Invaders from Mars (1953)

A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.

Director:

William Cameron Menzies

Writer:

Richard Blake (screenplay)

Stars:

Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Helena Carter	...	Dr. Pat Blake
Arthur Franz	...	Dr. Stuart Kelston / Narrator
Jimmy Hunt	...	David MacLean
Leif Erickson	...	Mr. George MacLean
Hillary Brooke	...	Mrs. Mary MacLean
Morris Ankrum	...	Col. Fielding
Max Wagner	...	Sgt. Rinaldi
William Phipps	...	Sgt. Baker (as Bill Phipps)
Milburn Stone	...	Capt. Roth
Janine Perreau	...	Kathy Wilson

Storyline

One night, young David McLean sees a spaceship crash into a nearby sandpit. His father goes to investigate, but comes back changed. Where once he was cheerful and affectionate, he's now sullen and snarlingly rude. Others fall into the sandpit and begin acting like him: cold, ill-tempered and conspiratorial. David knows that aliens are taking over the bodies of humans, but he'll soon discover there have been far more of these terrible thefts than he could have imagined. The young doom-monger finds some serious help in a lady doctor and a brilliant astronomer. Soon they meet the aliens: green creatures with insect-like eyes. These beings prove to be slaves to their leader: a large, silent head with ceaselessly shifting eyes and two tentacles on either side, each of which branches off into three smaller tentacles. It's up to the redoubtable earth trio to stop its evil plans.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | martian | mind control | alien invasion | underground hideout | 

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Taglines:

Murderous Martian creatures from out of space!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Invaders

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$290,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edward L. Alperson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Supercinecolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The stock footage showing tanks being loaded onto train flatcars and driven before the camera were actually WW2 M10 tank destroyers and by the time of this movie were superseded during and after the war by newer models. You can tell them from actual tanks by the huge bolts on the hull (body) and turrets. Battle tanks are welded together with smooth bodies as also seen in the movie.

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Goofs

The same shot of a soldier manning a searchlight on a tower beside the side of a building is used in both the scene at the rocket base of the attempt to blow up the rocket, and (three times) in scenes in the field where the Martians landed: this latter use is particularly ridiculous because there is no such building as is seen behind the light tower in that location.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: The heavens. Once an object of superstition, awe, and fear. Now a vast region for growing knowledge. The distance of Venus, the atmosphere of Mars, the size of Jupiter, and the speed of Mercury. All this and more we know. But their greatest mystery the heavens have kept a secret. What sort of life, if any, inhabits these other planets? Human life, like ours? Or life extremely lower in the scale? Or dangerously higher? Seeking the answer to this timeless question, forever seeking, ...

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Alternate Versions

When released cinematically in 1953, there where two versions: one American and one European. In the American version Jimmy Hunt wakes up at the end, having dreamt it all. Then he hears a flying saucer land. In the slightly longer European version, the storyline is retained and the "nightmare/waking up-sequence" is cut. This version also adds a section in an observatory.

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Connections

Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: Invaders from Mars (1971)

User Reviews

And a Child Shall Lead Them...

Lots of positive and negative feedback for this film, and I can understand why. Whether we want to admit it or not, nostalgia does have an impact on how we view things. As someone between the two generations(early 30's at this time), I can understand how I have put special importance on things I watched as a child. I know that some of these films were not too good but they mean't a lot to me. I also know that I was the kind of person that watched older films and appreciated them if they were good, and watched newer films and appreciated them if they were good. The biggest problem with many younger viewers today is that they do not look at a film in a context of when it was made, nor do they look at the most important aspect of the film which is what message is the film trying to relate....NOT how does it look in relating its message. We as a society are too caught up with presentation and other superficial things that sometimes we ignore what the core of something is. Anyway...enough philosophizing. This film is a good film period. Yep, it is cheaply made. Yep, it is filled with lots of stock footage, particularly the battle scenes which take place at night but footage takes place during day. Yep, it has mediocre acting. I won't argue those point because they are accurate. But those are only a part of the film...and for this film at least a very small part. This film has style and substance. Director William Cameron Menzies WAS a great director. He directed the science fiction classic Things To Come in the 30's which was a visionary masterpiece. He made this film fun to watch as he incorporated German expressionistic sets into his small-town simple story of a boy that knows aliens have landed on Earth in his back yard. The young boy played by Jimmy Hunt does a fine job in his role. The messages the film relates, however, are for me at least the core of the film....watch out for the ordinary....listen to children.....conformity is dangerous. This film is saying so much...give it a chance without worrying about window-dressing! And a final note...Long Live Morris Ankrum in film...I like him in this movie!