally intended to write several scripts for the original Twilight Zone, Ray Bradbury's sole contribution to the series was this sensitive adaptation of his own short story "I Sing the Body Electric!" Hoping to fill the void left by the death of his wife, a widower (David White) takes his children to Robots Unlimited to purchase an "electric grandmother" for the kids. The younger children (Charles Herbert) and Dana Dillaway) are delighted with their robot granny (Josephine Hutchinson), but older daughter Anna (Veronica Cartwright) is sullen and resentful -- until "Grandma" proves herself to be more human than most humans. Though the episode is generally successful, no one connected with it was satisfied, least of all director James Sheldon, who felt that star Josephine Hutchinson was not quite right in the leading role. In addition, an earlier scene with June Vincent as the kids' aunt Nedra didn't "play" on film, necessitating an expensive reshoot, directed by William F. Claxton, with Doris Packer replacing Vincent. All in all, however, "I Sing the Body Electric!" pleased the crowd when it first aired on May 18, 1962, though a much-later 60-minute TV version, "The Electric Grandmother" (1980), was closer to the spirit of the Bradbury original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Impoverished and terminally ill Mexican peasant Juan Diaz (Alejandro Rey) makes a deal with gravedigger Alejandro (Frank Silvera) that will enable Juan to provide for his wife, Maria (Pina Pellecier), and their children after his death. When Maria discovers that her late husband had promised to allow Alejandro to mummify his body and display it as a tourist attraction, she takes it upon herself to break into Alejandro's crypt and steal Juan's corpse. An ironic ending caps this ghoulishly poignant Ray Bradbury story, which also boasts a typically superb Bernard Herrmann musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the future, an oppressive government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers known as "firemen" to perform the necessary book burnings. This is the premise of Ray Bradbury's acclaimed science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which became the source material for French director François Truffaut's English-language debut. While some liberties are taken with the description of the world, the narrative remains the same, as fireman Montag (Oskar Werner) begins to question the morality of his vocation. Curious about the world of books, he soon falls in love with a beautiful young member of a pro-literature underground -- and with literature itself. Critics were divided on the effectiveness of the result; some praised the unique design and eerie color cinematography by Nicolas Roeg, while others found the film's stylized approach overly distancing and attacked the central performances as unnatural. In any case, however, the film inarguably succeeds in making Truffaut's reverence for the written word abundantly clear, especially during the film's justifiably famous finale. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This science fiction fantasy is taken from the stories of Ray Bradbury. Carl (Rod Steiger) has a tattooed torso of bizarre illustrations done by his wife Felicia (Claire Bloom). Each one tells a story about the future, and when Will (Robert Drivas) meets The Illustrated Man in a hobo jungle en route to California, Carl warns him not to look too closely at the pictures on his person. One story has Carl, Felicia, Will and another man stranded on a planet plagued by perpetual rainstorms. Another has Will as a marriage counselor who watches in horror while Carl and Felicia's children plan their deaths. The third futuristic saga has Will observing Carl and Felicia on the top of a mountain as they plan to kill their children. After the three stories, Will is plagued by futuristic nightmares of Carl coming to kill him in this depressing and pessimistic film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

While on her honeymoon in New Orleans, a woman (Kitty Winn) is cursed by a voodoo queen and suffers terrible nightmares that begin to come true. With her husband (William Swetland), she consults a doctor (Peter Donat) for help. Originally filmed in 1978 with the title Marianne, the film was finally released to video in 1984 as Mirrors. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Everyone who tuned into The Martian Chronicles during its three-day run in January of 1980 sincerely hoped that it would be the ne plus ultra of televised sci-fi/fantasy. That it fell short of this goal was not the fault of the actors but of the script, which reduced Ray Bradbury's complex original work into typical TV-movie banality. Further hurting the project were the special effects, which fluctuate between the heights of the original Star Trek and the depth of Lost in Space. All there parts of The Martian Chronicles have been amalgamated into one overlong feature film on videocassette.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Electric Grandmother was the second TV adaptation of Ray Bradbury's I Sing the Body Electric (the first was presented on The Twilight Zone in 1962). Maureen Stapleton plays the title character, a custom-made android purchased by widowed Edward Hermann. "Grandma", a magical creation who can read minds and conjure up meals literally at her fingertips, is supposed to act as surrogate mother to Herrmann's three children; two of the kids accept her immediately, but the third (Tara Kennedy) is hostile. The relationship thaws after Grandma saves the little girl's life. Years later, the grown-up children tearfully bid their Grandma a fond farewell; but the grandmother eventually cares for the children after they themselves have grown old. Paul Benedict costars as cheerfully eccentric robot creator Guido Fantoccini. Adapted for television by Ray Bradbury and Jeffrey Kindley, the 60-minute The Electric Grandmother first aired as an NBC "Project Peacock" special on January 17, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The works of "Puppetoon" creator and special effects wizard George Pal are perhaps best seen separately and in toto rather than lumped together in fragmentary form. The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal contains an abundance of enjoyable film clips, but most are far too short for the audience to fully appreciate Pal's cinematic contributions. The narration suffers from banality, while the overall pacing of the documentary is lumpy. Still, for those who've never seen Pal's Puppetoon shorts, or his early features The Great Rupert (1950) and Destination Moon, this compilation serves as a tantalizing teaser. Paul Frees narrates The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, while several Pal associates and admirers, including Ray Bradbury, Roy Disney, Ray Harryhausen and Walter Lantz, are interviewed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide