The Day of the Triffids (1962)

Director:

Steve Sekely

Writers (WGA):

John Wyndham (novel)
Bernard Gordon (screenplay) (front Philip Yordan)

Release Date:

27 April 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Spine Chilling Terror

Plot:

A shower of meteorites produces a glow that blinds anyone that looks at it. As it was such a beautiful sight...

Plot Keywords:

Plant | Meteor Shower | Meteor | Monster | Monster Plant

Cast

Howard Keel	...	Bill Masen
Nicole Maurey	...	Christine Durrant
Janette Scott	...	Karen Goodwin
Kieron Moore	...	Tom Goodwin
Mervyn Johns	...	Mr. Coker
Ewan Roberts	...	Dr. Soames
Alison Leggatt	...	Miss Coker
Geoffrey Matthews	...	Luis de la Vega
Janina Faye	...	Susan - Child on the Train
Gilgi Hauser	...	Teresa de la Vega
John Tate	...	Captain, SS Midland
Carole Ann Ford	...	Bettina (as Carol Ann Ford)
Arthur Gross	...	Flight 356 Radioman
Colette Wilde	...	Nurse Jamieson (as Collette Wilde)
Ian Wilson	...	Greenhouse Watchman

Also Known As:

Invasion of the Triffids (International: English title)
Revolt of the Triffids (International: English title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #21227) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Alicante, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Security Pictures Ltd.

Trivia:

Although credited with "additional music", composer Johnny Douglas actually supplied more music than the main composer, Ron Goodwin. According to the official music cue sheets, Douglas wrote 26 mins, Goodwin 19 minutes

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the security guard is killed, you can see the triffid moving towards him on wheels. They are clearly visible for a couple of seconds

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: [narrating voice over] In nature's scheme of things, there are certain plants which are carnivorous, or eating plants. The Venus Fly Trap is one of the best known of these plants. A fly drawn to the plant by its sweet syrup, brushes against triggered bristles. Just how these plants digest their pray has yet to be explained. There is much still to learn about these fascinating eating plants. This is a newcomer: Triffidus Celestus, brought to earth on the meteorite during the Day of the Triffids.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Brilliant and inventive sci-fi kitsch

Day of the Triffids is a delightful sci-fi horror movie from the sixties, and it will be a sure-fire hit with fans of this sort of cinema. The film stands halfway between a serious disaster movie (although it's definitely one that is much more ingenious than most actual disaster movies) and a silly B-movie complete with absolutely ridiculous monsters. Some viewers will most probably be deterred by the second side of the movie - but not me! I found the ridiculous monsters to be an absolute treat, and although the film is certainly messy; on the whole I think it came together rather well. Certainly no worse than you'd expect from this sort of movie. The film follows the story of a meteorite shower that beings down a new species of plant - the man-eating triffid! And, not only that, but the glare of the shower has blinded almost the entire population of the world; which is bound to lead only to trouble. Right from the word go, you know that you're in for a cool piece of kitsch as the voice-over introduces the new species of plant and the film keeps this atmosphere going throughout.

While many viewers will be put off by the silly special effects, the only thing that annoyed me about this is the pacing of the plot. The first fifty minutes at least are highly inventive and very involving so the running time just slips by as you lose yourself in the camp classic that you're watching. However, as we approach the hour mark, the plot slows down to walking pace, and although the inventiveness is still there; it never reaches the highs of the first half of the movie, which featured excellent flashes of brilliance as we see panic on an aeroplane as the pilot is blinded, trains crashing and the hapless, now blind, population of the UK trying to make their way through London station. Howard Keel makes a fine leading man, especially for a film like this. He has an almost cheesy aura surrounding him, and this helps the unintentional humour side of the movie when it's mixed with the rather awful and very corny script that the film works on. On the whole, while this movie won't do anything for fans of artistic and serious cinema, if you like to have fun with your film viewings; this one is recommended.