Review of Invaders from Mars (1953) by James M — 05 Aug 2013

Directed by William Cameron Menzies (The Green Cockatoo (1937), Address Unknown (1944) and The Whip Hand (1951)), produced by Edward L. Alperson (Irma la Douce (1963)) and adapted from a short story by John Tucker Battle.

This is a sparse, low-budget sci-fi film which manages to be compelling and entertaining, as well as looking eerie. Despite being made on a shoestring, it does quite a lot with very little. One night, David MacLean (Jimmy Hunt) spots flying saucers land on Earth during a thunderstorm, his father George (Leif Erickson) goes out to investigate, and is sucked into the ground, and re-emerges as a hostile man, with a puncture on the back of his neck, and the same thing happens to his mother Mary (Hillary Brooke).

David goes to the police station, where local physician Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter), who notices the coldness of David's parents, and she takes him to astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston (Arthur Franz), who try to get to the bottom of what's really going on, and it's starting to take over their town, and they soon find the martians that have caused this.

It's a very silly film, but it's one that manages to be endearing enough, as it's the sort of sci-fi film you just don't get now. Low budget, done with a very vivid, odd colour tone, and it managed to help spawn films like The War of the Worlds (1953) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).