Starring Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke
Directed by William Cameron Menzies
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young boy witnesses a flying saucer landing near his home, and soon after discovers his parents and other people he knows have been turned into cold-hearted enemies of the Earth.
One of 1950s' science fiction's seminal films, it's well anchored by young Hunt, who is so earnest and likable, you can't help but be moved by his plight, as he tries to convince people that the Martians have landed and are taking over. The supporting cast is solid with standouts being Helena Carter's sympathetic doctor and Morris Ankrum's dependable Colonel Fielding. While the special effects by Republic serial veterans Howard and Theodore Lydecker are a bit dated today, they're wonderfully creative, as holes opening and closing in the white sand abduct hapless humans accompanied by the sound of an ominous choral-like tone. It was one of the last films for Menzies, who directed and also did the production design like so many great productions from his past. His design is interesting with fairly simplistic settings and several dialogue scenes taking place before backgrounds with only colors and no ornamentation. Once we get to see inside the Martian stronghold, there's nothing really dramatic in design, better to focus on the giant mu-tants serving the disembodied head of their master, images that had to have stuck with many 1950s kids and are still memorable today.
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