Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Daniel Mainwaring (screenplay)
Jack Finney (Collier's magazine serial)

Release Date:

5 February 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

... there was nothing to hold onto - except each other.

Plot:

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Delusion | Psychiatrist | Seedpod | Horror Movie Remade

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Miles J. Bennell
Dana Wynter	...	Becky Driscoll
Larry Gates	...	Dr. Dan 'Danny' Kauffman
King Donovan	...	Jack Belicec
Carolyn Jones	...	Theodora 'Teddy' Belicec
Jean Willes	...	Nurse Sally Withers
Ralph Dumke	...	Police Chief Nick Grivett
Virginia Christine	...	Wilma Lentz
Tom Fadden	...	Uncle Ira Lentz
Kenneth Patterson	...	Stanley Driscoll
Guy Way	...	Officer Sam Janzek
Eileen Stevens	...	Anne Grimaldi
Beatrice Maude	...	Grandma Driscoll
Jean Andren	...	Eleda Lentz
Bobby Clark	...	Jimmy Grimaldi

Also Known As:

Sleep No More
They Came from Another World (USA) (working title)
Walter Wanger's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | West Germany:16 | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #17567)

Filming Locations:

1200 N. Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

Throughout the years, Sam Peckinpah (who appears briefly in the film as the meter reader) claimed that he had done work on the script ranging from modifications to major overhauls. Those who worked on the film claimed that if Peckinpah had made any changes to the script, it was limited to a few lines of dialog. Peckinpah's claims became so inflated that the actual writer, Daniel Mainwaring, threatened to file an official complaint with the Writers Guild of America, so Peckinpah backed down. When Peckinpah died in 1984, many of his obituaries still carried the claim that he had rewritten the screenplay for this film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Becky Driscoll parks the car in the used car lot, she hits the right side of the rear car bumper of the other car. You can hear the distinct sound of metal been crushed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Harvey Bassett: Oh, Doctor Hill.
Dr. Hill: Dr. Basset. Well, where's the patient?
Dr. Harvey Bassett: I hated to drag you out of bed at this time of night. You'll soon see why I did.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Monsterama Sci-Fi Late Night Creature Feature Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

An American cinematic masterpiece

When I first watched this movie I was a teenager. I knew nothing about the Mcarthey era. I didn't live through the early post cold war paranoia. There were no outside influences aside from my love of movies.

I have seen the film over 2 dozen times and believe it to be the best of the 50's generation, and one of the top 3 or 4 science fiction films of all time. With or without the prologue and epilogue.

All things are not what they seem. What if you woke up from a nightmare to find that you are still in it, and can't get out. The message is clear. A home, a car, and a career are all great to strive for in one's life. But love, compassion and emotion are the true gifts to keep living in the first place. Imagine a home without love or any emotion what so ever. None. Good or bad.

One by one, Kevin Mcarthy and Dana Wynter are confronted by the loss of neighbors, associates, and friends. The horror of the loss of everything they new. Early on, when a boy thinks his mother isn't his mother, and a friend doubt's her uncle is who he says he is. Doctor Miles is confused and doesn't know what to believe. So he goes with common sense. His eyes see there is no problem. But The evidence piles slowly and precisely. Soon it is not only what to believe, but who to trust.

Kevin Mcarthy is outstanding. Dana Wynter is absolutely gorgeous and the chemistry between the two seems real. The film will keep you glued from beginning 'til end. Simply one of the best!