THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953). Director: Byron Haskin. The first Hollywood version of H. G. Wells' wonderful novel of a Martian invasion is still great entertainment. Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) is called in when strange meteors begin falling to Earth. At one site, he encounters Sylvia (Ann Robinson), her uncle, Pastor Collins (Lewis Martin), and General Mann (Les Tremayne). But neither prayers nor weaponry seem a match for the sleek alien vehicles with their devastating death rays that emerge from the meteors. Edgar Barrier of The Giant Claw is a professor; Gertrude Hoffman of My Little Margie is a news vendor; Paul Frees of Space Master X-7 is a radio announcer; and Paul Birch of Not of This Earth is an early victim. The early scenes are very suspenseful, and the sequence wherein Barry and Robinson are holed up in a farmhouse when the martians come a'callin' is harrowing. Very entertaining, with fine special effects. Produced by George Pal. This clearly inspired many movies, especially Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.
Verdict; An absorbing and colorful science fiction classic. ***1/2.
I saw this on a re-release in 1962 (I think) and loved it, even though I was at first disappointed it didn't retain Wells' period setting. I'd read the novel and felt that movies should stick to their source material (duh!). My disappointment pretty much evaporated as soon as the Martian machines got going and after that I just wallowed in the Technicolor spectacle of it all. It sure wasn't much like the novel but I couldn't believe what I was seeing--it was simply stunning eye candy from end to end and a sheer delight. And it holds up for endless rewatching. I can guarantee it--I've tested it thoroughly.
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--Mark
Thanks, Mark! This is truly a classic picture and, as you say, it still holds up today. Pal knocked one out of the ballpark with this one!
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