If there's another movie that screams "THIS IS THE 1950's!!" louder than this one I have no idea what that could be. It's the classic tale of Martians invading the Earth and it all revolves around a little kid. It's also got the same kinda premise as INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, which came out a few years later, where people's bodies are being taken over by the alien menace and it's up to our non-conformist hero to save the day. Of course this is a common theme in 50's sci-fi and is usually chalked up to the anti-communist ideas of the day. The Mars-men suits look pretty silly by the standards of today(just looks like they're wearing some indoor/outdoor carpeting but the ping-pong ball eyes are a nice touch) and the little head Martian(who's really just a head in a glass bubble) still looks pretty cool. Apparently that role was played by a creepy little midget lady. Midgets always spruce films up.
There are two different endings to this classic depending on if you're watching the American release(it was all a dream) or the alternate European cut(that shit really happened!). I think the dream-ending one is a little bit of a cop-out as it usually is but overall the film would probably work way better if you're a little kid with an imagination or just a classic sci-fi fan who doesn't mind some clunky FX and a kid who can be annoying at times as most kids are. Look for Barbara Billingsley(June Cleaver from LEAVE IT TO BEAVER) as a secretary in one scene.
There's a rumor that this was originally shot to be shown in 3-D and the title sequence looks like it's coming right at ya but apparently this is a false rumor.
This was remade in 1986 by Tobe Hooper starring Karen Black and I remember it not being that terrible back when I originally saw it but it's been a long time.
WHY? WHY? WHY? Could Happen.. but probably not:
I just bought this for Ang because she likes the remake. I have to give this a watch. I hear that its shot with weird camera angles because its all supposed to be from a little kids point of view. Supposedly this had a big effect on young kids in the 50's.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty cool. It reminds me a lot of THE WIZARD OF OZ with the bright colors and the "it was all a dream" ending.
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