Today we have another1950s B sci-fi classic with that old, tried and true, classic theme. You know the theme...do we annihilate the alien visitor, or do we try to communicate with it and make friends? Inevitably, we annihilate it...but in all fairness, that was probably the right choice. I mean, did Kurt Russell try to make friends with The Thing? No! He took a flamethrower to it. Like you would have done differently! Okay, lets look at 1959's "The Cosmic Man," directed by Herbert S. Greene.
A UFO is tracked by radar and crashes into the mountains of a California town. The military sends war-hawk Colonel Matthews (Paul Langton), USAF. They also send the guy who invented the A-Bomb, Dr. Karl Sorenson (Bruce Bennett), a scientist who feels guilty about annihilating tens of thousands of Japanese. Matthews is suspicious the thing means bad news for Earth. Sorenson doesn't jump to conclusions and is intrigued by the fact that an inter-galactic visitor is inside the impenetrable orb that hovers a few feet off the ground. Along comes the beautiful blonde widow Kathy (Angela Greene). She drives up to the site in her convertible. She has an open mind and we figure she also has an open mind about which hunk to marry. Yeah, the two hunks represent both sides of a classic debate but both are bores.
What, or who is ever inside the orb comes out. The Cosmic Man (John Carradine) is invisible and goes to science labs to see what Earthlings are up to. He decides the Earthlings are pre-occupied with war and annihilation and tries to warn them against this pursuit. Oh, The Cosmic Man, now visible, gets a room at Kathy's lodge, perhaps desiring to mate with beautiful blonde Earthlings. Can we blame him? Afterall, don't we all have urges after traveling billions of light years through space? The plot goes back and forth whether The Cosmic Man means peace, or interplanetary war. Kathy goes back and forth whether to marry the boring scientist or the hawk Colonel. The military brings in fresh weapons. Dr. Sorenson brings in more probing scientific tools. The Cosmic Man gets ready to recite his demands on the confused Earthlings. Kathy begins thinking of her biological clock.
Who will Kathy decide on, and is the inter-galactic visitor in the running? Is Sorenson or the Colonel right and will friends be made, or enemies annihilated? Just what is The Cosmic Man's intention on Earth, and would he be open to an inter-species relationship with an Earth blonde? This is a fun one, no doubt preaching against xenophobia. Still, the possibility of outsiders desiring to murder you is a plot point kept open by the movie makers. See "The Cosmic Man" and enjoy some neat 1950's B Movie treasures.
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