A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
- Awards
- 2 wins
- Director
- Writers
- Daniel Mainwaring
- Jack Finney
- Richard Collins(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaProduction designer Ted Haworth came up with a fairly simple and inexpensive (about $30,000 total) idea for creating the pods. The most difficult part was when the pods burst open, revealing the likenesses of the actors. The actors had to have naked impressions of themselves made out of thin, skin-tight latex. Making the casts, which involved being submerged in the very hot casting material with only a straw in their mouths to breathe through, was grueling for the actors, especially Carolyn Jones, who was claustrophobic. Dana Wynter recalled, "I was in this thing while it hardened, and of course it got rather warm! I was breathing through straws or something quite bizarre, and the rest of me was encased, it was like a sarcophagus. The guys who were making it tapped on the back of the thing and said, 'Dana, listen, we won't be long, we're just off for lunch [laughs]!' In the end, we had to be covered except for just the nostrils and I think a little aperture for the mouth."
- Goofs(at around 20 mins) When Dr. Bennell is shown the body on the pool table he never bothers to ask where it came from or why it is there. One would think that would be the first question.
- Quotes
Dr. Miles J. Bennell: They're here already! You're next! You're next, You're next...!
- Crazy creditsTHE END comes up on the final shot of the film of Miles looking relieved that Dr Hill has believed his story, and is calling the FBI about the alien invasion of Santa Mira.
- Alternate versionsOriginally released at 80 minutes; reissued in 1979 at 76 minutes, deleting the studio-imposed prologue and epilogue starring Whit Bissel and Richard Deacon.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Giant Claw (1957)
Featured review
classic sci-fi
Dr Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) insists he's not insane as he recounts his story. He returned to his small town Santa Mira after many people started suffering similar symptoms. His former love Becky Driscoll has a cousin who thinks her uncle is an impostor. He is skeptical and assumes the many cases to be mass hysteria. Then his friend Jack Belicec shows him a body that looks like him. Later he finds a body that looks like Becky in her basement. He reports it to the police but the bodies are gone.
As far as classic 50s sci-fi, it doesn't get much better than this. It is still watchable in the modern sense. It has the paranoia and Kevin McCarthy is brilliant. It is no wonder why it has been remade multiple times. The concept is simple but effective. And the scene where he warns the audience directly through the screen is a movie icon.
As far as classic 50s sci-fi, it doesn't get much better than this. It is still watchable in the modern sense. It has the paranoia and Kevin McCarthy is brilliant. It is no wonder why it has been remade multiple times. The concept is simple but effective. And the scene where he warns the audience directly through the screen is a movie icon.
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- SnoopyStyle
- Oct 24, 2015
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $417,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $2,522
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Color
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