Like to do some examining here of Bradbury's life on other planets.

Ray deals with only two that I know of: Mars and Venus. Does anyone know of any other explorations that Ray has done of places further out? I realize that Ray denotes man stepping out into the far stars. But with no extra-terrestrial creature does he cloth that conjecture.

I can't recall other beings except those that look like man or are human, that inhabit Venus. I may be wrong. And of course, the classic scene of the reflection in Martian waters, human reflections, are the new Martians, while his description of the 'native' Martians are one of the few instances of extra-terrestrial description.

Does anyone know of any wild star gazing that Ray has put into words pertaining to what he perceives lies beyond the vast skies of Mars and Venus, that is not future man himself, but something, or someone else?

Of course, there are the famous Martian Mushroom invaders in "Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in YOUR Cellar!" Also entities such as "The One Who Waits"--"The City" might fall into that category. And a sequel to "Zero Hour" would be most interesting, to see what "Drill" and Company turned out to be!

Another example for extraterrestrial life would be Here There Be Tygers, where we find a whole planet as a conscious life form!

But even in stories like these, we are mainly dealing with human conditions: In this story, we have different characters displaying their different attitude towards the alien world. In the end, even the world itself is anthropomorphised by being compared to a woman.

In the story The Fire Balloons, we meet native martians. But in the end, we learn that these life forms came to be what they are now by going through a long evolutionary process. If i remember it right, it is even suggested that they originated in a life form not so different from our own, which could be seen as an optimistic projection concerning our own future as humans, the belief in our potential to evolve into something more "pure". I think the story Chrysalis points in a similar direction.

"A Matter of Taste" has some aliens that resemble spiders. It's told from their point of view, and they are shocked that humans find them disgusting.

This story was the starting point for It Came From Outer Space, the movie Ray wrote in the 50s. In Ray's version, the aliens are not meant to be seen, but i nthe movie they appear as a blobby, one-eyed floaty thing!

Phil
www.bradburymedia.co.uk

This sounds like a great story! I've been afraid of spiders since I could think... (though this phobia is getting better as I grow older - I have even grown quite fond of the tiny ones you find at the beach in summer, I even allow them to scramble over my hands.)

Hm, looks like I have to order The Cat's Pajamas right now - I'm too curious!

This would be an interesting question to ask Ray...if anyone gets to see him at a book signing or lecture somewhere: Does he believe there is life on other planets, as we know it? Or, is there intelligent life on other planets?

I always get the idea that Ray really thinks that it'll be man himself who populates the universe. And that as far as Ray is willing to go, I feel, would be to describe those Earthmen born on Mars, whose faces are reflected now in Martian canals, now the Martians!!

Personally, I think there are billions of worlds out there with intelligent life. Billions!! We have not even begun to appreciate how large and incredible the universe really is.

I'm pretty sure I saw Ray in a TV interview as much as admit to a belief in extraterrestrial life. The way he put it was, "we will touch strange flesh," or words very much like those.

Phil,
It's been decades since I saw "It Came From Outer Space", but I don't recall actually seeing the Alien. In fact, I think the clever bit is that the "bubble" is shown when viewing earthlings through the alien's eye! I'll have to try to find it and watch it again.
One other thing I remember that will be of interest to American TV trivia buffs: one of the main characters is played by Russell Johnson, later to be recognised as "The Professor" on "Gilligan's Island".

It Came From Outer Space was originally released in 3-D and we watched it through those red and blue glasses. It was quite scarry when I first saw it. I was one of the big three 3-D movies that I remember, along with Bwana Devil - which had lions jumping out of the screen and spears coming at the audience, and House of Wax with Vincent Price. It all went away rather quickly, and then there was none.

I own a VHS copy of ICFOS, not in 3-D, and it holds up well after all these many years, because of the way Ray wrote the screen play, not seeing the alien was an even better way to make you feel creepy. Though, the aliens were not really bad guys. The book released by Gaunlet Press is also a great addition to any Bradbury collection, much about how the film got to what is was.

The DVD version of It Came... has some nice additional information about the alien, including a discussion of how it was made and filmed. Bradbury's idea was not to show it (well, not in its native form; only when it has taken over humans!), but to show its point of view. Of course, 1950s studio bosses believed you had to show a monster in order to scare the audience, so the creature does appear once or twice. For the most part, it isn't shown clearly, which helps it remain slightly scarier than it otherwise would.

- Phil

I own a copy of the film and have enjoyed Russell Johnson's performances in that and in two "Twilight Zone" episodes. In the TZ, he played characters different from the professor but still essentially nice guys. His real departures that I've seen came as western TV villains. I was priviledged to be able to view the entire series of "Laramie," a sadly neglected classic, where Johnson appeared numerous times as a mean dude with an attitude. "Skipper" Alan Hale was also a "Laramie" villain. Only "Mary Ann" Dawn Wells was a nice "Laramie" character. I waited in vain for the other four castaways to show up, (Jim Backus would have been great) but by the time "Laramie" ended, "Gilligan's Island" was on the air and I guess they wouldn't have been guesting. Too bad. Such a treat to see, I would recommend to anyone! Johnson pulled a real funny one when he accepted a TV Land award with, "I'd like to thank the people of New Zealand."

Does anyone remember Mr. Magoo? (Jim Backus)

Could anybody list for me all the screenplays RB worked on? Movies, I mean.

[This message has been edited by h.rousseau (edited 11-10-2004).]

Believe in coincidence?
I heard on the radio yesterday it was Russell Johnson's 80th birthday!

I used to love Mr. Magoo!