It! The Terror from Beyond Space

This was the planet Mars

as my crew and I first saw it.

Dangerous,

treacherous...

Alive with something we came to know only as...

Death.

This is what we faced when our spaceship

cracked up in landing just six months ago...

In January of this year, 1973.

But it seems as if six centuries passed

before a rescue ship arrived...

For today, of all my crew,

I, col. Edward Carruthers

of the United States space command,

am the only one alive.

Now, I will be going back to face my superiors on Earth

in Washington.

And perhaps there, too,

I will find another kind of death.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press,

as you know, the first attempt

to send a spaceship to the planet Mars

was made 6 months ago.

We knew that that ship,

the Challenge 141, had reached its destination.

But that's all we knew.

Teleradio communication with Mars ceased immediately.

And we were forced to assume

that the ship and crew had been lost.

The man in charge of this expedition

was a man who had become known to the world

as the first man to be shot into space.

The man who pioneered interplanetary space travel.

Col. Edward Carruthers.

2 months ago, we sent a second ship to Mars

to learn the fate of col. Carruthers and his crew.

The president has asked me to pass on to you

this significant news.

Col. Edward Carruthers has been found alive on Mars.

But there is a tragic side to this history-making event.

Col. Carruthers was the sole survivor

of this first expedition.

1 hour ago, we received a teleradio communication

from col. Van Heusen,

commander of the second spaceship.

This ship is now ready to take off

for its return trip to the Earth from Mars.

And col. Carruthers is being brought back

for a court-martial

to face trial for the murders of the rest of the crew.

The rescue ship is ready to return to Earth.

I am to spend the next 4 months with strangers,

a crew of men and women who have

but one single purpose...

To see that I face a military firing squad.

The emergency air lock in C compartment

has been left open. What gives?

Sorry, sir, that was me.

I was dumping some empty crates overboard a while ago.

Name check.

Eric Royce, secure.

Mary Royce, secure.

Ann Anderson, secure.

Maj. John Purdue,

secure.

Bob Finelli, secure.

Lt. James Calder, secure.

All right! Countdown.

Minus 10, 9,

8, 7,

6, 5, 4,

3, 2,

1!

Carruthers?

Carruthers?

What are you thinking about?

Those 9 bodies you left down there?

Yes.

But I didn't kill them.

Still sticking to your story about a mysterious creature.

Do you expect a court-martial to believe it?

It's all I can tell them.

I wish we could've stayed and searched for the bodies.

However, there's still enough evidence

to put you in front of a firing squad.

You honestly believe I'd murder 9 of my closest friends

in order to survive on Mars?

Isn't it logical, colonel?

The Challenge 141 cracks up in landing.

You know you're marooned indefinitely

on Mars until another ship is sent.

If another ship is sent.

You know the food and supplies aboard

would last the entire crew only a year,

but they'd last you 10 years, if the others were dead.

Those people were killed by something.

Not me.

I want to show you another something, Carruthers.

After you.

At least I appreciate the freedom of a ship.

Why not? Can you think of a better prison?

Aren't you afraid I'll murder you all in your sleep?

Either It. Calder or myself will be with you

every second of the trip.

Take a look at this.

We brought the dental records of the first crew from Earth.

This is Frank Kenner.

Kenner?

We found it near the Challenge 141,

the day after we found you.

There's only one kind of a monster that uses bullets.

The second we hit Earth,

I'm gonna jump through that air lock

all the way to the ground.

Then I'm gonna roll around and stretch like a cat in the sun.

Oh, boy, the sun.

We'll be 50 million miles closer to it.

Even when I was a kid, I could never stand being cold.

How'd you ever win the Ardmore fellowship

in low temperature physics?

I wore long underwear. Ha ha ha.

Aah. That figures.

What do you look forward to?

Girls!

Oh, you!

I think I remember, a fascinating research.

Won't a geologist do?

You're, uh, military property, Ann.

Occupied territory.

Every time Van sees you, he floats,

even though the ship is equipped

with artificial gravity.

These days, Van seems more concerned over a manhunt,

than a woman hunt.

It's just that Eric believes Carruthers' story, I don't.

I don't believe it, necessarily.

Nor do I disbelieve it.

However, one thing's sure: He does believe it.

He had to force himself to believe it or he'd go insane.

And I didn't do that, did I?

Missed your dinner, col. Carruthers.

I'm tired of ruining appetites.

I'd just like a coffee, if I may, miss Anderson.

Of course, colonel.

Better stay here, Carruthers.

Jimmy?

Yeah.

Here's some last-minute computations

on adjusting the orbit.

Look 'em over when you get a chance.

Yes, sir.

By the time we reach Earth,

I'll have his confession on tape.

Col. Carruthers!

Thank you.

Such a cold, desolate world. We saw so little of it.

Sometimes I almost want to believe you.

I killed them or I didn't. It was me or something.

I've only heard the story through Van.

Now you'd like to hear my version?

All right.

It's a long story, but I'll make it brief.

We were all outside the ship,

exploring the southern tip of Syrtis Major,

suddenly a sandstorm came up and we started back.

I was driving the jeep.

The sand was so thick we could barely see.

We were almost back to the ship when...

Cartwright just disappeared.

One minute he was there and the next minute he was gone.

As if something had just plucked him out of the jeep

like... candy out of a box.

We heard a weird sort of sound.

Then we thought we saw a dark shape

running near the jeep and started shooting at it.

A few moments later,

Kenner and all the rest were gone.

I was the only one who made it back to the ship.

When the sandstorm quit, I...

went out and searched all over.

There wasn't a sign of them.

How can you explain the bullet hole in the skull?

We were all shooting at this thing...

Maybe the one who got the bullet was lucky.

You don't believe me, do you?

I don't disbelieve you.

How about you, lieutenant?

Mars is almost as big as Texas,

maybe it's got monsters.

Carruthers is still talking about his monsters?

Why don't you stop baiting him, Van?

You're not using your authority very well.

I'm not doing it for kicks. Believe me, chicken.

I'm just playing the odds.

Your odds, because you think he's guilty.

Admitted.

But, Anne, there's a time factor involved here.

He's unstable right now.

If I crack his story, I can turn him over

to the court-martial tied up in a little pink ribbon.