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The War of the Worlds ()

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A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
  • Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.
  • See more »
Reviews:

Photos and Videos

146 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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Dr. Clayton Forrester
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Sylvia Van Buren
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Maj. Gen. Mann
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Dr. Pryor (as Bob Cornthwaite)
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Dr. Bilderbeck
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Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins
Houseley Stevenson Jr. ...
Gen. Mann's Aide (as Housely Stevenson Jr.)
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Second Radio Reporter / Opening Announcer
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Wash Perry (as Bill Phipps)
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Col. Ralph Heffner
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Cop at Crash Site
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Salvatore
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Commentary (voice) (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Pine Summit Fire Watcher (uncredited)
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Man (uncredited)
Hugh Allen ...
Brigadier General (uncredited)
Ruth Barnell ...
Mother (uncredited)
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Prof. McPherson (uncredited)
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Dr. Carmichael (uncredited)
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Alonzo Hogue (uncredited)
Oscar Blank ...
Man in Church (uncredited)
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Man in Church (uncredited)
Hazel Boyne ...
Screaming Woman (uncredited)
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Man in Church (uncredited)
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Soldier (uncredited)
Nora Bush ...
Woman in Church (uncredited)
Tony Butala ...
Boy in Final Church (uncredited)
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Burning Soldier at Pit (uncredited)
Dick Cherney ...
Looter (uncredited)
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Dr. Duprey (uncredited)
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Spanish Priest (uncredited)
James Conaty ...
Man at Pacific Institute of Science and Technology (uncredited)
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Rev. Bethany (uncredited)
Martin Coulter ...
Marine Sergeant (uncredited)
Vittorio Cramer ...
First Radio Reporter (uncredited)
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Frenchman (uncredited)
Oliver Cross ...
Scientist (uncredited)
Jane Crowley ...
Woman in Church (uncredited)
Jim Davies ...
Marine Commanding Officer (uncredited)
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Woman in Church (uncredited)
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Buck Monahan (uncredited)
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Civil Defense Official (uncredited)
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Police Chief (uncredited)
Dick Fortune ...
Marine Captain (uncredited)
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Dr. James (uncredited)
Frank Freeman Jr. ...
Bum #2 Listening to Radio (uncredited)
Slim Gaut ...
Radio Listener (uncredited)
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Martian (uncredited)
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Well-Dressed Looter (uncredited)
Jack Gordon ...
Man in Church (uncredited)
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Looter (uncredited)
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Looter (uncredited)
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Worker Listening to Radio (uncredited)
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Young Wife (uncredited)
Virginia Hall ...
Girl (uncredited)
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KGEB Reporter (uncredited)
Douglas Henderson ...
Staff Sergeant (uncredited)
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Elderly News Vendor (uncredited)
Tex Holden ...
Man in Church (uncredited)
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Party Guest (uncredited)
Patricia Iannone ...
Girl (uncredited)
Jerry James ...
Reporter (uncredited)
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Worker Listening to Radio (uncredited)
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Man in Church (uncredited)
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Blonde Party Guest (uncredited)
Don Kohler ...
Colonel (uncredited)
Frank Kreig ...
Fiddler Hawkins (uncredited)
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Dr. Gratzman (uncredited)
Freeman Lusk ...
Secretary of Defense (uncredited)
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Chief of Staff (uncredited)
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Official (uncredited)
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Traffic Cop (uncredited)
Mike Mahoney ...
Townsman (uncredited)
John Mansfield ...
Man (uncredited)
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Military Policeman in Jeep (uncredited)
Sydney Mason ...
Fire Chief, Crew #3 (uncredited)
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Doctor (uncredited)
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Man in Church (uncredited)
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Minister, First Church (uncredited)
William Meader ...
P.E. Official (uncredited)
Lee Miller ...
Reporter (uncredited)
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Los Angeles Red Cross Official (uncredited)
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Zippy (uncredited)
Rex Moore ...
Bum (uncredited)
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Injured Civil Defense Worker (uncredited)
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Worker Listening to Radio (uncredited)
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Military Officer (uncredited)
Stanley Orr ...
Marine Major (uncredited)
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Bum #1 Listening to Radio (uncredited)
Walter Richards ...
Reporter (uncredited)
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Forest Ranger at Crash Site (uncredited)
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Sheriff Bogany (uncredited)
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Air Force Bomber Pilot (uncredited)
Allen D. Sewall ...
Man in Church (uncredited)
Lucile Sewall ...
Woman in Church (uncredited)
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Old Woman (uncredited)
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Looter (uncredited)
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Japanese Diplomat (uncredited)
Reginald Lal Singh ...
Military Officer (uncredited)
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Deputy at Crash Site (uncredited)
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Man in Church (uncredited)
Charles Stewart ...
Marine Captain (uncredited)
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Looter (uncredited)
Gus Taillon ...
Elderly Man (uncredited)
Morton C. Thompson ...
Reporter (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey ...
Party Guest (uncredited)
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Looter (uncredited)
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Elderly Woman at Square Dance (uncredited)
Edward Wahrman ...
Cameraman (uncredited)
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Military Police Driver (uncredited)
Bob Whitney ...
Military Officer (uncredited)
Chalky Williams ...
Worker Listening to Radio (uncredited)
Waldon Williams ...
Boy (uncredited)
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Rescuing Civil Defense Worker (uncredited)
Fred Zendar ...
Marine Lieutenant (uncredited)

Directed by

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Byron Haskin

Written by

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H.G. Wells ... (based on the novel by)
 
Barré Lyndon ... (screenplay by)

