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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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6
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6 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Of
the early '50s sci-fi movies that are considered genre classics
— The Day the Earth Stood Still, The
Thing, It Came from
Outer Space, War of the Worlds
and Invaders from Mars — it is
the latter film that probably resonates the most with guys like
me... 'monster kids' who grew up watching them on pre-cable
TV. This isn't because it's the best film of the bunch; far
from it. In terms of script quality, budget and effects it lags
significantly behind the others. The reason Invaders
from Mars made a lasting impact on sci-fi fans of my
age (and on those of the generation that saw it when first released)
is because the protagonist, the hero most responsible for saving
Earth from belligerent aliens, is a kid. Not a stoic
scientist or square-jawed military officer but a 10-year old
boy. For eager youngsters parked in front of those big console
TVs, rabbit ears finely tuned to the local Creature Feature
station with the precision of a Swiss watch, it was quite a
thrill to see one of their own become the champion of Mankind.
Young, freckle-faced David Maclean (Jimmy Hunt) lives in
a small town near a military base where a top-secret space project
is underway. His dad George (Leif Erickson) is a government
engineer working on the project. The father has obviously instilled
a love of science in his boy, who's something of an amateur
astronomer. One dark and stormy night David is awakened to see
a strange light in the sky — a saucer-shaped craft is landing
behind a nearby hill! David tells his dad what he witnessed
but George is naturally skeptical. Still, Pop knows his son's
a good kid who isn't prone to tall tales or flights of fancy.
That morning George walks out into the fields behind their house
to investigate. When he doesn't come home David's mother (Hillary
Brooke) gets nervous and calls the police.
Before the cops
can report back George returns to the house —
but as a very different man, with a completely different personality.
Always supportive and easygoing, David's father is now suddenly
belligerent and abusive, even lashing out and striking the boy
when questioned about a small, strange-looking wound on the
back of his neck. The two policemen also act weird upon their
return to the Maclean home, speaking to George as if they were
in collusion with him about something. Mrs. Maclean is alarmed,
but as a dutiful and obedient 1950s Stepford Wife she doesn't
dare confront her husband about his odd behavior, including
the bitch-slapping of her son to the ground. (Dammit, woman,
put your foot down!) George ominously warns his son against
spreading crazy stories about flying saucers. The plucky kid
is determined to find out what's going on, however, so he trains
his telescope on the field where he saw the flying saucer descend.
To his horror he spies a neighbor girl, out picking flowers,
seemingly sucked down into the ground and disappear. He goes
to warn her parents but the girl returns home safe and sound...
albeit drained of all emotion and with a blank, robotic stare.
David realizes that the saucer is still out there, somehow buried
beneath the ground. People who approach the area are sucked
under the earth to reemerge as virtual automatons, totally controlled
by the aliens. Bravely the boy goes to the police station, asking
to see the chief personally. But the police chief has already
been enslaved by the invaders. David is locked up in a cell
and his parents called. Before they arrive to pick him up, though,
he's seen by a physician, Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter), who
immediately takes a shine to the kid. She's appalled by Mr.
and Mrs. Maclean's callous deportment when the couple shows
up to claim their son. David knows that his mother, too, is
now in thrall to the mysterious UFO. He's so earnest and convincing
that Pat refuses to release him into his parents' custody. Instead
she takes him to see astronomer Stuart Kelston (Arthur Franz),
who knows David and vouches for his honesty. Somewhat conveniently
Pat and Kelston very quickly decide to believe his fantastic
story. The disappearance of the general overseeing the secret
project cinches it. Kelston calls base commander Col. Fielding
(ubiquitous '50s sci-fi performer Morris Ankrum) with his suspicions
and an investigation is launched. When Fielding sees his driver
sucked into the ground with his own eyes, he contacts the Pentagon
asking for combat troops to be rushed to the scene. (I think
Ankrum must've spent 90% of his film career as a military man
with a phone receiver to his ear.) Fielding's men cordon off
the area while they await the arrival of tanks and artillery.
Then reports start flooding in of attempts at sabotage and assassination
aboard the rocket base...
Invaders
from Mars weaves together
the two most dominant themes of 1950s science fiction films:
attack by hostile space aliens and the subversion of an All-American
community by an 'enemy within.' In consequence the film isn't
as effective as its peers, movies that hew to one motif or the
other. There aren't any spectacular scenes of destruction as
in War of the Worlds, nor does
its depiction of the Martians taking control of the town's citizens
pack the chilling paranoia of Invasion
of the Body Snatchers (1956). With its talk of "mu-TANTS"
the dialog is rather quaint; other than the Martian leader —
a tentacled, silver-skinned head in a glass bowl —
the aliens are just tall guys in slitted goggles and green velour
suits with visible zippers down the back. The film also falls
victim to some inexcusable padding, as when we're shown stirring
stock footage of tanks, trucks and jeeps being loaded onto flatcars
for transport, or the same shots of the Martian mu-TANTS loping
back and forth in the subterranean tunnels beneath their ship.
I realize the movie's pretty short (79 minutes), but the obvious
recycling of the alien scenes should've been curtailed and all
the "Load 'em up! Move 'em out!" stock footage eliminated
altogether. At 74 or 75 minutes Invaders
would move even quicker than it does; until stuffed with this
pointless padding it clicks along quite nicely. And if you're
going to use stock footage from WWII in a sci-fi flick, make
sure it's of something at least mildly interesting, not the
logistical operations of the transport corps. (We do get some
tank action towards the end.)
For all its faults, though, Invaders from
Mars remains a fun trip down memory lane. There's actually
an endearing fairy tale quality to the film despite its sci-fi
pretensions. The weird harmonic chorus that swells whenever
another victim is about to be swallowed up by the Martian sand
pit is genuinely creepy, even today. I remember as a wee lad,
having just seen the film on TV, resisting the urge to check
the back of my parents' necks! The thought of space monsters
taking over my hometown, as opposed to flattening L.A.
or Washington D.C., certainly gave the story a personal immediacy
in my young and fertile imagination. This is one you can enjoy
with the kids. (Trivia note: Tobe Hooper, of Texas
Chain Saw Massacre fame, directed a remake of Invaders
from Mars in 1986.)
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Image
Entertainment's "50th Anniversary Edition" of Invaders
from Mars, while utilizing a fairly beat-up print, represents
the best-looking home video version of the film to date. There's
lots of grain, consistent print damage and an annoying vertical
line that pops up from time to time, but I'm told that even in
this condition it kicks the crap out of the now OOP United American
disc. Audio quality fares somewhat better, with all dialog, sound
effects and music readily discernible. But there are plenty of
even older titles that sound much better. Obviously this was the
best Image had to work with given the lack of resources to do
a full restoration.
The disc comes with
both the U.S. and British versions of Invaders
from Mars. The American
version is the way to go, as the U.K. cut totally trashes director
Menzies' famous montage sequence that climaxes the film and ruins
the 'trick' ending (which
has been copied numerous times ever since). Still, it can be interesting
to compare the two. The theatrical trailer is included as well
as a sizable still gallery of production photos and promotional
materials. Unfortunately this gallery consists of many poor quality
images. The best supplement is the 8-page liner notes booklet,
which provides a number of interesting facts about the film's
production.
2/24/03 |
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