The War of the Worlds poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Lewis Martin, Henry Brandon ... see more see more... , Robert Cornthwaite , Sandro Giglio , Jack Kruschen , Paul H. Frees , William Phipps , Vernon Rich , Cedric Hardwicke , Peter Adams , Eric Alden , Hugh Allen , Edgar Barrier , Paul Birch , Cliff Clark , Ann Codee , Russ Conway , Pierre Cressoy , Ralph Dumke , Jimmie Dundee , Al Ferguson , Alex Frazer , Charles Gemora , Ned Glass , Fred Graham , Nancy Hale , Ted Hecht , Douglas Henderson , Gertrude W. Hoffman , Carolyn Jones , Frank Kreig , Ivan Lebedeff , Rudy Lee , Freeman Lusk , Mike Mahoney , John Mansfield , Joel Marston , Sydney Mason , David McMahon , Ralph Montgomery , Robert Rockwell , Walter Sande , Jamesson Shade , Cora Shannon , David Sharpe , Teru Shimada , Dale Van Sickel , Dorothy Vernon , Anthony Warde , Bud Wolfe , Russ Bender , John Maxwell , Alvy Moore , George Pal , Frank Freeman Jr , Fred Zendar , Virginia Hall , Hazel Boyne , Edward Colmans , Jerry James , Don Kohler , Herbert C. Lytton , Bill Meader , Jim Davies , Dick Fortune , Stanley Orr , Gus Taillon , Morton C. Thompson , Houseley Stevenson Jr.

H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds had been on the Paramount Pictures docket since the silent era, when it was optioned as a potential Cecil B. DeMille production. When Paramount finally got around to a f... read more read more...ilming the Wells novel, the property was firmly in the hands of special-effects maestro George Pal. Like Orson Welles's infamous 1938 radio adaptation, the film eschews Wells's original Victorian England setting for a contemporary American locale, in this case Southern California. A meteorlike object crash-lands near the small town of Linda Rosa. Among the crowd of curious onlookers is Pacific Tech scientist Gene Barry, who strikes up a friendship with Ann Robinson, the niece of local minister Lewis Martin. Because the meteor is too hot to approach at present, Barry decides to wait a few days to investigate, leaving three townsmen to guard the strange, glowing object. Left alone, the three men decide to approach the meterorite, and are evaporated for their trouble. It turns out that this is no meteorite, but an invading spaceship from the planet Mars. The hideous-looking Martians utilize huge, mushroomlike flying ships, equipped with heat rays, to pursue the helpless earthlings. When the military is called in, the Martians demonstrate their ruthlessness by "zapping" Ann's minister uncle, who'd hoped to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff. As Barry and Ann seek shelter, the Martians go on a destructive rampage. Nothing-not even an atom-bomb blast-can halt the Martian death machines. The film's climax occurs in a besieged Los Angeles, where Barry fights through a crowd of refugees and looters so that he may be reunited with Ann in Earth's last moments of existence. In the end, the Martians are defeated not by science or the military, but by bacteria germs-or, to quote H.G. Wells, "the humblest things that God in his wisdom has put upon the earth." Forty years' worth of progressively improving special effects have not dimmed the brilliance of George Pal's War of the Worlds. Even on television, Pal's Oscar-winning camera trickery is awesome to behold. So indelible an impression has this film made on modern-day sci-fi mavens that, when a 1988 TV version of War of the Worlds was put together, it was conceived as a direct sequel to the 1953 film, rather than a derivation of the Wells novel or the Welles radio production. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

67% liked it

63,678 ratings

Critics

85% liked it

27 critics

G, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Byron Haskin

Release Date: August 1, 1953

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: April 20, 1999

Get It:

Stats: 2,466 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Martian craft The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds Alien Craft Sylvia Van Buren and Dr. Clayton Forrester The War of the Worlds The aliens attack The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds The Alien The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds Uncle Mathews
Upload a Photo | View All The War of the Worlds Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (2,466)

  • fb100002384654145
    February 12, 2012
    fb100002384654145
    Extremely dated with mind-numbingly wooden acting. Some of the special effects are kinda nice to look at but their is not enough set pieces to hide the thin and uninspired pseudo-documentary screenplay. The religious overtone that comes out of nowhere in the end is face-palming... read morely over-the-top. The characters are cardboard cut-outs and the pacing is slower than the flying saucers. The aliens look atrociously silly because of their eyes which look like glowing "Simon-Says" toys. Not quite sure why this dumb excuse for a popcorn flick is considered a classic. However I will give the movie credit, it gave me and my friends some great laughs.
  • FrizzDrop
    June 29, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Could not help but contrast the original to the Spielberg/Cruise version. Besides the difference that fifty years make, the original film focuses more on the alien takeover of the planet and their aggression, rather than on the emotional aspects of survival that the latter film m... read moreade the central point. This version does follow a scientist and his female colleague as they try to combat deadly otherworld weaponry with everything from tanks to the atom bomb, all of which are obliterated by the superior beings' lasers and firing mechanisms. Instead of leaving us in the dark to the world's whereabouts like the remake, the original holds a British narration and stock footage from World War Two to show the world spectrum and the devastation that's being caused. The Technicolor contrast was crisp, the color reminiscent of museum dioramas. Still, the film doesn't deal with any real human fears or struggle for survival until the last twenty minutes of the film, once all options are exhausted and hysteria takes hold, making mobs out of the remaining citizens of large metropolises. There are some heart wrenching sequences, but it was very long-winded and boring in the beginning, which can't be made up for. Plus, the female heroine of the film is described as intelligent with a Masters in library sciences, but when trouble comes a calling she shrieks, puts her hand to her temple, and flashes her false eyelashes up at any macho hunk nearby. And the ending, which I won't give away, feels like a blatant copout. It's a quick fix to a problem that's supposedly so big it's unstoppable. There are also many religious overtones as a ploy, unlike the book written by H.G. Wells, a speculated atheist. Still, it was enjoyable as long as I paid attention to the alien ships and not the tiresome humans.
  • mumby1988
    January 26, 2011
    mumby1988
    It's a common complaint that American adaptations of British novels lose the quintessential nature of their source in favour of something more glossy and marketable. That's certainly true of The War of the Worlds, the first attempt to put H. G. Wells' iconic novel up on screen, a... read morend the first to come in the shadow of Orson Welles' ground-breaking radio play. It's not as tense as Welles' version, or as enjoyable as Steven Spielberg's take, but it is a perfectly passable adaptation with a number of strong points.

