A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
Director:
Byron Haskin
Popularity
4,328
( 1,199)
Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt wrack their brains to answer questions using only titles from their own movie and TV credits.
Related News
-
First Look at BBC’s “War of the Worlds” Adaptation; “Collision of Sci-fi, Drama & Horror”
09 April 2018 | Bloody-Disgusting.com -
First Look at BBC's Series Adaptation of H.G. Wells' War Of The Worlds
06 April 2018 | GeekTyrant -
Jay Pharoah joins Lily Newmark, Katherine Parkinson in 'How To Sell A War' (exclusive)
06 April 2018 | ScreenDaily
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The War of the Worlds (1953)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
Drama
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
Robert Wise
Stars:
Michael Rennie,
Patricia Neal,
Hugh Marlowe
Forbidden Planet
(1956)
Action
|
Adventure
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
Fred M. Wilcox
Stars:
Walter Pidgeon,
Anne Francis,
Leslie Nielsen
The Time Machine
(1960)
Adventure
|
Romance
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
George Pal
Stars:
Rod Taylor,
Alan Young,
Yvette Mimieux
Them!
(1954)
Horror
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
Gordon Douglas
Stars:
James Whitmore,
Edmund Gwenn,
Joan Weldon
Drama
|
Horror
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
Don Siegel
Stars:
Kevin McCarthy,
Dana Wynter,
Larry Gates
The Thing from Another World
(1951)
Horror
|
Sci-Fi
Directors:
Christian Nyby,
Howard Hawks
Stars:
Kenneth Tobey,
Margaret Sheridan,
James Arness
The Blob
(1958)
Horror
|
Sci-Fi
Directors:
Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.,
Russell S. Doughten Jr.
Stars:
Steve McQueen,
Aneta Corsaut,
Earl Rowe
When Worlds Collide
(1951)
Action
|
Sci-Fi
|
Thriller
Director:
Rudolph Maté
Stars:
Richard Derr,
Barbara Rush,
Peter Hansen
The Omega Man
(1971)
Certificate: GP
Action
|
Sci-Fi
|
Thriller
Director:
Boris Sagal
Stars:
Charlton Heston,
Anthony Zerbe,
Rosalind Cash
It Came from Outer Space
(1953)
Horror
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
Jack Arnold
Stars:
Richard Carlson,
Barbara Rush,
Charles Drake
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
(1956)
Action
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
Fred F. Sears
Stars:
Hugh Marlowe,
Joan Taylor,
Donald Curtis
This Island Earth
(1955)
Horror
|
Mystery
|
Sci-Fi
Director:
Joseph M. Newman
Stars:
Jeff Morrow,
Faith Domergue,
Rex Reason
Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Gene Barry | ... | Dr. Clayton Forrester | |
| Ann Robinson | ... | Sylvia Van Buren | |
| Les Tremayne | ... | Maj. Gen. Mann | |
| Robert Cornthwaite | ... | Dr. Pryor (as Bob Cornthwaite) | |
 |
Sandro Giglio | ... | Dr. Bilderbeck |
|
|
Lewis Martin | ... | Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins |
|
|
Houseley Stevenson Jr. | ... | Gen. Mann's Aide (as Housely Stevenson Jr.) |
| Paul Frees | ... | Second Radio Reporter / Opening Announcer | |
| William Phipps | ... | Wash Perry (as Bill Phipps) | |
|
|
Vernon Rich | ... | Col. Ralph Heffner |
| Henry Brandon | ... | Cop at Crash Site | |
| Jack Kruschen | ... | Salvatore | |
| Cedric Hardwicke | ... | Commentary (voice) (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke) | |
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Cliff Clark | ... | Australian Policeman (scenes deleted) | |
|
|
Rudy Lee | ... | Boy (scenes deleted) |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
H.G. Wells' classic novel is brought to life in this tale of alien invasion. The residents of a small town in California are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills. Their joy is tempered somewhat when they discover that it has passengers who are not very friendly. Written by KC Hunt <khunt@eng.morgan.edu>
Taglines:
Amazing! terrifying! The most savage spectacle of all time! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
26 August 1953 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Kampf der Welten See more »Filming Locations:
Westminster Presbyterian Church - 1757 North Lake Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$2,000,000 (estimated)Gross USA:
$4,360,000Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (5.0) (L-R)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
Edit
Radio Reporter: [voiceover] In the First World War, and for the first time in the history of man, nations combined to fight against nations using the crude weapons of those days. The Second World War involved every continent on the globe, and men turned to science for new devices of warfare, which reached an unparalleled peak in their capacity for destruction. And now, fought with the terrible weapons of super-science, menacing all mankind and every creature on the Earth comes the War of the Worlds.
See more »
(uncredited)
Written by Elsie Janis and Jack King
Played over the opening logo
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Bob Hope appears in the film, not as an actor, but his name is on a large, red billboard seen after one of the churches visited by Dr. Clayton Forrester. See more »Goofs
When the scientists are about to project an image using the Martian lens, there are two separate shadows from the boom and mike. As soon as the projector screen is pulled down there is a shadow from the boom that goes across the entire screen. At that same moment, the shadow from the mike can be seen on the wall to the left of the projector screen. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Radio Reporter: [voiceover] In the First World War, and for the first time in the history of man, nations combined to fight against nations using the crude weapons of those days. The Second World War involved every continent on the globe, and men turned to science for new devices of warfare, which reached an unparalleled peak in their capacity for destruction. And now, fought with the terrible weapons of super-science, menacing all mankind and every creature on the Earth comes the War of the Worlds.
See more »
Soundtracks
Paramount on Parade(uncredited)
Written by Elsie Janis and Jack King
Played over the opening logo
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
See more »Contribute to This Page
Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.
Cheesy, Yes! But...
Probably the creepiest and most horrifying scenes in Filmdom was when the Martian crept up behind our heroine and clamped its tarsier-like fingers on her shoulder.
She freaked, but not immediately. She paused. Reacted to that touch. Slowly turned her head around and LOOKED at the offending appendages.
This entire moment of horror and violation took about four to six seconds.
Her mind - finally - comprehended it. IT had touched her.
Then she lost it.
One of the best screams in film history. Great acting and just overwhelming.
For that one scene, I love this movie. Creepy as hell!