Invasion of the Body Snatchers

In the 1950s, The American cinema produced a sequence of science fiction films that generally revolved around and reflected significant political, cultural and social concerning plots. These films presented incredible events that usually were the result of nuclear radiation, alien invasions, mutation, and body snatching influences. In addition to the film plots, special effects were added to complete the cinematic experience. The film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, suggested an "individual's unimportance in a complex, modern world." Beneath the unimportance was the political concern of conformity and loss of individuality among the residents of Santa Mira, California. Invasion of the Body Snatchers illustrates the difference between America's collision of Individualism and the collective culture of conformity. Although Invasion of the Body Snatchers did not intend to become an allegory of political work according to director Don Siegel, it is evident that through specific instances, the film became a symbolic contrast of individualism and collectivism.

The office scene between protagonist, Miles Bennell played by Kevin McCarthy and former girlfriend Becky Driscoll played by Dana Wynter occurs as they are escaping the pod people, launching the chase sequence. As Miles and Becky hide themselves in a doctor's office, Miles goes into a moralistic speech about the pod people. In this instance, the pod ideology is revealed and ultimate goal of conformity is discovered; to convert the residents of Santa Mira for a collective, classless, Communist-like society as well as to promote the purpose to suppress individuality, to make life easier. In reality, this scene is a symbolic parallel to Senator Joseph McCarthy's pursuit for social conformity in the 1950s. This scene is packed with conspiracy and paranoia. Also, metaphorical of McCarthy's claims that there were Soviet spies and Communists inside the government system and among the general population.

While Miles and Becky hide in the doctor's office, they an abundance of take pills to stay awake. Sleep stands as an allegory to suggest the burgeoning of a mass conformity; where the pods take over the residents while they fail to be alert, meaning sleeping. In the film, it is said that, "the pods will absorb your minds, your memories, and you're reborn into an untroubled world". This untroubled world represents the world of classless, ambition-less, emotionless, simple society, where every individual is no longer "individual", rather, a hollow drone of a collective socialist culture.

As stated earlier, in the 1950s McCarthy made claims of covert Communists inside the government; Invasion of the Body Snatchers also has a covert concept in regard to ignoring what seems to be out of the ordinary. This concept concerns the role of the authorities in the film. Miles is taken in by authorities on the invasion of the pod people, when the psychiatrists and police attempt to turn the bizarreness of the situation into a simple matter, as if it is Miles who is delirious. This scene alludes to authority figures and the effort to encourage normalcy in the most mind-boggling situations. Invasion demonstrates society becoming less individual and more depersonalized with the characterless collective society replacing America.

A chilling motion picture, well directed by Don Sigel, with a script co-written by Daniel Mainwaring and (uncredited) Sam Peckinpah, based on the novel "The Body Snatchers" (aka "Sleep No More") by Jack Finney.

The excellent musical score is by Carmen Dragon. Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter head the cast of this four-star classic in which the inhabitants of a small California town are being replaced by alien look-alikes. The aliens come to Earth in the form of "seed pods" that burst open and spew out a foam which grows into human duplicates, complete with all the memories of the original. The best scene in the film takes place in a greenhouse where several alien pods burst open and disgorge the half-formed copies of the horrified humans.

A prologue, a new ending, and a voice over-narration were added after the film's initial release, to help the audience follow the strange plot. In the added scenes, the story opens with Kevin McCarthy being brought into a hospital, raving about alien invaders. Two doctors (Whit Bissell and Richard Deacon) listen to McCarthy's strange story, which the audience sees as a flashback. At the end of he movie the doctors are understandably skeptical about McCarthy's weird yarn, but an unexpected event lends credence to his story.

Many film reviewers criticize these added scenes as unnecessary, an unwise attempt to conclude the story with a happier ending. But these scenes serve a valuable purpose, increasing the viewers sympathy for McCarthy and his efforts to convince someone that mankind is in danger. The alleged "happier ending" does not establish that mankind will win the battle against the aliens. It simply implies a Chapter Two in this epic struggle. Mankind will have a fighting chance in the war, but the outcome is definitely open to debate.

I feel like I've seen so many movies with this kind of concept. People aren't themselves, something fishy is going on. Eventually, the evidence is too much to ignore but our main characters are already outnumbered by tens or hundreds. It's similar to the zombie genre except that here the "possessed" or "infected" ones act normal which is far more unnerving. This has to be one of the earliest and most effective versions of this kind of story.

It is legitimately creepy and has many memorable moments. Blank, "dead" bodies turning up out of nowhere. Alien pods giving birth to proto-humans. A convergence of strangers in the middle of town as if they all have telepathic powers. You begin to suspect people constantly, are they really on our side? Are our heroes being lured into a trap? Are they safe here? The build-up is excellent as well. People urgently seeking a doctor and then abruptly canceling and feeling much better. A boy terrified of his mother because she is not really his mother and then suddenly he is okay again. A woman swears that her uncle is no longer himself but can't quite prove it. Your imagination starts to fill in the gaps.

It's effective to show the main character flustered and babbling at the start. It contrasts greatly with how calm and reasonable he was only a few days ago as he recounts what happened. We figure that it must have taken something very disturbing to drive him to that level of mania. This builds our anticipation for finding out what he went through.

