The War of the Worlds (1953) (Movie Review)

  The 1950’s is often considered a dark time in the history of classic cinema, at least for the A-list pictures. B-movies on the other-hand went through a renaissance of sorts, and for Science Fiction … this decade sparked a great golden age, which firmly shaped the whole genera. While most films of the time still fell into that cheap, B-movie camp, there were still some gems like “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “Forbidden Planet”, which maintained the campy esthetic, yet still went that extra mile into classic motion picture territory. The 1953 picture “The War of the Worlds” is one of the bright spots of this time, as it can be branded as a campy alien invasion movie of the 50’s, but the execution was done so well, and with so much ground breaking innovation for it’s time, that it’s been preserved as a classic motion picture in its own right. As far as I’m concerned, this movie remains the gold standard for the hostile alien invasion genera, and while it doesn’t quiet peak into the realms of my all-time favorite movies, it never the less has a secure spot among my favorite classic Sci-Fi pictures, and it’s easily my personal favorite to come from the 1950’s.  

  Of course, it helped that “The War of the Worlds” already had an impact on the public culture, well before the release of the movie. The original 1898 novel by H. G. Wells is a staple in early Science Fiction literature, and was considered ahead of it’s time, both in relevant themes and in creating a freighting premise. 

The real event however was the 1938 radio drama hosted by Orson Welles, which aired as a live broadcast, and caused mas hysteria, as many tuning in thought it might have been real coverage. This helped generate a lot of hype for the movie when it finally came out several decades later, and was a smashing success from both critics and audiences … almost like an early example of our modern summer blockbusters. The movie follows the main layout of the book, focusing on invading Martians from Mars, who aim to annihilate the human race, and colonize Earth as their new home. The film opens with a delightfully cheesy intro, as we see a montage of stock-footage from both World Wars One and Two, and a stock narrator stating that … “Of all the great world wars man kind has faced, nothing could have prepared us for … The War of the Worlds”. It’s so corny, I love it, and the music by Leith Stevens is a wonderful product of the time. What follows is a surprisingly chilling narration about the planets in our solar system, and why the Martians singled out Earth, which gets me hooked every time I watch this film.  

  Everything in the movie is now seen from the perspective of a scientist, who was on a fishing trip, and gets himself roped-into the situation to try and save the human race. While that’s a small change, other major alterations were made due to the constraints of the time. 

Originally, the book was set in London of the 1800’s, while the movie is set in California of the 1950’s. Also, the original depictions for both the aliens and their war machines were heavily altered. The aliens were initially described as being huge and bear-like, while the movie depicts them as small and squid-like. The aliens themselves are admittedly kind of silly looking, with a face that looks like a video game console, but there’s still a lot of technical ambitions in the details, with visible veins, pulsing skin, and even changing colors. 

Also, the build-up to their first appearance is reasonably effective, first with a quick glimpse of them from a window, then with a lingering shadow, and finally the creature sneaking-up from behind. The whole scene with our two lead survivors in the house is one of the film’s most memorable set-pieces, and would be replicated in further remakes. The movie was directed by Byron Haskin, who had previously directed Disney’s 1950 adaption of “Treasure Island”, and was a natural talent for making the best-looking spectacles within the boundaries of his limitations … and this movie was no exception. 

  Both the special effects and sound designs were on par with the quality of “Star Wars”, almost two decades before the famous franchise reshaped the special effects industry. Both the film editing and sound effects were nominated at the Oscars, and it even won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects. Even the acclaimed Sci-Fi movies of the time didn’t get that level of Oscar recognition. So, while the product is dated in parts, one can’t dismiss that it was a technical marvel, with many referring to it as the “King Kong” of its time. 

