Invaders from Mars (1953 film)
| Invaders from Mars | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | William Cameron Menzies |
| Produced by | Edward L. Alperson Jr. Edward L. Alperson |
| Written by | John Tucker Battle (story) Richard Blake |
| Starring |
Jimmy Hunt Helena Carter Arthur Franz Morris Ankrum Leif Erickson Hillary Brooke |
| Music by | Raoul Kraushaar |
| Cinematography | John F. Seitz |
| Edited by | Arthur Roberts |
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Production
company |
National Pictures Corp.
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| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. |
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Release date
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Running time
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77 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $290,000 |
Invaders from Mars is a 1953 American Cinecolor science fiction film independently produced by Edward L. Alperson Jr., directed by William Cameron Menzies, that stars Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson, and Hillary Brooke. The film was distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Awakened during a thunderstorm, youngster David MacClean witnesses a brightly lit flying saucer disappear underground in the large sand pit behind his home. When his father investigates, he returns a changed man; soon David's mother, a young neighbor girl, and others begin to act in the same way. Begging the police for help, David's panicked story is heard by Dr. Pat Blake, who takes him to astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston. David soon convinces Kelston, who comes to believe this is an invading vanguard from Mars.
Invaders from Mars was developed from a scenario by Richard Blake, based on a story treatment by John Tucker Battle, who was inspired by a dream recounted to him by his wife.
Invaders from Mars is notable for being the first feature film to show aliens and their spacecraft in color. The film was rushed into production to show in theaters before George Pal's War of the Worlds (also 1953).
Late one night, youngster David MacLean (Jimmy Hunt) is awakened by a loud thunderstorm. From his bedroom window, he sees a large flying saucer descend and disappear into the sandpit area behind his home. After rushing to tell his parents, his scientist father (Leif Erickson) goes to investigate David's claim. When his father returns much later in the morning, David notices an unusual red puncture along the hairline on the back of his father's neck; his father is now behaving in a cold and hostile manner. David soon begins to realize something is very wrong: he notices certain townsfolk are acting in exactly the same way. Through his telescope, David sees child neighbor Kathy Wilson suddenly disappear underground while walking in the sandpit. David flees to the police station for help and is eventually placed under the protection of health-department physician Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter), who slowly begins to believe his crazy story.
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Wikipedia