1953 film by William Cameron Menzies
Invaders from Mars is a 1953 American science fiction horror film directed by William Cameron Menzies and starring Helena Carter, Arthur Franz and Jimmy Hunt. It was produced by Edward L. Alperson Jr. and released by 20th Century-Fox in SuperCinecolor.
The film follows David MacLean, a young boy who witnesses a flying saucer landing behind his home one night. When his father investigates, he returns a changed man; soon David's mother, his neighbors, and others begin to act in the same way. David's panicked story is heard by Dr. Pat Blake, who takes him to astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston. David convinces Kelston that this is an invading vanguard from Mars.
Invaders from Mars recounts its story from the point of view of an older child in an adult world heading into crisis. It was developed from a scenario by Richard Blake and based on a story treatment by John Tucker Battle, who was inspired by a dream recounted to him by his wife. The film was rushed into production to be released before George Pal's War of the Worlds (also released in 1953), becoming the first feature film to show aliens and their spacecraft in color.
The film developed a cult following in the years following its initial release, and was championed by directors like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Joe Dante as a childhood favorite. A remake film was released in 1986, directed by Tobe Hooper. In 2024, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.