{{short description|1958 film by Jack Arnold}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = The Space Children | image = The Space Children poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Jack Arnold | producer = William Alland | writer = | screenplay = Bernard C. Schoenfeld | story = Tom Filer | based_on = {{based on|The Egg|Tom Filer}}<ref name="Warren 1982" /> | narrator = | starring = {{Plainlist | * Michel Ray * Adam Williams * Peggy Webber * Johnny Washbrook * Jackie Coogan * Richard Shannon }} | music = Van Cleave | cinematography = Ernest Laszlo | editing = Terry O. Morse | color_process = Black and white | studio = William Alland Productions<ref name="AFI staff 2013" /> | distributor = Paramount Pictures | released = {{Film date|1958|06|26|US}}<ref>Bill Warren, Keep Watching The Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the 1950s, Vol. 2, 1958-1962. pg. 766. (New York: McFarland & Co, 1986)</ref><ref name="AFI staff 2013" /> | runtime = 69 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }}
'''''The Space Children''''' is a 1958 independently made American science-fiction film, produced by William Alland, directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Michel Ray, Jackie Coogan, Russell Johnson, Johnny Crawford, Johnny Washbrook and Richard Shannon.<ref name="Warren, Bill 1986">Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. {{ISBN|0-89950-170-2}}. Page 766</ref> The film's special effects were handled by John P. Fulton, and the makeup was by Wally Westmore.<ref name="Warren, Bill 1986"/> The film was released on June 26, 1958 by Paramount as a double feature with ''The Colossus of New York'' (1958).<ref name="Weldon 1983" /><ref name="Warren, Bill 1986"/>
The character Eadie Johnson is portrayed by actor Sandy Descher, who had previous science-fiction film experience when she played the catatonic child in Warner Bros. ''Them!'' (1954).<ref name="Parla 2009" />
The movie was featured on an episode of the comedy show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' in 1998 and is one of only 11 episodes to not have a commercial release due to copyright issues.
==Plot== A seaside trailer park houses personnel working with the military to complete the ''Thunderer'', a rocket that will place an atomic device in permanent Earth orbit. The ''Thunderer'' will allow the United States to rapidly strike at any enemy nation.
Seven children who live there meet on the beach and become friends. While playing together, they observe a beam of light shining down onto the beach. A small, glowing object floats down amid the beam and disappears among the rocks. One of the kids, Bud Brewster, seems to start listening to a voice only he can hear.
That evening, after a community cookout, the kids head back to the beach and encounter a small alien life form, resting. The alien telepathically assigns them a secret mission, and Bud will be their leader.
He and his brother Ken return to their trailer and tell their parents about the alien. Their father Dave becomes angry, believing they are lying to excuse the fact that they stayed out late and worried their parents. However, when Dave grabs Bud, his arm is paralyzed. The kids are under the alien's protection. Confused, Dave accompanies six of the kids back to the alien's hideout. The seventh, Tim, is accosted by his drunken stepfather Joe. Tim breaks away and runs after the group, but Joe chases him, shouting violent threats.
Joe catches up with Tim, throws him to the ground, picks up a piece of driftwood and raises it to strike him. In its hiding place, the alien blazes with light, and Joe is thrown backwards. Terrified, Joe flees.
Tim joins the other children and Dave as they arrive at the alien's lair. After silently conveying its instructions to Bud, the alien is carried back to the trailer by Dave. There, Bud says the alien must be kept safe until the following evening but does not explain why. His mother Anne is frightened for the family's safety.
When Tim returns to the trailers, he finds Joe's body as an ambulance arrives. The alien killed Joe because he threatened Tim's life.
The next morning, the Brewsters discover that the alien has doubled in size. Its purpose is connected to the launch of the ''Thunderer'', which will happen that night. Bud and Ken carry the alien out and take it to a cave along the beach. Dave hurries to the base to warn the authorities about the possible threat from the alien. When he meets with Dr. Wahrman and Colonel Manley, Dave's voice is paralyzed, and he passes out after trying to write a message.
During the next hours, the children perform tasks about the base while the alien mentally controls various people and objects such as sentries and locked gates to ensure that the mission is carried out.
In the infirmary, a fully recovered Dave tells Wahrman about the alien. Wahrman realizes that he, too, will be prevented from speaking to others about the alien, so the two men drive out to its cave. The alien has grown even larger. Wahrman asks the alien about its intentions, but it remains silent. The men give up and rush back to the base just as the ''Thunderer'' is about to be launched, realizing the alien will stop them from trying to interfere.
When the launch button is pressed, an explosion within the nose cone destroys the nuclear warhead, rendering the ''Thunderer'' useless. The children have succeeded in their sabotage. Wahrman orders the soldiers to follow him back to the cave, where they confront the children, who are blocking the entrance together. The alien glides out of the cave and ascends on another beam of light. Wahrman asks Bud why the ''Thunderer'' was destroyed.