Produced by

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Cecil B. DeMille ... executive producer (uncredited)
Frank Freeman Jr. ... associate producer
George Pal ... producer (produced by)

Music by

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Leith Stevens ... (music score)

Cinematography by

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George Barnes ... director of photography

Editing by

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Everett Douglas ... (edited by)

Art Direction by

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Albert Nozaki ... (art direction)
Hal Pereira ... (art direction)

Set Decoration by

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Sam Comer ... (set decoration)
Emile Kuri ... (set decoration)

Costume Design by

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Edith Head ... (costumes)

Makeup Department

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Wally Westmore ... makeup supervisor

Production Management

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Frank Caffey ... production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Michael D. Moore ... assistant director

Art Department

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Chesley Bonestell ... astronomical art
Romaine Birkmeyer ... props (uncredited)
Ivyl Burks ... props (uncredited)
Gordon Cole ... property master (uncredited)
Charles Davies ... props (uncredited)
Gene Lauritzen ... construction coordinator (uncredited)
Milt Olson ... props (uncredited)
Lee Vasque ... props (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Ben Burtt ... sound remix (2018 restoration)
Gene Garvin ... sound recordist
Harry Lindgren ... sound recordist
William M. Andrews ... sound editor (uncredited)
Howard Beals ... sound effects (uncredited)
Dan Johnson ... sound effects (uncredited)
Tommy Middleton ... sound effects (uncredited)
Lovell Norman ... sound editor (uncredited)
Walter Oberst ... sound effects (uncredited)
Loren L. Ryder ... sound director (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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Chester Pate ... special effects (uncredited)
Bob Springfield ... special effects (uncredited)
Ken Strickfaden ... special effects electrician (uncredited)
A. Edward Sutherland ... special effects (uncredited)
Barney Wolff ... special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by

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Ivyl Burks ... special photographic effects
Jan Domela ... special photographic effects
Gordon Jennings ... special photographic effects
W. Wallace Kelley ... special photographic effects (as Wallace Kelley)
Paul K. Lerpae ... special photographic effects (as Paul Lerpae)
Irmin Roberts ... special photographic effects
Jack Caldwell ... special optical effects (uncredited)
Marcel Delgado ... miniatures (uncredited)
Jan Domela ... matte artist (uncredited)
Farciot Edouart ... process photography (uncredited)
Walter Hoffman ... special visual effects: a-bomb sequence (uncredited)
Aubrey Law ... special optical effects (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser ... visual effects camera operator: Technicolor (uncredited)

Stunts

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Mushy Callahan ... stunts (uncredited)
Jimmie Dundee ... stunts (uncredited)
Fred Graham ... stunts (uncredited)
Joe Gray ... stunts (uncredited)
George Magrill ... stunts (uncredited)
Bob Morgan ... stunts (uncredited)
David Sharpe ... stunts (uncredited)
Bobby Somers ... stunts (uncredited)
Jack Stoney ... stunts (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel ... stunts (uncredited)
Bud Wolfe ... stunts (uncredited)
Fred Zendar ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Soldier Graham ... chief gaffer (uncredited)
Murray Young ... key grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Charles Gemora ... costume maker: Martian costumes (uncredited)
Diana Gemora ... costume maker: Martian costume (uncredited)

Music Department

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George Parrish ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Monroe W. Burbank ... technicolor color consultant
Chesley Bonestell ... technical advisor (uncredited)
Gae Griffith ... assistant to producer (uncredited)
Robert S. Richardson ... technical advisor (uncredited)
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

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

Plot Keywords
Taglines Amazing! terrifying! The most savage spectacle of all time! See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • La guerra de los mundos (United States, Spanish title)
  • H.G. Wells' the War of the Worlds (World-wide, English title)
  • La Guerre des mondes (France)
  • Kampf der Welten (Germany)
  • La guerra dels mons (Spain, Catalan title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 87 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $2,000,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia The estate of H.G. Wells was so pleased with the final production that it offered George Pal his choice of any other of Wells' properties. Pal chose The Time Machine (1960). See more »
Goofs Modern viewers often complain that the wires used to suspend the Martian war machines are plainly visible throughout the film. The film was originally shot in three strip Technicolor, with prints made using a dye transfer process that resulted in very saturated colors, but with a slight reduction in overall resolution. This reduction in resolution "fuzzed out" the wires in original prints, making them effectively invisible. Later prints were made in Eastman Color, which uses a photographic process and yields sharper prints, but here had the side effect of making the support and electric wires plainly visible - the models had electrical wires as the side pods of the machines really lit up green and the "cobra heads" lit up as well. It is common practice in the film industry to take into account what details will be visible when a print is projected so as not to waste production time and money on details that will never actually be visible to a viewing audience, especially in the areas of effects and matte paintings. Thus, the filmmakers never thought the wires would be visible and in fact they weren't until the first Eastman Color prints of the film were struck in the late 1960s, and they had become even more visible on modern video releases as there is no dye sublimation resolution loss when making video masters from the original negatives. In the 2018 restoration this was resolved using digital technology. See more »
Movie Connections Edited from When Worlds Collide (1951). See more »
Soundtracks Paramount on Parade See more »
Quotes [last lines]
Commentary: [voiceover] The Martians had no resistance to the bacteria in our atmosphere to which we have long since become immune. Once they had breathed our air, germs, which no longer affect us, began to kill them. The end came swiftly. All over the world, their machines began to stop and fall. After all that men could do had failed, the Martians were destroyed and humanity was saved by the littlest things, which God, in His wisdom, had put upon this Earth.
See more »
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