Children of the Damned (1964)

Six impossibly intelligent children from all over the world with dangerous psychic powers hide in a church in England after the military tries to experiment on them. Besieged, they warn the military to back off before carnage ensues.

Director:

Anton Leader (as Anton M. Leader)

Writers:

John Briley (screenplay), John Wyndham (novel)

Stars:

Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara Ferris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian Hendry	...	Dr. Tom Llewellyn
Alan Badel	...	Dr. David Neville
Barbara Ferris	...	Susan Eliot
Alfred Burke	...	Colin Webster
Sheila Allen	...	Diana Looran
Ralph Michael	...	Defense Minister
Patrick Wymark	...	Commander
Martin Miller	...	Prof. Gruber
Harold Goldblatt	...	Harib
Patrick White	...	Mr. Davidson
André Mikhelson	...	Russian official (as Andre Mikhelson)
Bessie Love	...	Mrs. Robbins, Mark's Grandmother
Clive Powell	...	Paul
Yoke-Moon Lee	...	Mi Ling (as Lee Yoke-Moon)
Roberta Rex	...	Nina

Storyline

Scientists discovers that six children from six different places in the world each have superhuman intelligence to such extent that they've even developed psychic powers. The children are flown to London to be studied, but they each escape their embassy and barricade themselves in a church which the military besieges. Is there a way to resolve this stand off peacefully, and if not, what then?

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Plot Keywords:

siege | child killed | anti villain | self defense | battle | 

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Taglines:

Beware the eyes that paralyze!!!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

29 January 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Children of the Damned

Filming Locations:

Bermondsey, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lawrence P. Bachmann Productions,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Their eyes don't light up until forty-one minutes in.

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Connections

Follows Village of the Damned (1960)

User Reviews

Forgotten semi-sequel to "Village of the Damned"

Five super-intelligent, emotionless children are discovered around the world. They also have the power to control peoples minds (their eyes glow when they do this). They're all taken to London to be studied but they escape and barricade themselves in an old, abandoned church. But what do they want?

Not as good as the original "Village..." but this sequel showed real promise. It's effectively filmed in moody black & white and has some very talented British actors giving good performances. Also the kids themselves are extremely spooky--especially when their eyes are glowing. It also shows how various countries want to use the children for their own gain. It also leads up to a (sadly) violent climax leaving most of the questions unanswered. Basically, it's a cop out and that's too bad. If you're going to set up a situation like this at least give it an ending...don't just end with violence (although that may be the point). Some people think this is better than the original but I disagree. Still, I was never bored and admired the direction and photography. Worth seeing, if you can handle the lousy ending.