Review of Invaders from Mars (1953) by Brian F — 29 Jan 2005

Wholly undeserving of its ?classic? status, [i]Invaders From Mars[/i], a bargain-basement alien invasion film made in 1953 at the height of the Cold War, is best seen (and experienced) as a cultural artifact reflecting the paranoid and hysterical anti-communism prevalent in that era, or, more simply, as ?camp,? where audiences can ?enjoy? inept storytelling, B-level performances (or worse), stock footage to pad out the minimal running time, and inadequate alien makeup. On the plus side, William Cameron Menzies? expressionistic production design and direction helps to create a pervasive mood of otherworldy menace and, at least in part, functions as an exteriorized representation of the young protagonist?s state of mind. Menzies production designed [i]Gone With the Wind[/i] and served as the production designer/director on an earlier science-fiction film, a costly, commercially unsuccessful adaptation of H.G. Wells? cautionary tale, [i]Things to Come[/i].

After the excitable and breathless voiceover that opens the film, the audience is introduced to the all-American family that will soon come under siege by the mind-controlling alien invaders, David MacLean (Jimmy Hunt), his father, George (Leif Erickson), an engineer working on a top-secret project for the United States Defense Department, and housewife/mother Mary (Hillary Brooke). David fancies himself an amateur astronomer, setting his alarm clock for 4:00 a.m. in order to catch a one-time astronomical event. Looking through his telescope from his bedroom window, David spies what appears to be a flying saucer spinning through the air and landing behind the sand dunes that border his backyard. Excited about his new discovery, David informs his father, who, despite expressing doubts, proceeds to wander over the broken fence that disappears into the sand dunes. George disappears, only to reappear hours later in an irritable mood. David, as our protagonist, begins to suspect his father?s erratic behavior is tied to the mysterious object behind the dunes. In short order, David's mother, like his father, falls prey to the alien invaders via a mind-control device (the device helpfully leaves a red scar in the shape of an ?X? on the back of the victim?s neck).

David innocently (perhaps naively) goes to the only place where he feels his voice will be heard: the local police station. Here, Menzies puts his production design background to good use, designing the police station with a long, main corridor, high desks, and overlarge doors, all meant to indicate David?s increasing powerlessness and paranoia. Luckily, a local doctor working for the public health department is called to examine David, Pat Blake (Helena Carter). Dr. Blake?s brief interview with David is sufficient to convince her to contact Stuart Kelston (Arthur Franz), an astronomer/scientist coincidentally working on the same top-secret project for the government as David?s father.

In a matter of minutes, narrative logic is sacrificed for expediency, with Kelston spouting unsubstantiated, wild-eyed theories about Martians living in giant motherships (their homeworld is barren, unlivable), and Mu-tants (pronounced just how it?s spelled here) as slave labor for their overdeveloped minds and atrophied bodies, and calling in the military, led by Colonel Fielding (Morris Ankrum), on little evidence and a great deal of guesswork. Colonel Fielding is the standard military man of action, ready and willing to attack the aliens without a moment?s hesitation. Where?s David in all this? Good question. Although [i]Invaders From Mars[/i] initially creates the impression that David is the protagonist, that role is soon handed off to Dr. Blake, Stuart Kelston, and finally Colonel Fielding. David has little to do, except stand around and point. Oddly, Colonel Fielding, breaking protocol (and common sense), allows David to remain in close proximity to the military operations, essentially leaving him in danger (no points for guessing what happens).

After a long, flaccid middle section where the audience is treated to scenes involving the military springing into action, the final confrontation between righteous, God-fearing Americans and godless, totalitarian communists, or rather between our heroes and green-skinned aliens from another world comes closer to fruition. As the military goes on the offensive, David finds himself inside the alien ship. At one key point, despite having no knowledge of alien weaponry, Colonel Fielding suggests David pick up and use an alien ray gun (this exchange occurs with several other soldiers standing around). How, you might ask, does David know how to use the weapon? More importantly, why would Colonel Fielding assume David knows how to use the machine (he?s never seen it in operation)? These, and many other questions, remain unanswered (or just as likely, they were never asked), with [i]Invaders From Mars[/i] finally segueing into a ludicrous and clichéd plot turn. The British version of [i]Invaders From Mars[/i] wisely left out the final unimaginative plot turn. Our gain is definitely not their loss.

The ham-fisted script is ?complemented? by the cheap, limited sets (Menzies redresses the police station set as a laboratory later in the film), the reliance on stock footage of army tanks trundling onto railway cars, transported across country, unloaded and used to surround the sand dunes (unfortunately, the footage fails to match the terrain of the main set or even the time of day), and the repetition, [i]ad nauseum[/i], of the Mu-tants running through the same underground caves. The aliens too are, to be kind, laughable. The bug-eyed Mu-tants are dressed in green velour body suits (zippers are easy to spot). The ?head? alien is literally a head, a large-skulled, green-hued head in a glass jar with shrunken appendages. The audience is treated to repeated shots of the alien head looking right, then left (apparently the alien is giving orders through mental telepathy). In one risible shot, a pudgy, obviously out-of-shape Mu-tant does battle with several of America?s fighting elite, except that Menzies, in his infinite wisdom, used either children or height-challenged actors to combat the alien. All in all, contemporary audiences will find [i]Invaders From Mars[/i] highly entertaining, but not for the reasons Menzies and his producers intended or imagined.