Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals from coast-to-coast will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi creature masterpiece.
“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “This Island Earth” (1955)
Original 1955 Universal Studios theatrical release trailer for “This Island Earth.”
“Trapped amid the mysteries of outer space, they challenged the unearthly furies of a planet gone mad!” Original 1953 Universal Studios poster art element for “This Island Earth.”
The legendary & iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi/creature feature masterpiece film host will present his big broadcast of of “This Island Earth” (1955), this Sat., April 15 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.
The classic mammoth 1955 Universal sci-fi masterpiece production was directed by veteran assistant director-turned-feature film and TV director Joseph Newman. Newman directed various westerns, crime drama productions and adventure feature films, along with sci-fi and mystery/suspense TV shows throughout his directorial career. When he worked as an assistant director for the classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) masterpiece productions of “San Francisco” (1936, directed by W.S. Van Dyke; with Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy) and “David Copperfield” (1935, adapted from Charles Dickens‘ novel, directed by George Cukor; with Freddie Bartholomew, W.C. Fields, Lionel Barrymore, Elsa Lanchester, Maureen O’Sullivan, Una O’Connor and Lewis Stone); Newman was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1936 and 1937 for Best Assistant Director. Later in his motion picture directorial career, Newman directed the classic mammoth Allied Artists drama biopic masterpiece production on the life and career of actor George Raft, “The George Raft Story” (1961) with Ray Danton, Jayne Mansfield, singer Julie London, a pre-“Batman” Frank Gorshin, Herschel Bernardi of TV’s “Peter Gunn” fame and Jack Albertson. He also directed four episodes of Rod Serling’s classic mammoth CBS television sci-fi/supernatural masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” from 1963–64 and 10 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock’s hour-long rendition of his classic mammoth MCA-Revue-Universal TV mystery/suspense anthology masterpiece series, “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” from 1963-65 (a continuation of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”).
The screenplay for Newman’s 1955 Universal sci-fi/monster production was written by Franklin Coen and George Callahan (Callahan was credited under the name of “Edward G. O’Callaghan”). Coen and Callahan (O’Callaghan)’s screenplay was adapted from Raymond F. Jones’ original sci-fi novel, titled “The Alien Machine.” One year before “This Island Earth,” Coen wrote the screenplay for George Sherman‘s classic mammoth Universal drama-comedy masterpiece production of “Johnny Dark” (1954) with Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, young Scatman Crothers, Ilka Chase and Don Taylor. Earlier in his screenwriting career, Callahan/O’Callaghan co-wrote the screenplay with veteran screenwriter Bob Consodine for Roy Del Ruth‘s classic mammoth Allied Artists biopic masterpiece production on the life and career of Baseball’s George Herman “Babe” Ruth, “The Babe Ruth Story” (1948) with William Bendix, Claire Trevor, Charles Bickford, a pre-“I Love Lucy“-“My Three Sons/Binge the Cringe” William Frawley and Stanley Clements.
The classic mammoth Universal sci-fi masterpiece production of “This Island Earth” (1955) was directed by veteran studio producer William Alland.
This will mark Sven’s seventh big broadcast of “This Island Earth” (1955) on the airlanes of Me-TV. He previously showcased Newman’s classic 1955 Universal sci-fi creature masterpiece entry back in April 2012 as a Me-TV big broadcast premiere* and as regular Me-TV big broadcasts back in Oct. 2012*, April 2015, Jan. 2016, June 2017 and April 2020.
Who was in Joseph Newman’s classic mammoth Universal sci-fi masterpiece production of “This Island Earth” (1955)?
The players who appeared in Newman’s Universal production of “This Island Earth” (1955) were veteran stunt performer Regis Parton (in an uncredited role as the Metaluna mutant), Charlotte Alpert (in an uncredited role as a Metaluna Woman at the Decompression Console), Jeff Morrow (as Exeter), Faith Domergue (as Dr. Ruth Adams), Rex Reason (as Dr. Cal Meacham), Russell Johnson (as Dr. Steve Carlson), Lance Fuller (as Brack), Robert Nichols (as Joe Wilson), Richard Deacon (in an uncredited role as a pilot), Olan Soule (in an uncredited role as a reporter), Coleman Francis (in an uncredited role as a deliveryman) and Orangey the Cat (in an uncredited role as the Neutron Cat).
Silver Screen Reflections 