Bud says his group did what other children have done in several other countries; they sabotaged rockets that would have carried nuclear devices into space, making humankind's self-destruction easy if such weapons were ever used. The aliens were concerned about humankind's welfare and relied on teams of loyal children all over the world to prevent humankind from making a terrible mistake.
==Cast== *Michel Ray as Bud Brewster *Adam Williams as Dave Brewster *Peggy Webber as Anne Brewster *Johnny Washbrook as Tim Gamble *Jackie Coogan as Hank Johnson *Richard Shannon as Lieutenant Colonel Alan Manley *Raymond Bailey as Dr. Wahrman *Sandy Descher as Eadie Johnson *Larry Pennell as Major Thomas *Peter Baldwin as Security Officer James *Ty Hardin as Sentry *Russell Johnson as Joe Gamble *David Bair as Saul Wahrman *Johnny Crawford as Ken Brewster *Eilene Janssen as Phyllis Manley *Jean Engstrom as Peg Gamble<ref name= "Space Children"> {{cite web |last= |first= |title=Movie – The Space Children (1958) |publisher=Turner Classic Movies (TCM) |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/90979/the-space-children |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917002841/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/90979/The-Space-Children/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 17, 2011 |access-date=November 9, 2013 }} </ref>
==Production== [[File:Queen Theatre Ad - 5 August 1958, Abilene, TX.png|thumb|Advertisement from 1958 for ''The Space Children'' and co-feature, ''The Colossus of New York'']] ''The Space Children'' was William Alland's first feature film with Paramount.<ref name="Hopper 1957" /> It was loosely based on ''The Egg'', an unpublished story by Tom Filer (involving a girl with polio) that was significantly different from the final plot of the film.<ref name="Warren 1982" /><ref name="AFI staff 2013" />
The alien brain was created by special-effects artist Ivyl Burks and used $3,300 of neon lights to create its glowing effect.<ref name="Johnson 1996" />
According to Webber, the original leading lady dropped out at the last minute. In a panic, Alland called Orson Welles (for whom he had acted in The Mercury Theatre and ''Citizen Kane'') and asked if he knew any actress who could step in on such short notice. Welles replied, "Yes. Peggy Webber." (She'd worked with him on radio and in his 1948 film version of ''Macbeth'' and had impressed him with how rapidly she could find her character.)
==Theatrical release== ''The Space Children'' was first released in theaters by Paramount on June 26, 1958,<ref name="AFI staff 2013" /> as part of a double bill with ''The Colossus of New York'' (1958), which was also produced by William Alland.<ref>Bill Warren, Keep Watching The Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the 1950s, Vol. 2, 1958-1962. Pg. 766. (New York: McFarland & Co, 1986)</ref><ref name="Lucanio 1987" />
==Home media== ''The Space Children'' was released on DVD in 2006 as part of the ''Lost Movie Classics Collection'' by RoDon Enterprises.<ref name="worldcat 2013-1" /> In 2012, a combo Blu-ray/DVD<ref name="worldcat 2013-2" /> was released by Olive Films.<ref name="worldcat 2013-3" />
==Mystery Science Theater 3000== The movie was featured in episode #906 of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which first aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on June 13, 1998; the episode also featured the short "Century 21 Calling."<ref>[https://www.mst3kinfo.com/?p=5128 Episode guide: 906- The Space Children (with short: ‘Century 21 Calling’)] Satellite News. Retrieved on 2025-10-28.</ref> Writer Paul Chaplin's recap of the episode repeatedly mentions the depression of all the characters. "Everybody hates everybody," he writes. "The most cheerful character is a racist xenophobe played by Jackie Coogan."<ref>[https://www.mst3kinfo.com/aceg/9/906/ep906.html Episode 906- The Space Children (with short: Century 21 Calling).] Satellite News. The Amazing Colossal Transplanted Sci-Fi Channel Episode Guide. Retrieved 2025-10-28.</ref>
''Paste'' writer Jim Vorel ranked the episode #113 out of 197 ''MST3K'' episodes from the first twelve seasons. He calls ''The Space Children'' "a weird little ‘50s sci-fi yarn." Mentioning the movie "thought it had a valuable lesson to teach us all about the perils of nuclear war," he compares the movie to "a dime store version of ''The Day the Earth Stood Still''". He also mentions the trio of prominent sitcom '60s actors — Jackie Coogan, "Mr. Drysdale from The Beverly Hillbillies and even The Professor from Gilligan’s Island" — as one of the episode's notable features.
