With its campy action, bright colors and fun (if hokey) special effects, The War of the Worlds has been popular with science fiction fans since its release. The film's enduring legacy includes a syndicated television series made a quarter of a century later. Plot elements were also incorporated into the recent summer blockbuster Independence Day (1996).
The movie was, of course, based on the H.G. Wells novel. After a melodramatic reading by Cedric Hardwicke from the first page of the original text, the film begins to depart dramatically from the Victorian-era story.
Hollywood replaces the everyman protagonist with a rugged action hero scientist, who knows everything and is everywhere. Dr. Forrester (Gene Barry) may look like Rock Hudson, but as he is a scientist, he must wear dark-rimmed glasses.
He is soon given a love interest in beautiful and virtuous Sylvia (Ann Robinson). She is the daughter of an earnest preacher (Lewis Martin). Dr. Forrester alternates between trying to save mankind, and romancing Sylvia. At least he has his priorities straight.
Besides the formula romance and familiar stereotypes, the film is burdened further with a mediocre script. Many of the lines seem inserted to help blind viewers follow the plot; e.g. "The lights are out!" "Look, it's unscrewing!"
But as was the case with Independence Day, those who flocked to the theaters were not expecting a script with the quality of Casablanca. They wanted to see the special effects. In those days before computer animation, it was no small task to convincingly show Martian spaceships sacking Los Angeles. Never mind that you can sometimes see the wires from which the spaceships were suspended.
The special effects made heavy use of detailed models. They cost $1.3 million, more than half of the film's budget. The War of the Worlds won its only Oscar for its special effects. It was awarded posthumously to Gordon Jennings. The director, Byron Haskin, also had a background in special effects.
The film's most famous scene has the heroine cornered by a Martian in an abandoned farm house. The spindly fellow puts 'his' 'hand' on her shoulder, and we even get a glimpse of 'his' ugly little face. After the scientist hero clubs the Martian (score one for the home team!) it emits a bizarre shriek. This was created by recording a woman's scream, playing it backwards, and mixing it with the sound of dry ice being scraped.
Man's technology and military might proves useless against the aliens, which are soon using their death ray to level entire cities. While looters are running wild in the streets of Los Angeles, a pious service is held at a packed nearby church. It cannot be a coincidence that the tide is turned against the aliens following a group prayer.
Producer George Pal has a cameo in the movie, playing a bum. His had spent his early career making some forty Puppetoon animated shorts for Paramount. He then specialized in spectacular but cheezy science fiction/fantasy films, with Destination Moon (1950), When Worlds Collide (1951) The War of the Worlds, and tom thumb (1958) winning Oscars for their effects. (52/100)
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