Jackson Booth-Millard
In recent years I have made an effort to find and watch classic films that evoke the time period in which they were made, this is a very good example of one such film, directed by William Cameron Menzies (Things to Come). Basically one night young David MacLean (Jimmy Hunt) is awakened by a thunderstorm, then a strange light appears, from his bedroom window he sees a large flying saucer descend and disappear into the sandpit area behind the house. His scientist father George (Leif Erickson) knows that his son is not the sort of child to make up things, so he investigates, when he returns the next morning David notices a strange red puncture on the back of his neck, and his father behaves cold and hostile. David soon realises that something is wrong, he notices certain townspeople with the same mark on the back of their neck and acting the same sort of way, then he witnesses his child neighbour Kathy Wilson (Janine Perreau) disappearing underground walking in the sandpit, she later returns with hardly any emotion at all. David flees to the police station for help, he is placed under the protection of health-department physician Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter), who slowly begins to believe his crazy story, and taking David to local astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston (Arthur Franz), he confirms with the boy and Dr. Blake that there is likely to be an upcoming invasion from the planet Mars. Dr. Kelston convinces the U.S. Army to investigate immediately, and soon enough the Pentagon assembles troops and tanks, command by Colonel Fielding (Morris Ankrum). David and Dr. Blake near the sandpit are suddenly sucked underground, two tall slit-eyed green humanoids have captured them, but Colonel Fielding and some troops find the entrance to the flying saucer. Inside they confront the Martian mastermind: a giant green head with a humanoid face atop a small, green partial torso with several green arm-tentacles, encased in a transparent sphere, it is served by tall, green, silent mutants. The human victims taken have been implanted with mind-control devices, they are attempting to sabotage an atomic rocket, if they are captured the devices implode and cause a fatal cerebral haemorrhage. Dr. Blake and David are rescued, Colonel Fielding and the troops open fire at the pursuing mutants, the army plant a timed explosive charges aboard the saucer. Following a large explosion, David wakes to find himself in his bed, just like at the beginning, his parents are back to normal, he returns to bed assured that he had a nightmare, but then he goes to the window and sees the same flying saucer from his dream descending into the sandpit, it is unclear what happens next. Also starring Hillary Brooke as Mrs. Mary MacLean, Max Wagner as Sergeant Rinaldi, Milburn Stone as Captain Roth, Walter Sande as Police Desk Sergeant Finlay, John Eldredge as Mr. Turner, Robert Shayne as Dr. Bill Wilson, Luce Potter as Martian Intelligence and It's a Wonderful Life's Todd Karns as Jim the Gas Station Attendant. Over the years this film has gained a cult status, its distorted and abstract surrealistic are the big reasons, you can maybe laugh now at the ridiculous of it, especially the low-budget special effects and costumes for the alien creatures, but in a way, that is part of the appeal, and it certainly plays on the paranoia that went on at the time, it could have been less chatty and have more alien stuff, but overall it is a relatively entertaining classic science-fiction thriller. Good!
sflaumen
Just found this movie again after nearly 50 years. Saw it when I was young and it left very spooky feelings that I can remember at times. All I had to go on was feelings from: a no-man's land where people were sucked into the earth, haunting melodies, sand or loose soil where people disappeared. At times these feelings could be resurrected even after decades. Now, due to the internet I was able to identify this movie and actually watch it again. Naturally, seeing it now as an older person is no where near the same as being a child. From the perceptions that have remained with me from seeing this at a young age, I have learned that children feel emotions far beyond what they are actually seeing. So when someone falls quickly into the sand as they do in this very B movie, the impression it left with me as a young person was much stronger than it actually appears. Seeing this again puts an end to one of those things in life that you think you will never get an answer to. Some people think you get all the answers when you die. In this case, I don't have to wait that long!
kapelusznik18
***SPOILERS*** It's little David MacLean, Jimmy Hunt, who discovers with his high powered telescope that the Earth is being invaded by Men from Mars in practically his own back yard. That's when he spots a flying saucer land and borrow it's way underground not far from his home. At first not believed by his dad aeronautical engineer George MacLean, Leif Ericson, by him checking the landing site he himself disappears and later shows up at home acting as if he's been lobotomized! Soon a number of people in the area including David's mom Mary MacLean, Hillary Brooke, end up the same way like her now zombie like husband totally detached from reality as well as the human race.As the shocking truth comes to the surface it's a spaceship full of Martians lead by their leader, the guy with his head in a fishbowl, played by Luce Potter are planning to prevent the construction of a space ship that George MacLean is working on to be complete! They don't want anyone being able to travel to Mars like they can travel to the Earth and mess up their ecological system. It's the US Army that is summoned to stop the Martians before they can do any more damage.With Col. Fielding played by the "Eternal Colonel" himself Morris Ankum in charge to stop this invasion from Mars he unloads all the firepower he has at his disposal at the Martians who's underground hideout easily withstands. Taking the fight to the Martians to their own tuft in the underground hideout that they, with laser technology, made for themselves seems to backfire by Col. Feilding and his men not realizing how dangerous and unstable the Martians' laser ray machine is in the wrong hands: themselves! And with that Col. Fielding has set off a number of events that may well end up killing everyone within a 10 mile radius! ***SPOILERS*** There is a happy ending here but not one you would expect. Little David and his parents together with all the people in the movie who've been turned into brain numbed zombies are back to normal again but were not that sure that they'll stay that way. Like a repeating nightmare it, the movie, seems to go on forever but only for David who's the only one in the cast that's fully conscious of it!
Brian Baker
First saw this as an 8 yr. old. Mom dropped me off at one theater showing a 2 western matinée. When she drove off, I went around the corner to the theater showing Invaders from Mars. Scared the (well you know) out of me. Literally had to have the hall light on for a year. Checked my closet floor too! The four scariest aspects of this movie were 1. The thought that your parents could be other than those rocks of Gibralter you always counted on them being 2. That creepy choral music. 3. The surreal aspects(notice the bare, stark police station) and 4. The nightmare quality of running and not being able to escape. Having watched it again recently,I enjoyed it as much as I did 57 years ago. Great flick!