The ''MST3K'' version of ''The Space Children'' has not been released on DVD. The segments of the episode that take place outside of the movie theater were included in the Satellite Dishes disc on ''MST3K: Volume XXXIX'', which was released October 31, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last=Salmons |first=Tim |title=Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXIX (DVD Review) |url=https://thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/mystery-science-theater-3000-vol-xxxix-dvd |website=The Digital Bits |date=November 21, 2017 |access-date=November 14, 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist |refs= <ref name="Hopper 1957"> {{cite news | title = 'Space Children' Set as Science-Fiction | first = Hedda | last = Hopper | authorlink = Hedda Hopper | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/438024932.html?dids=438024932:438024932&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+05%2C+1957&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=%27Space+Children%27+Set+as+Science-Fiction&pqatl=google | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130411160941/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/438024932.html?dids=438024932:438024932&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+05,+1957&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc='Space+Children'+Set+as+Science-Fiction&pqatl=google | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 11, 2013 | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | location = Los Angeles, California, USA | issn = 0458-3035 | oclc = 3638237 | date = October 5, 1957 | page = B2 | access-date = March 10, 2013 }} </ref>
<ref name="Weldon 1983"> {{cite book | last = Weldon | first = Michael | title = The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZodFGQAACAAJ | access-date = March 10, 2013 | edition = 1st, reissue, illustrated | year = 1983 | publisher = Ballantine Books | location = New York City, New York, USA | isbn = 9780345343451 | oclc = 10200446 }} </ref>
<ref name="Parla 2009"> {{cite book | last1 = Parla | first1 = Paul | last2 = Mitchell | first2 = Charles P. | title = Screen Sirens Scream!: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Science Fiction, Horror, Film Noir and Mystery Movies, 1930s To 1960s | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VVNpvvU6A0EC&q=%22The+Space+Children%22+%22Sandy+Descher%22+%22Them!%22&pg=PA48 | access-date = March 11, 2013 | edition = illustrated | date = October 1, 2009 | publisher = McFarland & Company | location = Jefferson, North Carolina, USA | isbn = 9780786445875 | oclc = 318421123 | page = 48 }} </ref>
<ref name="AFI staff 2013"> {{cite journal | author = AFI staff | year = 2013 | title = The Space Children | journal = AFI Catalog of Feature Films | location = Los Angeles, California, USA | publisher = American Film Institute | oclc = 772904208 | access-date = March 11, 2013 | url = http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=52743 }} </ref>
<ref name="worldcat 2013-1"> {{cite book | title = The Space Children | author = WorldCat staff | year = 2013 | via = WorldCat | publisher = Online Computer Library Center | location = Dublin, Ohio, USA | oclc = 696008721 }} </ref>
<ref name="worldcat 2013-2"> {{cite book | title = The Space Children | author = WorldCat staff | year = 2013 | via = WorldCat | publisher = Online Computer Library Center | location = Dublin, Ohio, USA | oclc = 807233984 }} </ref>
<ref name="worldcat 2013-3"> {{cite book | title = The Space Children | author = WorldCat staff | year = 2013 | via = WorldCat | publisher = Online Computer Library Center | location = Dublin, Ohio, USA | oclc = 800429909 }} </ref>
<ref name="Warren 1982"> {{cite book | last = Warren | first = Bill | authorlink = Bill Warren (film historian and critic) | title = Keep watching the skies!: American science fiction movies of the fifties | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eMMbAQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+Space+Children%22+%22Tom+Filer%22+%22The+Egg%22 | access-date = March 11, 2013 | edition = illustrated | year = 1982 | publisher = McFarland & Company | location = Jefferson, North Carolina, USA | isbn = 9780899501703 | oclc = 7999158 }} </ref>
<ref name="Lucanio 1987"> {{cite book | last = Lucanio | first = Patrick | title = Them or us: archetypal interpretations of the fifties alien invasion films | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-ahZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22The+Space+Children%22+%22+The+Colossus+of+New+York%22+%22double+bill%22 | access-date = March 11, 2013 | edition = illustrated | year = 1987 | publisher = Indiana University Press | location = | isbn = 9780253358714 | oclc = 15055165 }} </ref>
<ref name="Johnson 1996"> {{cite book | last = Johnson | first = John | title = Cheap Tricks and Class Acts: Special Effects, Makeup and Stunts from the Fantastic Fifties | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NHzeZZOUD6QC&q=%22The+Space+Children%22+%22Ivyl+Burks%22&pg=PA19 | access-date = March 11, 2013 | edition = illustrated | year = 1996 | publisher = McFarland & Company | location = Jefferson, North Carolina, USA | isbn = 9780786400935 | oclc = 32430986 | page = 19 }} </ref>
}}
===Bibliography=== *{{cite news | title = Actor 'Rocketing' Up | author = staff | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lKEyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pOoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5491,3578630&dq=adam-williams+actor&hl=en | newspaper = The Miami News | publisher = Cox Enterprises | location = Miami, Florida, USA | oclc = 10000467 | date = July 26, 1958 | page = 7A | access-date = March 10, 2013 | quote = Adam Williams, one of the industry's fastest-rising actors, portrays a rocket expert in Paramount's "The Space Children." }}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0052227|title=The Space Children}} * {{AFI film|52743|The Space Children}}
{{Jack Arnold}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Space Children}} Category:1958 films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American science fiction films Category:Films about children Category:Films about alien visitations Category:Films about nuclear war and weapons Category:Films directed by Jack Arnold Category:Paramount Pictures films Category:1958 English-language films Category:1958 American films Category:Films scored by Van Cleave Category:English-language science fiction films Category:Films produced by William Alland Category:1958 science fiction films