I viewed this on a DVD that had 7 different episodes of 'Tales of Tomorrow", complete with original commercials. It was a real surprise to me to be able to have this great chance to see an example of early TV science fiction. Back when this came out, this was not in theaters or drive ins but could only be seen on TV, an emerging form of entertainment that could be seen by those lucky enough to even own a television. The acting in "Verdict From Space" is overly dramatic but the actors do hold your interest. The show uses a low budget set so don't expect anything fancy. I think this episode was ahead of its time, the plot contains one of the early warnings of the possible dangers of nuclear bombs and experimentation that was to be a main theme of many future sci-fi films. The background music is definitely dated, as are some of the terms spoken by the characters. You won't be able to forget that this was from 1951. I liked the episode not only for it's historical significance to early television but it also had an interesting story in a short, quick episode. I was happily surprised to see that the original commercials were included. The commercials are from "Watchbands by Jacques Kreisler". It's really interesting, even a little comical, to see the beginnings of early television advertising. Entertaining in many ways, "Verdict From Space" is a fun film, well worth the short amount of time it takes to watch it.
7 Reviews
Pretty Dramatic but Engaging
Hitchcoc26 July 2013
This is apparently the premier of this 1951 science fiction series. It involves a man who is on trial for first degree murder. He endeavors to convince the jury that he did not harm the man. He then goes into flashback mode, saying that an unpatented blowtorch was the centerpiece in an effort to find a device that was being used by aliens. A quirky scientist talks the young inventor into assisting him. He gives him all the money he has to prod him into assisting him (actually to cut through a door into a treasure trove of technology). It's the huge amount of money that applies the coup de grace. Of course, it's not that simple. I really enjoyed the freshness of the camera work from the early days of television. When we consider that this was probably live and seen over 60 years ago. While the whole thing is a bit too dramatic, it works pretty well. I look forward to seeing some more of the episodes that are still available.
A sign of things to come....
planktonrules16 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers
"Verdict From Space" is the first show from "Tales of Tomorrow" and it's very much like the sort of thing you'll see throughout the series. It's filled with some low production values (such as some cheesy organ music for the soundtrack) but also has a dandy story--one that is meant to scare the pants off the audience! The show begins in a courtroom. A young man is being tried for murder but the man is insistent of his innocence. Then, in a flashback, you see the events that occurred before this--how the man met a strange professor and how they discovered a machine supposedly created by an alien species to monitor the Earth's progress on developing atomic weaponry--and the machine has been her for a million years! This episode is clearly one inspired by atomic bombs and the race towards self-immolation that was a common theme in 1950s TV and films. While not a great episode (it's special effects are minimal), it's quite good and worth seeing--especially for the ending.
"I don't know when they're coming, but they're coming!"
classicsoncall21 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The story opens with a man on trial for murder. Circumstantial evidence points to Gordon Kent (Lon McCallister) having murdered Professor Andy Sykes (Martin Brandt) for five thousand dollars. As with many of these 'Tales of Tomorrow', a flashback tells the story of how Sykes convinced Kent to follow him to a remote location in order to use Sykes' gun-like torch invention to open a steel door into a cavern containing an alien machine. The machine had been recording geological and man-made disruptions on Earth for the past million years; events like the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the first atomic bomb test blast in the Pacific! With Hiroshima in the near past, the Professor surmises that an advanced civilization monitoring Earth's activities is on the verge of arriving to put a stop to future destruction, a threat not only to the planet but to other alien civilizations. How the Professor died while trying to escape the cave with Kent is rather questionable, but apparently was needed to set up the murder trial in which Kent was found guilty! The rumble of a sky filled with alien spaceships above the courtroom to close out the story brought home the accuracy of the back story. Considering 1951's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with a similar warning, this televised program pales in comparison, but with an extremely limited budget and no-name actors, the show did the best it could to warn of potential nuclear disaster.
Sturgeon has written better
Martin-12116 October 2022
This episode was OK (given 1950s TV budget and effects); but writer Ted Sturgeon has written better. This was too much story for a half hour, I think, and they cut out things that would've filled in some plot holes. The professor figures out a lot of things far too quickly.
The ending has been done many times through the years. That made it predictable, but I liked the way they conveyed it on a limited budget.
For the reviewer who asked if Arthur C. Clarke might have been inspired by this when he wrote 2001: that's an interesting observation, but 2001 was based on Clarke's story "The Sentinel", written in 1948 and published in 1951. One might as easily wonder if Sturgeon were inspired by Clarke. But really, there are only so many story ideas.
The ending has been done many times through the years. That made it predictable, but I liked the way they conveyed it on a limited budget.
For the reviewer who asked if Arthur C. Clarke might have been inspired by this when he wrote 2001: that's an interesting observation, but 2001 was based on Clarke's story "The Sentinel", written in 1948 and published in 1951. One might as easily wonder if Sturgeon were inspired by Clarke. But really, there are only so many story ideas.
Did Arthur C Clarke see this episode?
terencepau15 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This story broadcast in 1951. Years before the movie by Kubrick and Clarke. 2001 I wonder if Clarke got the idea hear first, and expanded it for the 1968 movie?
An entity leaves a trip wire signal that will advise them when the beings inhabiting the planet have advanced their technology to the point of being dangerous to the other citizens of the UNIVERSE!!
Leave a counting device in a cave to measure the atomic explosions or leave a structure on the moon so the signal will be sent when the creatures on the planet below have advanced their technology to include space travel.
I see a similar theme.
An entity leaves a trip wire signal that will advise them when the beings inhabiting the planet have advanced their technology to the point of being dangerous to the other citizens of the UNIVERSE!!
Leave a counting device in a cave to measure the atomic explosions or leave a structure on the moon so the signal will be sent when the creatures on the planet below have advanced their technology to include space travel.
I see a similar theme.
Interesting and likely quite novel when first released
jamesrupert201429 December 2021
As told in flashbacks during a murder trial, an inventor is recruited by an obsessed professor to open a mysterious door, behind which is an ancient machine that has recorded Earth's entire geologic history including the detonation of nuclear bombs, and possibly transmitted the information to an alien civilization. This simple but intriguing tale was penned by the prolific sci-fi writer Theodore Sturgeon and the core premise is similar to 'The Sentinel', Arthur C. Clarke's famous 1951 short story that was the inspiration for 1968's '2001 A Space Odyssey' (clearly the two authors had opposing views on the intentions of those outsiders who might be interested in our progress). The 'watch the skies!' ending is pretty good and may have been a shocker back in '51.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
