The War of the Worlds (1953)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1953
Running Times: 85 mins
Format: Technicolor     35mm
Ratio: 1.37:1
Sound: mono / Western Electric Multi-Track Magnetic Stereophonic

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Paramount
Executive Producer: Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
Producer: George Pal
Associate Producer: Frank Freeman Jr

SCRIPT
Script: Barré Lyndon
Novel: H.G. Wells

DIRECTION
Director: Byron Haskins
Assistant Director: Michael D. Moore

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: George Barnes
Chief Gaffer: Soldier Graham

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Everett Douglas

MUSIC
Music: Leith Stevens

SOUND
Sound Recording: Harry Lindgren, Gene Garvie?
Sound Editor: Lovell Norman
Sound Effects: Howard Beals, Gene Garvin, Dan Johnson, Harry Lindgren, Tommy Middleton, Walter Oberst

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up Supervisor: Wally Westmore
Costumes: Edith Head

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Photographic Effects: Gordon Jennings, Wallace Kelley, Ivyl Burks, Jan Domela, Irmin Roberts
Special Visual Effects (A-Bomb Sequence): Walter Hoffman
Special Effects: Paul Lerpae, Chester Pate, Bob Springfield, A. Edward Sutherland
Miniatures: Marcel Delgado
Matte Artist: Jan Domela
Special Optical Effects: Jack Caldwell, Aubrey Law
Process Photography: Farciot Edouart
Astronomical Art: Chesley Bonestell

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Directors: Hal Pereira, Albert Nozaki
Set Decorators: Sam Comer, Emile Kuri
Property Master: Gordon Cole
Props: Romaine Birkmeyer, Ivyl Burks, Charles Davies, Milt Olson, Lee Vasque

MISCELLANEOUS
Technicolor Consultant: Monroe W. Burbank
Technical Advisors: Dr Robert S. Richardson, Chesley Bonestell
Assistant to Producer: Gae Griffith

LOCATIONS
Locations: Florence, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA; Simi Valley, California, USA

