Visit to a Small Planet (1960)
** (out of 4)
Kreton (Jerry Lewis) is an alien who has always been fascinated by Earth. Whenever he gets a chance he breaks away from his people to take a closer look. Finally, he's allowed to stay on Earth and ends up inside the home of a man who doesn't believe there's anything out in space.
Apparently this Gore Vidal script was originally meant for the television and it's easy to see that. VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET is a pretty forgettable film on many levels, although I'm sure die hard fans of Lewis will still want to check it out. Sadly, the interesting premise is pretty much ruined by a film without too many laughs and an overall cheap look.
As I said, it's clear that this was meant to be something for television and what really hurts the picture is the fact that it just runs out of gas around the thirty-minute mark and things can never pick up. The film goes on way too long and that's a problem when it clocks in at just 85-minutes. There are a few funny moments with the alien experiences a few things for the first time but this isn't enough to carry the picture.
Lewis is fairly bland and boring in the role of the alien. He really keeps it low-key and just never builds up any energy in the role. IT's pretty easy to see why VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET has been forgotten over the years.
** (out of 4)
Kreton (Jerry Lewis) is an alien who has always been fascinated by Earth. Whenever he gets a chance he breaks away from his people to take a closer look. Finally, he's allowed to stay on Earth and ends up inside the home of a man who doesn't believe there's anything out in space.
Apparently this Gore Vidal script was originally meant for the television and it's easy to see that. VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET is a pretty forgettable film on many levels, although I'm sure die hard fans of Lewis will still want to check it out. Sadly, the interesting premise is pretty much ruined by a film without too many laughs and an overall cheap look.
As I said, it's clear that this was meant to be something for television and what really hurts the picture is the fact that it just runs out of gas around the thirty-minute mark and things can never pick up. The film goes on way too long and that's a problem when it clocks in at just 85-minutes. There are a few funny moments with the alien experiences a few things for the first time but this isn't enough to carry the picture.
Lewis is fairly bland and boring in the role of the alien. He really keeps it low-key and just never builds up any energy in the role. IT's pretty easy to see why VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET has been forgotten over the years.