How Jeff Morrow worked to understand his character in This Island Earth (1955)
"Can’t we do something about it?"
Though a talented actor, Jeff Morrow struggled during the beginning of production for the 1955 film This Island Earth. The actor played Exeter, an alien from Metaluna. Though initially a foe, Exeter becomes a friend to the film’s protagonists, played by Faith Domergue and Rex Reason.
According to Universal Terrors, written by Tom Weaver, David Schecter, and Robert J. Kiss, Morrow took issue with the script’s depiction of Exeter, which he called two-dimensional.
“You had no idea why Exeter was doing any of this stuff, except that we was an ornery character,” said Morrow.
The actor appealed in an attempt to flesh his character out, eventually convincing “I told them, ‘I’m interested in doing it, but he’s such a heavy. Can’t we do something about it - show that he is, let’s say, the epitome of a true scientist, and really concerned about the effect of what he does upon the world?’ So we talked for about an hour, and there was a sort of general agreement that it wasn’t a bad idea.”
After this development, Morrow said that he was thanked by one of the film’s writers, Frank Coen.
“When we walked down the street to the parking lot, Frank Coen said, ‘I’m so glad you were there, because I’ve been trying to sell them on that concept for a month!’” said the actor.
With Coen's support, Exeter was able to become a fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional character. It was a role that Morrow was proud of taking on.
Related
