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:

United States Capitol Building | Race Against Time | Prayer | Religious Overtones | Taj Mahal

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

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)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

This is the first motion picture to film on the newly completed Harbor Freeway in Los Angeles known as The Stack. The producers got special permission to drive on it before it opened in 1953.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The sound and the flash from the atomic bomb explosion arrive at the bunker at the same time. The sound should have arrived several seconds after the light.

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:

Referenced in The Incredibles (2004)

One word describes this classic - VIVID

For it's day; and, even this day, this is classic, almost perfect, masterpiece. Brilliant design work on the alien ships, incredible sound effects, and sharp, vivid colors. Pacing in this film is tight, and Barry's performance as a scientist in giddy awe of the alien's capabilities is masterful. Finally, the realism of the story telling is unrivalled in most modern science fiction films. All right, it's not true to Wells' original, but what's wrong with updating the story, especially when it is this effective.