Customer Reviews

Outer Limits: Mice [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Outer Limits: The Mice," starring Henry Silva and Diana Sands, 1963. I bought this video because I have had a life-long "crush" on Henry Silva. I think he is one of the best actors in the world, and in this video, one can see he really loves acting. He has fun with his roles. Consider that this was made in 1963 and have fun with it. Mr. Silva plays convict Chino Rivera who exchanges his "life in prison" sentence to be a guinea pig for a scientific experiment which is an exchange of inhabitants between earth and a planet named Chromo. The "alien" (Chromoite, who is one hungry dude!) will make you laugh, so remember it's T. V. and it's 1963! And is he REALLY a "bad guy" in this episode? Watch and see! For those of you who think of Henry Silva as a "character actor who plays bad guys," you can see by his acting in this role that he can play anything. I enjoyed watching his every move. Of course, I think he's gorgeous!

The Outer Limits: The Mice is one of the best acted and best written episodes I've ever seen of this series. Henry Silva gives a 5-star performance as Chino Rivera, the convict who chooses to participate in this "Alien-Exchange Progam", and plays the part of the manipulative yet sympathetic criminal with great realism. Diana Sands is excellant as a sympathetic scientist trying to help Siva's charachter, and the Chromoite is one of the coolest aliens ever to grace The Outer Limits. And the end message is as stunning as it is simplistic... all they had to do was ask for help.
A definate must buy for Sci-Fi fans.

"In dreams, some of us walk the stars. In dreams, some of us ride the whelming brine of space, where every port is a shining one, and none are beyond our reach. Some of us, in dreams, cannot reach beyond the walls of our own little sleep." In a prison, a murderer volunteers for a dangerous experiment. An alien scientist from planet Chromo is teleported on Earth and soon the convict will be sent out there. Forget the storyline and focus on the characters. Henry Silva, from "Tourist Attraction", is jumpy Chino Rivera, for instance : in the scene where Chino, scared to death by the Chromoite, runs in a hurry. We can see a long dolly shot made with a hand-held camera and we can hear a military music to emphasize the tension. Michael Higgins is dead-serious scientist Dr. Thomas Kellander : especially, after the alien's very violent murder in the lake, he speaks of Chino to Julia while watching a shoe : "A disease that walks like a man...". Diane Sands is frightened Dr. Julia Harrison (and a small part by Dabney Coleman). I like the friendly dialogues between Julia and Chino, when they talk about Chromo's food : "I'd better bring a couple of hero sandwiches with me." And when they talk about the horror of the Chromoite : "Everybody looks like a monster to somebody." The cinematography is dark and effective due to Conrad Hall's tough hand held camera shots. One of the best chiaroscuro shot is when Chino is reading near the mice' cages. The very science-fiction music blends with O.B.I.T.'s haunting sound effects is okay. The Chromoite alien is evil (in the teleportation scene when it turns insane and agressive and destroys everything) and repulsive-enough (the way it eats) to watch the show. This monster is re-used, in part, later, for The Guests. One more thing, I like Robert Johnson's distorted Chromo transmission voice ("Transmission point Chromo. Subject stable. Sequence commences. Initiate systems... Transmission accomplishes.") A "who is really the killer ?" episode with great artistry and a fast-paced/action-packed orientation, directed by "The Mutant" Alan Crosland, Jr. and written by Joseph Stefano. "Hunger, frightens and hurts, and it has many faces, and every man must sometimes face the terror of one of them. Wouldn't it seem that a misery known and understood by all men would lead Man not to deception and murder, but to faith, and hope, and love ?"

While the story isn't one of the series' best, the casting of Diana Sands and Henry Silva was revolutionary for its time. Sands, an African-American classically trained actress, and Silva, an actor known for playing a variety of "ethnic types", were able to enrich a television landscape that, at the time, was mostly devoid of "color". The parts that they played were not stereotypical and could've easily been portrayed by more "mainstream" performers.

Thankfully, the producers of "The Outer Limits" looked beyond the outward appearance and hired two actors that brought depth and pathos to their respective roles.

"The Mice" belongs in a time capsule of television taking a chance...and succeeding.

Henry Silva and Diana Sands are the only reasons to watch this thinly-spread sandwich. This is one of those OL stories that would have been fine, if it had more time to develop during the writing phase, a better budget, and a better monster. But...it didn't.

Actually, The Mice is great until the arrival of the gloppy alien. The first acts are well-written and interesting, suspenseful and a little unsettling. The story idea itself is wonderful. It just doesn't hold together over the space of the hour - any more than its far-too-much-seen Jello Monster. The entire last act is so padded with repeat viewings of the same stock footage chase sequence, and unnecessary and illogical fights and killings - not to mention a pretty crummy musical score - that you'll kill the time waiting for something pertinent to happen by seeking the zipper on the monster suit.

Silva is wonderful, however, but then he always is. And Diana Sands is rather compelling.

Earth scientists have been in contact with counterparts on the planet Chromo and they have perfected a teleportation device with one portal on each planet. Mice and inanimate objects have been transferred between the two planets and now they are about to perform an exchange, where one member of each species is sent to the other planet.
The lead scientist on Earth goes to a prison to look for a volunteer for the transfer and convict Chino Rivera volunteers, although his real goal is to escape. He is serving a life sentence for murder and even if the transfer between planets is successful, there is no guarantee that he will benefit.
A Chromite has already made the journey and is wandering around unescorted on the laboratory grounds. It throws something into the pond that leads to the growth of a living thing and one of the scientists discovers the growth and finds a way to kill it. This leads to his being attacked by the Chromite. While the Chromites professed friendship, there is an ulterior motive in their actions.
The worst part of this episode is the wandering of the Chromite unescorted around the facility. There are armed security guards all around the grounds, yet the Chromite is free to do what it wants. This would not happen and there is no attempt to debrief the Chromite to learn more about their society, physiology and planet. The scientists have in their possession one of the greatest opportunities for scientific study and they allow it to wander around engaging in nefarious mischief. The problem with many "human meets alien" situations is the paranoia expressed by humans. In this episode the problem is the lack of curiosity and paranoia.

In this episode, a prisoner (Henry Silva) is chosen by earthmen to be the first man teleported to the planet Chromo, using Chromoite technology. In exchange, one of the Chromoites is sent to earth. The plot holes and idiocies make the episode unwatchable, despite strong performances by Henry Silva and Diana Sands.

Why is a prisoner chosen to be the first man to visit the alien planet? We are told it's "too risky" to send anyone but a volunteer. But... Other men jump at the chance for risky missions, like space flight or test-piloting new jets. The first man to set foot on Chromo would be not just a guinea pig, but an ambassador, an emissary, the representative of all that is good in human beings. Sending a prisoner makes no sense. Yes, yes, cultures exchange prisoners all the time, but usually it's to get their own people back, and not as a "first contact" scenario.

And why is the Chromoite allowed to wander about freely, wreaking havoc and murdering and seeding one of our lakes with alien spores? Even if he's not accompanied by guards, one would suspect he would be accompanied by scientists or journalists or politicians who want to find out all about the alien and his planet.

Despite excellent casting, the script just didn't make sense.