It's funny that the main actor's name is (Kevin) McCarthy. There are certainly parallels that could be drawn with the communism scare of the 1950s. Are we too suspicious about our neighbours? Are we becoming paranoid and seeing everyone as being against us? Or perhaps our freedom is being taken away and we are being forced to robotically follow traditional American values.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers wastes no time at 80min. It builds the way a good suspense/horror film should and the turn of events are satisfying. It isn't too predictable and it really had me on the edge of my seat, apprehensive about where the story was going and how it could possibly be resolved. Less is more and this movie only shows what it really needs to. It plants the seeds of fear in your mind and you do the rest.

The decision to make this fascinating novel into a noir thriller worked very well on its own merits as an "adventure" with mostly-implicit ideas as motivations; however, I believe the film could have been made into a dramatic work of unusual power, It is B/W, swift-paced, intelligently acted and unusually- well-directed by Don Siegel, with a literate script by Daniel Mainwaring. The project is also interesting and disturbing for a number of reasons. Jack Finney wrote a novel in the 1950s which some read as a loss of American individualism, and others as an attack on Cold-War mentality realpolitik. Whatever the wellsprings of this fine idea, Finney's story treated of "seeds from space"; the idea is that these came to Earth and have the power to reproduce themselves into any living thing's form, right down to its thought patterns, memories, etc. But of course they have no emotions--they are merely replicas, not the originals. A mass hysteria grips the town of Santa Mira, California, shortly after their secret arrival on our planet; and Dr. Miles Bennell is called home from a conference because a dozen people claim some relative or beloved friend is not who they were before. When this seems to die down, Miles has time to pursue old flame and lovely Becky Driscoll, now that both their divorces are final. But the problem does not disappear and cannot be explained away by a psychologist friend of Bennelle's, thoughtfully played by Larry Gates. Bennell and his friend Jack Belicec and his wife Teddie find a body on Jack's pool table; his wife think's it's an alien thing--to replace Jack. They three flee to Miles's house, and Bennell goes to get Becky--carrying her off into the night. The next day looks sunny and normal, except that they find huge seed pods in Bennell's greenhouse, turning into--something else. Or someone? The remainder of the film consists of Bennell trying to call for help, observing the distribution of seeds in trucks in the small town's center, being trapped in his office, overcoming two guards, fleeing, and losing Becky to the monsters, before he finally convinces authorities that he is not insane; this requires an accident--to a truck carrying giant seed pods, from Santa Mira. As Bennell, Kevin McCarthy is quite good if not ideal. Dana Wynter is classically good as Becky; King Donovan and Carolyn Jones are the Belicecs, she doing a great deal with little to work from. Ralph Dumke as the Police Chief and Virginia Christine as Becky's Aunt Wilma are also standouts. Others in the cast include Kenneth Patterson, Tom Fadden, Guy Rennie and Jean Willes as Bennell's nurse. The production values are all good, by my standards, but only the direction is outstanding, except for the special effects. Carmen Dragon supplied eerie music suitable to the action. The loss to the film occasioned by its being made as a frightening adventure can be gauged best perhaps by comparing the qualities of Raymond Chandler's The Little Sister with the enjoyable adventure-level film "Marlowe" made in the 1970s. What we have here is a taut and often moving entertainment; what we might have had could have contained every element here, but could also perhaps have been even more intriguing. The theme of the film is "what makes a person human"; and no stronger idea for an idea-level fantasy can perhaps be imagined. But what we have here is a famous and interesting thriller in its own right; I like the envelope involving Richard Deacon, Whitner Bissell and others as the doctors at a mental hospital to which a raving Bennell is taken when he escape Santa Mira's nightmare. The original "They're here!" ending to me would have been unacceptably alarmist.

'Invasion Of The Body Snatcher's is my favourite 1950s science fiction movie alongside 'Forbidden Planet'. Both are very different movies. 'Forbidden Planet' is arguably the first SF blockbuster, an intergalactic adventure, in colour, with a large budget and impressive special effects. 'Invasion Of The Body Snatcher's is a smaller movie, a low budget black and white paranoid thriller that is a classic of its type. Many subsequent movies have been influenced by this one, and there have been at least two remakes (Philip Kaufman, Abel Ferrara), but it still takes some beating! Director Don Siegel is best known for tough guy crime dramas like 'The Killers' and 'Dirty Harry', but shows his versatility with this extremely effective and disturbing horror story. The legendary Sam Peckinpah had an uncredited hand in the script, and (keep an eye open for) a small cameo as a meter reader. Kevin McCarthy is terrific as the small town doctor turned hero. His performance is excellent, and made him a legend to SF and horror fans everywhere (he reprises it briefly in Kaufman's excellent 1970s remake by the way). The lovely Dana Wynter leads a strong supporting cast, and buffs will get a particular kick out of seeing Carolyn Jones (a.k.a. Morticia Addams) and Whit Bissell. ('I Was A Teenage Werewolf', 'Creature From The Black Lagoon' and too many others to mention!) This movie has aged very well, much better than say, 'The Thing From Another World', and still stands as THE 1950s paranoid SF/horror movie. An absolute classic that I guarantee still packs a punch! Highly recommended!