The War of the Worlds (1953)

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel)
Barré Lyndon (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Amazing! terrifying! The most savage spectacle of all time!

Plot:

The film adaptation of the H.G.Wells story told on radio of the invasion of Earth by Martians.

Plot Keywords:

Martian | Invasion | Radio | Panic | Cold War

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	9:00 AM	AMC
Mon. Nov. 16	4:00 AM	AMC

Cast

Gene Barry	...	Dr. Clayton Forrester
Ann Robinson	...	Sylvia Van Buren
Les Tremayne	...	Maj. Gen. Mann
Robert Cornthwaite	...	Dr. Pryor (as Bob Cornthwaite)
Sandro Giglio	...	Dr. Bilderbeck
Lewis Martin	...	Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins
Houseley Stevenson Jr.	...	Gen. Mann's aide
Paul Frees	...	Second Radio Reporter / Opening Announcer
William Phipps	...	Wash Perry (as Bill Phipps)
Vernon Rich	...	Col. Ralph Heffner
Henry Brandon	...	Cop at Crash Site
Jack Kruschen	...	Salvatore
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Commentary (voice) (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cliff Clark	...	Australian Policeman (scenes deleted)
Rudy Lee	...	Boy (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

La guerre des mondes (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Kampf der Welten (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Dünyalar çarpisiyor (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Klodernes kamp (Denmark) [da]
La guerra de los mundos (Spain) [es]
La guerra dei mondi (Italy) [it]
Maailmojen sota (Finland) [fi]
Oorlog der werelden (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Rat svetova (Serbia) [sr]
Världarnas krig (Sweden) [sv]
Wojna swiatów (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) (35 mm optical prints) | 3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Multi-Track Magnetic Stereophonic) (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #16011) (original rating) | Netherlands:12 | Spain:T | Germany:16 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | USA:G (re-rating) (1977) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1954) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:G

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In the theatrical trailer, when the first Martian meteor hits the Earth, there is a large explosion and a cloud of smoke. In the film itself, the same shot contains only a flash when the meteor hits.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the scene where the wild horses are running down a steep embankment, in the final seconds of the scene you can see men on horseback following the wild horses, raising their arms and causing the horses to stampede.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Radio Reporter: [voiceover] In the First World War, and for the first time in the history of man, nations combined to fight against nations using the crude weapons of those days. The Second World War involved every continent on the globe, and men turned to science for new devices of warfare, which reached an unparalleled peak in their capacity for destruction. And now, fought with the terrible weapons of super-science, menacing all mankind and every creature on the Earth comes the War of the Worlds.

Movie Connections:

Featured in H.G. Wells: The Father of Science Fiction (2005) (V)

Freaked Me Out

Cheesy, Yes! But...

Probably the creepiest and most horrifying scenes in Filmdom was when the Martian crept up behind our heroine and clamped its tarsier-like fingers on her shoulder.

She freaked, but not immediately. She paused. Reacted to that touch. Slowly turned her head around and LOOKED at the offending appendages.

This entire moment of horror and violation took about four to six seconds.

Her mind - finally - comprehended it. IT had touched her.

Then she lost it.

One of the best screams in film history. Great acting and just overwhelming.

For that one scene, I love this movie. Creepy as hell!