STUNTS
Stunts: Mushy Callahan

CAST
Gene Barry (Dr Clayton Forrester)
Ann Robinson (Sylvia Van Buren)
Les Tremayne (Major General Mann USA)
Lewis Martin (Pastor Dr Matthew Collins)
Bob Cornthwaite (Dr Pryor)
Sandro Giglio (Dr Bilderbeck)
Bill Phipps (Wash Perry)
Jack Kruschen (Salvatore)
Vernon Rich (Colonel Ralph Heffner USMC)
Houseley Stevenson Jr (aide to General Mann)
Paul Frees (radio reporter)
Henry Brandon (cop at crash site with spot light)
Cedric Hardwicke (narrator)
Edgar Barrier (Professor McPherson (uncredited))
Russ Bender (Dr Carmichael (uncredited))
Ann Codee (Dr Duprey (uncredited))
Alex Frazer (Dr James (uncredited))
Ivan Lebedeff (Dr Gratzman (uncredited))
John Maxwell (doctor (uncredited))
Hugh Allen (Brigadier General (uncredited))
Mushy Callahan (burning soldier at pit (uncredited))
Jim Davies (Marine commanding officer (uncredited))
Stanley Orr (Marine Major (uncredited))
Fred Zendar (Marine Lieutenant (uncredited))
Martin Coulter (Marine sergeant (uncredited))
Dick Fortune, Charles J. Stewart (Marine Captains - both uncredited)
Douglas Henderson (Staff Sergeant (uncredited))
Don Kohler (Colonel (uncredited))
Anthony Warde (M.P. officer in L.A. (uncredited))
Joel Marston (M.P. in jeep in L.A. (uncredited))
James Seay (bomber pilot (uncredited))
Freeman Lusk (Secretary of Defense (uncredited))
Herbert Lytton (Chief of Staff (uncredited))
Teru Shimada (Japanese diplomat (uncredited))
Al Ferguson (Police Chief (uncredited))
Walter Sande (Sheriff Bogany (uncredited))
George Cisar (Deputy (uncredited))
Robert Rockwell (Forest Ranger at crash site (uncredited))
Peter Adams (pine summit fire watcher (uncredited))
Jimmie Dundee (Civil Defense official (uncredited))
Bud Wolfe (rescuing Civil Defense worker (uncredited))
Bob Morgan (injured Civil Defense worker (uncredited))
Sydney Mason (Fire Chief, Crew #3 (uncredited))
Bill Meader (P.E. official (uncredited))
Ralph Montgomery (Red Cross official in L.A. (uncredited))
Edward Colmans (Spanish priest (uncredited))
Russ Conway (Reverend Bethany (uncredited))
David McMahon (minister in 1st church (uncredited))
Eric Alden, Pierre Cressoy, John Mansfield (men (uncredited))
Ruth Barnell (mother (uncredited))
Paul Birch (Alonzo Hogue (uncredited))
Hazel Boyne (screaming woman (uncredited))
Ralph Dumke (Buck Monahan (uncredited))
George Pal (bum #1 listening to radio (uncredited))
Frank Freeman Jr (bum #2 listening to radio (uncredited))
Ned Glass (well-dressed looter in L.A. (uncredited))
Fred Graham (looter in L.A. (uncredited))
Nancy Hale (young wife (uncredited))
Virginia Hall, Patricia Iannone (girl (uncredited))
Rudy Lee, Waldon Williams (boys - both uncredited)
Ted Hecht (KGEB reporter (uncredited))
Gertrude Hoffman (elderly woman news vendor in L.A. (uncredited))
Jerry James (reporter (uncredited))
Carolyn Jones (blonde (uncredited))
Frank Kreig (Fiddler Hawkins (uncredited))
Mike Mahoney (young man (uncredited))
Alvy Moore (Zippy (uncredited))
Walter Richards (reporter (uncredited))
Cora Shannon (old woman (uncredited))
David Sharpe (looter in L.A. (uncredited))
Gus Taillon (elderly man (uncredited))
Morton C. Thompson (reporter (uncredited))
Dale Van Sickel (looter in L.A. (uncredited))
Dorothy Vernon (elderly woman (uncredited))
Edward Wahrman (cameraman (uncredited))
Charles Gemora (Martian (uncredited))

PLOT SUMMARY

A meteor crashes to Earth outside a small town in the USA. It turns out oto be one of a whole fleet of Martian ships that have come to this planet with conquest in mind. Before longm the Martians are attacking everything in sight aboard their force-field protected flying machines and even nuclear weapons are useless against them. Will anything be able to stop them?

Wells purists are, understandably, less than impressed with the liberties taken by this big screen adaptation of his best novel and certainly the updating and relocation to an anonymous mid-West setting seems wholly unneccessary now. That said, taken as a film in its own right, War of the Worlds is a fabulous movie, boasting great special effects (just ignore those wires holding up the war machines...), solid performances and a cracking pace that never flags. It's everything the bloated and tedious Independence Day (1996) should have been in fact. (Full Review)

Germany
DVD Distributor: Paramount (P901017 - 2000)

UK
Video Distributor: CIC
Laserdisc Distributor: Pioneer (PLFEB 35391)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Paramount
Laserdisc Distributor: Paramount (LV 5303-2); Paramount (LV 5303)
DVD Distributor: Paramount (053037 - 1999)

Finland
Rating: K-16

Germany
Rating: 12

Sweden
Rating: 15

USA
Rating: G

1954
Academy Awards, USA
Best Effects, Special Effects (Gordon Jennings) - winner
Best Film Editing (Everett Douglas) - nominated
Best Sound, Recording (Loren L. Ryder - Paramount Sound Department) - nominated

1953
August
26: USA - theatrical release

November
6: Finland - theatrical release
9: Sweden - theatrical release

1994
May
Day Unknown: USA - laserdisc release (Paramount (LV 5303-2))

1997
January
Day Unknown: UK - laserdisc release (Pioneer (PLFEB 35391))

1999
April
20: USA - (Paramount (053037))

2000
September
7: Germany - DVD release (Paramount (P901017))

Mighty panorama of Earth-shaking fury as an army from Mars invades!

