Doctor Clayton Forrester (War of the Worlds)

Doctor Clayton Forrester is a fictional character in George Pal's 1953 science fiction film The War of the Worlds, the first film adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel of the same name. The Forrester character is played by actor Gene Barry.

The film takes several liberties with the novel's source material. Rather than taking place in early 20th century England, the film is set in mid-20th century southern California. Dr. Clayton Forrester is the film's main character, taking up the role assumed by two (unnamed) brothers in Wells' original novel.

Forrester is a nuclear physicist on a fishing vacation with friends when he gets caught up in an invasion from Mars, as well as falling in love with Ann Robinson's Sylvia Van Buren character. As the Martians attempt to wipe out humanity and take over the world for themselves, Forrester is one of the few scientists who attempts to find a biological weakness in the aliens. When he fails, and mankind faces extinction, the Martians succumb to common Earthly microorganisms, against which they have no defense, as in Wells' novel.

Both Gene Barry and Ann Robinson have a cameo in Steven Spielberg's 2005 remake, as an homage to the original George Pal 1953 film.

The War of the Worlds TV series (developed as a direct sequel to the film, not the original H. G. Wells novel) makes a number of references to Dr. Clayton Forrester, but does not actually feature the character. The show's back-story establishes that Forrester adopted a young boy, Harrison Blackwood, who was orphaned during the Martian invasion in the film. (Blackwood's parents were Forrester's colleagues at Pacific Tech). Forrester's discovery that the aliens, believed to have been killed by common bacteria and viruses, were still alive, has led to his professional downfall, but Blackwood has assumed his role as leader of the new fight against the Martian invaders. Forrester's research is occasionally mentioned and proves useful at times throughout the ensuing battles with the aliens. There is also frequent mention of an "Ezekiel Project" that Forrester was in charge of, though nothing about this secret project is really revealed.

...
Wikipedia