All these years later, I still find this film visually appealing, especially with its practical miniatures, and I could listen to the sound designs all day. This brings me to the most obvious alteration from the novel, which is changing the giant tri-pod war machines to smaller hover crafts. Production designer Albert Nozaki was determined to avoid the cliched flying saucer look of the time, and instead made the ships look like a cross between a manta-ray and a cobra. Not only do these ships stand apart with a unique design, they also have a lot of personality, from their rotating head peace, to their smaller probe with the multi-colored eye scope. The one detail in which the effects are a little spotty are the visible wires holding up the ships. While there have been re-releases that have digitally removed them, you still have to do some digging to find a good copy … otherwise, those wires can be a little distracting. 

  Also, even with the changes from the novel, the film still maintains many core elements, mainly the aspects of how the aliens are depicted in threes. Instead of machines with three legs, the ships arrive in groups of three, and instead of creatures with three movable appendages, they now have three eyes, and three fingers. Even when the scientist explains the mechanics of the ships, he describes them as moving on invisible legs as opposed to floating on air … which is another commendable detail for a movie adaption of the 50’s. Producer George Pal was a longtime fan of the source material, went over all the details with a fine-tooth comb, and already had experience with bigger budget Sci-Fi pictures of the time, most notably the 1951 Sci-Fi picture “When Worlds Collide”. He even had ambitions for a sequel, which came in the form of a TV series in the 1980’s, although he sadly passed away before the shows release.

 The characters in the movie, and by extent their performances are nothing extraordinary, but they were above average for the typical genera performances of the time. The lead scientist was played by Bat Masterson, who was a successful TV star of the time, and in the film convincingly transitions from stoic scientist, to a man who can no-longer contain his emotions. Actress Ann Robinson, while a little over the top with her screaming, never the less really tried to give a layered performance, at least for a caricature of this period. She’d also have a successful career in television, staring in the Western series “Fury”, as well as reprising her character role in the 1980’s “War of the Worlds” TV series, and even made a cameo in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 “War of the Worlds” remake.

  As something of a side note, when I first saw this movie during my middle school years, I also saw 1996’s “Independence Day” for the first time, and it was interesting to see how many similarities overlapped with each other. Both depict the ships as being protected by an impenetrable shield, which the military is incapable of getting through. Both movies even have a scene in which they try using nuclear bombs, which don’t even scratch the surface. 

The movie of “The War of the Worlds” concludes the same way the novel dose, with Earth’s bacteria being our salvation, and yet, early in the third act, there’s suggestions of a man-made virus to fight off the aliens … a concept that carries all the way through in “Independence Day”. Lastly, both movies have a moment with other nations whiling to put aside differences to help each-other against a bigger threat, which was also relevant to the Cold War paranoia of the 50’s. While the novel covered themes of Religion, Science, Natural Selection, Social Darwinism, Colonialism, Imperialism, and Human Evolution, the movie wisely scales things back, and has relevant themes of the decade, without going too overboard. For me, the most effective elements of the film are in its third act, in which there’s less focus on the aliens, and more enfaces on the downfall of humanity. Amidst all the rubble and destruction, we see how mankind surrenders to both paranoia and selfish greed, and end up destroying their last chance for hope in the process. For as fun and campy as the film is, this climax remains effectively grim, and still leaves an unnerving impression. 

  While the concept of alien invasion movies has become tired and clichéd in general, “The War of the Worlds” still remains a classic, and I still adore it all these years later. The concept is no different from any other films involving Martians trying to concur earth, but the overall presentation, tone and execution is far superior to any other film from its time. Right from the films epic opening narration, this film reels me in, and delivers an experience, rather than just flashy entertainment, although the film has that too ... in bucket loads. The sound effects, color pallet, and unique alien designs are amazing cinematic marvels for the 50’s, and still hold up to this day. Even though the acting is a little off, the overall atmosphere and tone stay consistently strong, and to this day, I still regard the 1953 picture “The War of the Worlds” as more than just my own personal favorite alien invasion movie … it’s one of cinemas great classic Science Fiction motion pictures.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1953 Sci-Fi classic “The War of the Worlds” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!