Kampf der Welten - German title

SEE ALSO
Independence Day (1996)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
War of the Worlds (1988)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
A Century of Science Fiction (1996)
Explorers (1985)
The Fantasy Film World of George Pal (1985)
The Giant Claw (1957)
Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here (1987)
It Came from Hollywood (1982)
My Science Fiction Life (2006)
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen (1996)

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique vol.5 no.4 (1977) pp.4-16, 34-47 (UK)
illustrated production notes (by Steve Rubin)

Cinefantastique vol. 37 no.4 July 2005 p.72 (USA)
illustrated article

Cinefantastique vol. 37 no.9 Yearbook 2005 pp.32-33 (USA)
illustrated DVD review

Empire no.189 March 2005 pp.119-128 (UK)
illustrated article

Empire no.191 May 2005 pp.70-71 (UK)
illustrated article

Empire no.198 December 2005 p.160 (UK)
illustrated DVD review

Film Daily vol.103 no.45 9 March 1953 p.7 (USA)
review

Film Review no.664 December 2005 pp.120-121 (UK)
illustrated article, DVD review

Filmfax no.50 May / June 1995 pp.45-49 (USA)
illustrated interview

Filmfax no.74 (August / September 1999) pp.28, 30 (USA)
illustrated article

Halls of Horror 27 p.29 (UK)
note

Journal of Popular Film & Television vol.18 no.3 pp.103-111 (Autumn 1990)
article

Kinematograph Weekly no.2387 (26 March 1953) p.22 (UK)
review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.20 no.232 (May 1953) p.70 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Motion Picture Herald vol.186 no.4 (26 January 1952) (UK)
note

Motion Picture Herald vol.190 no.2 (10 January 1953) p.1679 (USA)
review

Motion Picture Herald vol.190 no.9 (28 February 1953) p.1741 (USA)
review

New Statesman and Nation 11 April 1953 (UK)
review (by William Whitebait)

Outré no.22 (Winter 2000) pp.51, 80-82
illustrated article (Leith Stevens: Earth vs. Mars - The Man Who Kept the Score by Mark Hasan)

Radio Times vol.271 no.3541 (2 November 1991) p.54 (UK)
illustrated article

Saturday Review of the Arts 12 September 1953 (USA)
review

Shivers 39 p.19 (UK)
review

Shivers 50 p.57 (UK)
review

Starburst vol.1 no.4 (November 1978) p.22-27 (UK)
illustrated credits, article

Starburst no.307 (February 2004) pp.18-30 (UK)
illustrated article

Starburst no.330 (November 2005) pp.44, 46 (UK)
illustrated article

Starburst Special no.72 Yearbook pp.46-48, 50 (UK)
illustrated interview

Starlog no.195 (October 1993) (USA)
illustrated interview with Ann Robinson (In Martian Combat by Tom Weaver)

Time and Tide 11 April 1953 (UK)
review (by Fred Majdalany)

Today's Cinema vol.79 no.6621 (29 October 1952) p.14 (UK)
review

Today's Cinema vol.80 no.6721 20 March 1953 p.14 (UK)
review

Today's Cinema vol.81 no.6792 (3 July 1953) p.8 (UK)
review

Variety 4 March 1953 (USA)
credits, review

Views & Reviews vol.6 no.1 (Autumn 1974) pp.2-7 (USA)
review

NEWSPAPERS

Daily Mail 4 April 1953 (UK)
review (The Day the Martians Fell on Hollywood by Fred Majdalany)

Daily Telegraph 4 April 1953 (UK)
review (by Campbell Dixon)

BOOKS

Elliott's Guide to Films on Video (4th Edition) p.874
credits, review

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

aliens, alien invasions, martians, book into film, spaceships, war, meteors, scientists, military, churches, viruses, nuclear weapons, priests, radiation, mars

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008