It Came From Outer Space (1953)

A writer and astronomy buff (Richard Carlson) and his girlfriend (Barbara Rush) are enjoying a quiet evening in the Arizona desert when they see what appears to be a meteor crash nearby. When they investigate, he discovers it's not a meteor but some kind of space vehicle ..... and it's inhabited! Based on an unpublished short story by Ray Bradbury, this is a persuasive piece of sci-fi pulp directed by with flair by Jack Arnold. The characters are pretty stock and it's not the kind of film where the acting matters much but with the exception of Charles Drake who overdoes the dumb lawman bit, the rest of the cast plays it straight. Though I watched a "flat" print of the film, it was originally released in 3D and even in a flat transfer, one can see how effective it might have been in 3D. Clifford Stine's images are carefully composed to maximize the 3D effect, a lot of the desert scenes were actually shot on a soundstage.  The stereophonic sound is directional and very good. With Russell Johnson, Kathleen Hughes and Joe Sawyer.