The Space Children

A recent issue of SCARY MONSTERS MAGAZINE, #73,
features this film as its main article, titled "THE SPACE CHILDREN-A Reunion"


Interviews by Paul and Donna Parla; written & edited by Anthony Di Salvo

The article mentions how this film has its fans but it has dropped off the radar and is rated only 2.1 (out of 10) at IMDb (it's 2.2 now, so 'someone' must have given it a great rating recently). MST3K is the probable culprit for this low rating - this can start a separate discussion on how film viewers are easily influenced by such shows, i.e. MST3K says the film is bad, so it must be bad is as far the thinking goes for many people.

The article in SCARY MONSTERS #73, however, calls the film "an unsung gem of the genre" - high praise indeed. It's intended for kids so if you were a kid when you first saw this...well. It has also been thought of as a 'junior league' THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (51). The article summarizes the plot and then analyzes its effectiveness & that of the kid actors - who weren't really actors.



The article also points out that Michel Ray plays the lead "Space Child" - Bud Brewster. By strange coincidence, I just watched most of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA recently (I've seen it many times, a long film). It was only during this latest screening that I realized that it was the same Michel Ray playing one of the Arab boys befriended by Lawrence. Anyway, there's an interview in the article with Ray, who left acting to become an Olympic skier for England and then married into the Heineken company.

There's then an interview with Johnny Crawford, the 2nd lead "Space Child" - Ken Brewster. He really liked the message of the film. Then a short interview with Peggy Webber, who played the mom of Ray's character. For fans of this film, this issue is a must. I will mention that Ray remembered more about LAWRENCE OF ARABIA than THE SPACE CHILDREN (he was older for the '62 film, surrounded by great actors). But he was provided with a TV version DVD of the film to reacquaint himself with it and went into a short time warp - he liked it more than E.T.