Village of the Damned (1960)

In the English village of Midwich, the blonde-haired, glowing-eyed children of uncertain paternity prove to have frightening powers.

Director:

Wolf Rilla

Writers:

Stirling Silliphant (screenplay), Wolf Rilla (screenplay)

Stars:

George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynn

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Sanders	...	Gordon Zellaby
Barbara Shelley	...	Anthea Zellaby
Michael Gwynn	...	Major Alan Bernard
Laurence Naismith	...	Doctor Willers
John Phillips	...	General Leighton
Richard Vernon	...	Sir Edgar Hargraves
Jenny Laird	...	Mrs. Harrington
Thomas Heathcote	...	Mr. Harrington
Martin Stephens	...	David Zellaby
Richard Warner	...	Harrington
Sarah Long	...	Evelyn Harrington
Charlotte Mitchell	...	Janet Pawle
Pamela Buck	...	Milly Hughes
Rosamund Greenwood	...	Miss Ogle
Susan Richards	...	Mrs. Plumpton

Storyline

In the small English village of Midwich everybody and everything falls into a deep, mysterious sleep for several hours in the middle of the day. Some months later every woman capable of child-bearing is pregnant and the children that are born out of these pregnancies seem to grow very fast and they all have the same blond hair and strange, penetrating eyes that make people do things they don't want to do.

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Plot Keywords:

children | village | english | weird pregnancy | evil children | 

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Taglines:

STRANGE STORY OF THE WEIRD CHILD-DEMONS! (original print ad-all caps)

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Midwich Cuckoos

Filming Locations:

Haberdashers' Aske's School, Aldenham Road, Elstree, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,400,000, 31 December 1960

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,175,000, 31 December 1960

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Except for one sequence, every time the glowing eyes are show, it's a still photograph. At one point, David - after the motorist almost hits one of them - is staring at the man, while a girl next to him is moving. There's a very visible jagged line separating the moving shot from the still frame. The British version of the film retains the original film elements without the optical printing.

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Goofs

Alan Bernard drives to Midwich on a clear, sunny day when he stops to talk to a policeman. But in the next shot of the road, it's overcast and misty.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prof. Gordon Zellaby: [on telephone] Good morning. Uh, would you get me Major Bernard at his Whitehall number? Thank you.

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Connections

Referenced in Video Violence (1987)

User Reviews

The Brick Wall

In London, the military Alan Bernard (Michael Gwynn) is talking to his brother-in-law Gordon Zellaby (George Sanders) in Midwich by telephone when there is a communication breakdown with the village. Alan heads to the British village and finds that all the inhabitants have fallen unconscious at the same time and who else crosses the borderline faints. Out of the blue, the inhabitants awake at the same time. Two months later Anthea Zellaby (Barbara Shelley) tells her husband Gordon that she is pregnant. But soon, the local Dr. Willers (Laurence Naismith) and Gordon realizes that every woman in the village of childbearing age is pregnant.

Anthea and the other women deliver perfect children and soon Dr. Willers note that all the children have strange eyes, short fingernails and different blond hair. Gordon also finds that his son David (Martin Stephens) is a leader of the children that have no feelings and what one learns, the others also learn. Further they are capable to read and control minds and are a menace to the inhabitants of Midwich. Will Gordon be capable to keep the children under control?

"Village of the Damned" is a mysterious and scary horror movie, with an original story in the style of "The Twilight Zone". The plot is intriguing and has not aged. The performances are excellent and the simple special effect of the eyes of the children associated to their performances is frightening. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil):"A Aldeia dos Amaldiçoados" ("The Village of the Damned")