• George Pal produced and is generally considered the “author” of the film (not director Byron Haskin) – Pal would go on to make (and actually direct) 1960’s The Time Machine – both adaptations of essential sci-fi novels
  • Gordon Jennings won the Oscar for his special effects work
  • It’s an update of the HG Wells novel- Wells’ novel is 1897 London and this is 1953 California—it puts it in the modern political sphere so we have the cold war (though it isn’t explicitly about the Soviets) – we’re in the nuclear age
  • It could benefit from a better cast—they’re really stiff and there aren’t many that I honestly ever seen in anything else and I’ve seen hundreds of movies from this era
  • The black and white news reel opening talking about World War 1 and World War 2 and how we have more modern weapons “now” is powerful
  • Narrator Cedric Hardwicke – omnipotent and omniscient voice in the sky authoritative – it’s a great opening as we tour the planets and he explains why the Martians can’t visit them and why it’s Earth they want
  • Gene Barry with the glasses and the voice is like a cross between Gregory Peck and Cary Grant in appearance- not a tremendous actor but I like his work in this film
  • The whirling electronic red flashing light—this is largely a war film if I had to give it a description and genre beyond the obvious sci-fi  
  • Miniatures are well done in the special effects department
  • Very influential on films like Independence Day­ –destroying miniature of buildings
  • The themes are there- anti-nuclear- these weapons are useless. It’s about the finale with the church and how the natural air and atmosphere kills them
  • Powerful images of empty urban (LA) streets
  • Recommend – not in the top 10 of 1953