A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
Director:
Byron Haskin
From metacritic.com
Alan Ruck draws connections between his breakout role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and his recent work on the Emmy-nominated "Succession."
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Title: The War of the Worlds (1953)
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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) | |
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 »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
26 August 1953 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The War of the Worlds See more »Filming Locations:
Westminster Presbyterian Church - 1757 North Lake Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$2,000,000 (estimated)Company 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 Zip Wilson
Performed by Zip Wilson
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The paintings seen in the beginning of the film were done by Chesley Bonestell, whose art hangs in the National Air & Space Museum. Bonestell also helped design the Golden Gate Bridge and the Chrysler Building. See more »Goofs
After the army retreat from the first major Martian attack, Forester and Sylvia are running and find a plane in which they escape. When they enter the aircraft, Sylvia is carrying a purse that she didn't have anywhere else, before or afterward, in the film. 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 »
Alternate Versions
As of 2018, a 4K ultra high resolution edition has been made available on streaming services such as iTunes. This version features new replacements for many of the film's original sound effects, with the jarring result that the sound effects have fidelity far above that of surrounding dialogue in the film. See more »Soundtracks
Flop-Eared Mule (Without Calls)(uncredited)
Written by Zip Wilson
Performed by Zip Wilson
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
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OK, it's not an adaptation of the H.G. Wells book. If it's supposed to be, it's horrendous...BUT taken as a sci-fi film from the 50s, it's tremedous. The dialogue is corny and the acting is beyond belief (did anyone tell Gene Barry not to move a muscle in his face?), but the special effects are incredible. Some are pretty obvious (love it when the spaceship crashes into what is obviously a paper mache building!) but the majority of them stand up even today. I had the good luck to see a newly struck print and the color was superb and I've never seen the film look so good! This movie scared the hell out of me as a kid...as an adult it doesn't (of course) but it's still a heck of a lot of fun! This is 20 times better than that piece of crap "Independence Day". "ID" had cardboard characters, REALLY stupid dialogue (much worse than this movie) and stunning gaps of logic (Will Smith learning in 3 seconds how to fly an alien spacecraft; A COMPUTER VIRUS??????). This one doesn't. A true classic. See it!!!