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The War of the Worlds (1953) 7.1
The film adaptation of the H.G.Wells story told on radio of the invasion of Earth by Martians. Director:Byron Haskin |
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Gene Barry | ... | ||
| Ann Robinson | ... | ||
| Les Tremayne | ... | ||
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Robert Cornthwaite | ... |
Dr. Pryor
(as Bob Cornthwaite)
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Sandro Giglio | ... | |
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Lewis Martin | ... | |
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Houseley Stevenson Jr. | ... |
Gen. Mann's Aide
(as Housely Stevenson Jr.)
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Paul Frees | ... |
Second Radio Reporter /
Opening Announcer
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William Phipps | ... |
Wash Perry
(as Bill Phipps)
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Vernon Rich | ... | |
| Henry Brandon | ... |
Cop at Crash Site
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| Jack Kruschen | ... | ||
| Cedric Hardwicke | ... |
Commentary
(voice) (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Cliff Clark | ... |
Australian Policeman
(scenes deleted)
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Rudy Lee | ... |
Boy
(scenes deleted)
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
H.G. Well's classic novel is brought to life is this tale of alien invasion. The residents of a small town in California are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills. Their joy is tempered somewhat when they discover that it has passengers who are not very friendly. The movie itself is understood better when you consider that it was made at the height of the Cold War--just replace Martian with Russian.... Written by KC Hunt <khunt@eng.morgan.edu>
Taglines:
They came to CONQUER the EARTH! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
26 August 1953 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Kampf der Welten See more »Filming Locations:
Westminster Presbyterian Church - 1757 North Lake Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA See more »Box Office
Budget:
$2,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (5.0) (L-R)Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
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.
See more »
(uncredited)
Written by Zip Wilson
Performed by Zip Wilson
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Reportedly, George Pal wanted to do the final third of the movie in 3-D, starting with the sequence in which the atomic bomb is used unsuccessfully against the Martians. See more »Goofs
When the scientists are about to project an image using the Martian lens, there are two separate shadows from the boom and mike. As soon as the projector screen is pulled down there is a shadow from the boom that goes across the entire screen. At that same moment, the shadow from the mike can be seen on the wall to the left of the projector screen. See more »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.
See more »
Soundtracks
Flop-Eared Mule (Without Calls)(uncredited)
Written by Zip Wilson
Performed by Zip Wilson
See more »
HG Wells' futuristic novel responds well to the Technicolor splashed on it in this 50s B classic. Gene Barry over emotes in the lead now and then but the martian invasion is handled very well and the tension rises to the final scenes where the surviving populace huddle in the church as the buildings crash and burn around them.
'War of the Worlds' deserves its place as both a highly regarded novel and a well-remembered movie. Byron Haskin and George Pal did a great job in visualising the apocalyptic bits of Wells' text, while still making the end result enjoyable and interesting for the viewer.
Recommended for fans of intellectualised science fiction.