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:

BEWARE THE STARE THAT BEWITCHES! (original poster-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 Village of the Damned

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

Originally begun in 1957 as an American picture to star Ronald Colman, M-G-M had this scheduled for Spring 1958 and Spring 1959 and postponed both times. Coleman was gravely ill and housebound, dying soon after the script was completed, in an odd twist, his replacement was George Sanders, who had recently married Benita Hume, Colman's widow.

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Goofs

Just before the credits, there's a long crane shot which ends in the trees. It's obvious that the crane snagged a branch on its way up, because a branch suddenly snaps into the frame. They follow the shot with a brief view of other branches waving around, as though to cover the mistake...but the first branch was *not* blowing in the wind.

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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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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Aliens (1996)

User Reviews

a fantastic and minimalistic thriller

I am giving this film a 10 based on the "bang for the buck" it provides. Despite having a small budget, few special effects and an unknown cast (aside from George Sanders), it is an engrossing and terrifying sci-fi adventure.

The movie begins with a VERY STRANGE occurrence--a small village just STOPS. All people life within the village stops--machinery, animals and people. And, when the military tries to enter the town, the soldiers just STOP as well--falling into comas. Then, just as suddenly, everyone awakens--none the worse for wear. Or so it would seem, for later, many women in this small hamlet are found to be pregnant! Once these little bundles of joy are born, the fun begins as these brilliant but disturbingly freaky kids slowly scare the crap out of everyone--especially as they walk, talk and look alike and speak as one (sort of like an evil version of Huey, Dewey and Louie)! And, it turns out, they are apparently unstoppable and up to some sort of evil (though exactly what they intend is uncertain--but it MUST be bad considering their evil proclivities)!

NOTE: Do NOT see the supposed sequel, "Children of the Damned". It's terrible. Instead of the kids harassing people (such as making them crash their cars into walls or blow their heads off), the kids are misunderstood and only want to live in peace!! What crap--I want murder and global domination!

Another NOTE: Do NOT see the recent remake of Village of the Damned. It lacks the subtlety of the original and just does NOTHING to improve an already great film.