From out of space ... came hordes of green monsters!
Simple and straightforward as an invasion of the earth, this film reaches, in any case, its purpose. "Invaders From Mars" is a fun "low budget" sci-fi of 1953, that with 2 or 3 good ideas becomes very interesting.
We must say, that there aren't big surprises, the story it's very
easy and it's only a fight of some terrestrials versus the martians,
with very stereotyped characters, as very clever member of U.S.
But
there is a marvelous appareance, that conquer the audience. Starting with a good use of
colors a perfect use of the techniques of the time, some good scenaries and a
soundtrack that goes
well with the evolution of history.
The
imbalance in favor of aesthetics is perhaps due to the presence of
director William Cameron Menzies, a factotum of the cinema, who also
lived the era of silent film.
Among the many works he made for the big screen, Menzies went down in history for his role as "Art Director". A
figure, shaped and redefined by himself, which saw him involved in
major productions, including "Gone With The Wind" (in which he shot
the sequence of the burning of Atlanta) and that gave him awards and two Oscars for "The Dove" and "Tempest" in 1927 and 1928 respectively.
In
this great resume, however, the role of director was a bit 'less
important, although Menzies boasts major works such as sci-fi "Things To
Come", from a story by HG Wells and especially "The Thief Of Bagdad" of 1940, in collaboration with other filmmakers.
Here
we find him near the end of his career and, unfortunately, a few years
before his death, but in great form, in a film in which he places
different ideas and visions of great quality.For
example, the sequence shot at the police station, which seem a place white and harmless, but with a sinister
aura. Good scene are also the one in the planetarium, the aliens' spaceship and also the "easy" typical American house.
The
characters, very typical of sci-fi, are made from naturally happy (at
the beginning) American family, the clever hero, the beautiful doctor
and the usual soldiers, but also a little new thing, a child, the main
character , which tells the story from his perspective.
His name is David is a passionate kid, like the father, of astronomy, so much to set the alarm at night to see the stars. One
night of them, trying to see a one time event, he saw (is
also an extraordinary event), a large flare that falls near his house. Nobody believes him, of course. But soon he notices the changes in people and a strange red mark on the neck of the same. The only ones who seem to listen at him is Dr. Pat Blake and astronomer Stuart Kelson, who trust the guy.
In
fact, the flash was an alien spaceship that went under the sand and
began a long process of conquering the minds of humans, with the aim to
conquer the planet. The three protagonist try but is not easy, to stop the mission.
We dont' have summarized the plot, in fact, it is exactly this, a
straight line, which provides for attack, defense and counterattack. No other things, apart from the visions of Menzies.
In the cast are Helena Carter in her last appearance. British-born
American actress, became a model and then an actress rather request in
Hollywood in the late forties and the early part of the fifties. Milburn
Stone instead went down in history for a television character starred
in the series "Gunsmoke," a series long-lived, lasted twenty
years. With
them there are also an expert of the "B Movies" as Arthur Franz, actors
as Morris Ankrum and Leif Erickson and the young meteor (in fact his
character was passionate about astronomy) Jimmy Hunt, who then didn't
do much in the world cinema apart starring in the remake of "Invaders From Mars" of 1986 by Tobe Hoper.
Technical
Orginale Title: Invaders From Mars
Alternative
Titles: Invasores de Mars (Spain, Venezuela), Anfall från Mars
(Sweden), Avaruuden pirut, Rymdens djävlar (Finland), Eisvoleis ap 'ton
Ari (Greece), The Space Invaders (Italy), Hódítók to Marsról (Hungary) ,
Invasion vom Mars (Germany), The attaque des Martiens (Belgium), Les
invaders de la planète rouge (France), Mars valt aan (Belgium, Flemish)
Najezdzcy z Marsa (Poland), Os Invasores de Mars (Brazil), Osvajači know Marsa (Serbia)
Year: 1953
Country: United States
Director: William Cameron Menzies
Cast: Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brook, Morris Ankrum, Max Wagner
