More horror than science fiction, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was an early effort from director Don Siegel (and his own personal favorite), shot in 23 days from March 23 to April 27, 1955. Proving that no makeup or special effects are needed to terrify an audience, Siegel masterfully lays out an effective small town atmosphere, where everyone knows their neighbors, then proceeds to turn that peaceful idyll upside down as the populace inexplicably transform into something cold, unfeeling, and heartless. What could be scarier than the monsters that exist inside each of us, and what results when they are unleashed upon an unsuspecting public? Kevin McCarthy was no stranger to movies, only a half dozen to his credit at the time, but came to relish being remembered as Dr. Miles Bennell, who cuts short a medical conference to return to his office in (fictional) Santa Mira for what he assumed were multiple patients in need of urgent treatment. One by one they cancel their appointments, even Wilma Lentz (Virginia Christine), after complaining that her uncle wasn't her uncle, despite having the same identical features and memories that he does. Miles is a divorcee, rather uncommon for a 50s feature, and enjoys the opportunity to reignite with old flame Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter), but romance cannot take precedence over a sudden call from Jack Belicec (King Donovan) to examine a body on his pool table, seemingly unfinished right down to the lack of fingerprints. Jack's wife Teddy (Carolyn Jones) has reason to panic when her husband's hand cut is reproduced on the same hand as the unliving corpse, but it vanishes before night's end. Once Miles has a premonition that Becky's in danger he rushes over to her father's home to discover a replica of her forming in the basement, promptly removing her to prevent a 'peaceful' takeover. In less than a month giant seed pods from another world landed in a farmer's field, able to duplicate any living creature nearby, and now the 'pod people' control the police, politicians, and phone lines of Santa Mira, with only Miles and Becky left to fight for humanity's survival, unable to differentiate between friend or foe. Siegel admitted knowing a great many 'pod people' in the Hollywood studio system, taking things for granted and failing to display a love for life as they drudge from one day to the next. Among the small parts essayed by its extensive cast is that of the meter reader first seen in Miles' basement, as Siegel's assistant Sam Peckinpah played a major role in punching up Daniel Mainwaring's script, adapted from Jack Finney's 1954 serial publication "The Body Snatchers" (various titles floated around during shooting: "They Came from Another World," "Evil in the Night," "World in Danger," "Better Off Dead" and the director's preferred choice "Sleep No More"). Everyone connected with the film and even original author Jack Finney dismissed any political allegory, three remakes so far and countless imitations, and undisputed classic.