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The War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds
Credits
Title: The War of the Worlds
Directed by: Byron Haskin
Written by: Barré Lyndon
Produced by: George Pal; Frank Freeman, Jr.
Music by: Leith Stevens
Cinematography: George Barnes
Edited by: Everett Douglas
Production
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Released: August 26th, 1953
Rating: Approved
Running time: 85 min.
Country: USA
Language: English
Budget: $2,000,000 [1]
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The War of the Worlds is an American science fiction feature film of the alien invasion subgenre. It is an adaptation of the novel The War of the Worlds, written by author H.G. Wells and first published in 1898. The film was directed by Byron Haskin with a screenplay written by Barré Lyndon. It was produced by Paramount Pictures and premiered in the United States on August 26th, 1953. The film stars Gene Barry as Doctor Clayton Forrester, Ann Robinson as Sylvia Van Buren, and Les Tremayne as Major General Mann. The film is considered a hallmark of the science fiction genre and is one of the most iconic movies of the 1950s.

Plot[]

In southern California, Dr. Clayton Forrester, a scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project, is fishing with colleagues when a large object crashes near the town of Linda Rosa. At the impact site, he meets Sylvia Van Buren and her uncle, Pastor Matthew Collins. Later that day, the "cylinder" opens and the inhabitants of the ship kill a welcoming party, simultaneously shutting down all technology in the town with an electromagnetic pulse. The United States military surround the crash site in battle formation as reports pour in of identical objects landing all over the world and destroying cities. Collins attempts to make peace with the Martians before being killed himself. The Martian war machines effortlessly defeat the military with a "Heat-Ray".

Attempting to escape, Forrester and Sylvia hide in an abandoned farm house. They begin to develop romantic feelings for each other before the house is buried by yet another cylinder. They encounter and dismember an "electronic eye" from the Martian machine, and collect a blood sample from a Martian wounded by Forrester to protect Sylvia. They manage to sneak away from the aliens without being seen. Many of the major capitols of the world are destroyed in the attacks and the United States government makes the decision to use nuclear weapons against the invaders. Forrester brings the Martian camera and blood samples to his team at Pacific Tech, with hope they can study the technology. An attempt to destroy a camp of Martians by nuclear strike fails due to the integrity of their shields, but Forrester remains hopeful they can fight the Martians by studying the blood samples and finding a biological weakness.

As the Martians advance on Los Angeles, with nothing left to fight them, the city is evacuated and many of the inhabitants are forced to live in the wilderness. Forrester, Sylvia and the Pacific Tech team are split apart by looters and their scientific equipment is stolen or destroyed. Forrester searches for Sylvia in the city while the Martians cause widespread destruction. Based on a story she had told him earlier, he deduces that she would be hiding in a church. After searching through a couple of churches, he finds Sylvia in the third among many praying survivors. Just as the Martians strike the church, their machines suddenly crash. Forrester finds the pilot of one such machine dead, and notes that they were "all praying for a miracle". It is revealed that while the Martians were impervious to humanity's weapons, they had no immunity to Earthly bacteria, and began to die from common illness all over the world. [2]

Cast[]

Actor Role
Gene Barry Doctor Clayton Forrester
Ann Robinson Sylvia Van Buren
Les Tremayne Major General Mann
Bob Cornthwaite Doctor Pryor
Sandro Giglio Doctor Bilderbeck
Lewis Martin Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins
Housely Stevenson, Jr. General Mann's aide
Paul Frees Radio reporter/Announcer
Bill Phipps Wash Perry
Vernon Rich Colonel Ralph Heffner
Henry Brandon Cop at crash site
Jack Kruschen Salvatore
Sir Cedric Hardwicke Commentary (voice)

Notes & Trivia[]

  • The tagline for this film is "Mighty panorama of Earth-shaking fury as an army from Mars invades!"
  • There are a total of thirteen credited cast members in this film. Twelve are male cast members and one is a female. Ann Robinson is the only female character in this film not counting extras and uncredited cast members.
  • The central setting for this movie is California in the then-present day era of the early 1950s.
  • The War of the Worlds won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and went on to influence other science fiction films.
  • War of the Worlds was adapted into a Canadian television series produced by Paramount Television. It aired in syndication from 1988 to 1990 and ran for two seasons.
  • Martians are dicks. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it.
  • "War of the Worlds" was also the title to issue #3 of the JLA comic book series in 1997.

Recommendations[]

1950s Sci-Fi

See also[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. IMDB; The War of the Worlds (1953); Box office & business.
  2. Wikipedia:The War of the Worlds (1953 film); Plot. Archived (9-17-2016).
  3. IMDB; War of the Worlds (1953); Filming locations.
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