    The film starts off with our narrator (played by English character actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke) guiding us on a whistle-stop tour through the solar system. He explains the hostile nature of other planets' atmospheres, concluding that if the Martians should invade anywhere, it would have to be Earth. The Martians are presented as an intelligent race, and we are to some extent shown the build-up to the invasion from their point of view.

    Having started promisingly, it isn't long before some of the film's budgetary constraints become apparent. Like a lot of B-movies, the film is heavily reliant on stock footage during its bigger, more action-packed moments. Its re-use of the same shots of cannons firing and tanks rolling into battle make it seem like an ad campaign for the American army. In the middle of the film there is also a montage of destruction and chaos intercut with footage of the actors, a technique which would later be used to perfection in the opening sequence of Mad Max 2.

    On the other hand, we have the special effects of the aliens. This is the element which Byron Haskin and his team had to get right, and generally speaking, they did. The swan-shaped copper aliens were specifically designed not to resemble flying saucers, and in the wide shots especially they are pretty threatening. They are not, however, tripods as detailed in the book; rather than walking (which is difficult to replicate mechanically), the war machines float via beams of blue light, which at the very least distract us from the wire work.

    But while the war machine designs are truly out of this world, the Martians themselves are disappointing human. The faces of the Martians, which are replicated in their periscopes, are made up of red, blue and green panels, which are arranged to vaguely resemble the outline of a human face - the red panel is at the bottom to denote a mouth, and the blue and green panels above it could easily be eyes. As is so often the case, the aliens in The War of the Worlds look most sinister from a distance - when a Martian touches our heroine on the shoulder, it's a bit pathetic.

    This version of The War of the Worlds deviates sharply from the novel in a number of ways, some interesting and successful, others less so. Most obviously, the action is relocated from 1890s Woking to 1950s California, and in doing so a lot of the substance of Wells' novel is lost. So much of the original story is about turning the accepted British political and social attitudes on their heads by portraying a war in which the British are the victims of an invasion rather than the conquerors. British imperialism, Herbert Spencer's natural selection and the 'English way of life' are all held under the microscope and shown to be ruthless and unjust.

    By transferring the story to America, as Welles had done, The War of the Worlds becomes more about the Cold War and American fears of 'Reds under the beds'. Some of this substance fits quite nicely around the original plot: the Martians, who come from 'the Red planet', are demonstrated to be highly organised and efficient, and working collectively towards a single goal. But even as bald allegory goes, it's not as satisfying an examination of Communist threat as Invasion of the Body-Snatchers (which itself is trumped by the 1970s version by Philip Kaufman).

    More frustratingly, the film makes big concessions to melodrama. We are required, for instance, to believe that Gene Barry is a famous and highly intelligent scientist, despite the fact that he looks every bit as chisel-jawed and rugged as Charlton Heston. When Ann Robinson's character questions him about this, he says that he shaved his beard off before coming to town and so no longer resembles his photo on the cover of Time. As laughable excuses go, it's up there with the line in The Hunt for Red October in which Sean Connery's unique accent is explained away by saying he is Lithuanian.

    Being an old Hollywood film, the role of women is, shall we say, restricted. Robinson is required to scream and be hysterical on cue, while all the men around here can be noble, restrained and carry out a plan of action. While the male leads dash around the bunker, planning their attack on the Martians, she is left to hand up cups of coffee; and after the couple have sheltered in a tumbledown house, she makes Barry his breakfast first thing in the morning. The film may not be as sexist as The Snows of Kilimanjaro, but it's hardly pushing the envelope when it comes to female roles.

    Despite these contrivances, however, we find ourselves bonding to these characters and staying with them for the course of the film. Although their introduction might be slightly silly, they are generally well-drawn and sympathetic. We certainly care about them enough to worry that they might get separated and never see each other again, as happens in the last twenty minutes when the film really girds its loins and shows human society on the verge of collapse. Critics of The War of the Worlds have written the story off as people running away for 90 minutes, but these scenes are both visually spectacular and emotionally engrossing.

    The film is at its most interesting when it taps into the characters trying to cope with the invasion and depicting the surrounding chaos. Aside from the street scenes in which men are turning on men and money has become worthless, there are a number of moments of genuine panic or alarm which stick in one's mind. The scene of the vicar wandering out to meet the Martians while reciting Psalm 23 will have you on edge, as will the feeling of desperation after the aliens survive an atomic bomb.

    As with all productions of The War of the Worlds, we eventually have to face one of the anticlimactic endings in literature. Having the aliens being killed by bacteria is a classic deus ex machina, drawing the action to a convenient close through a plot device which is deeply unsatisfying. But rather than go the way of The Blob or Invasion of the Body-Snatchers and leave us on a daring cliff-hanger, this adaptation takes the original ending and manages to fudge it further.

    Wells was a scientific socialist who believed in rational progress towards a better society. In the book, our narrator takes shelter with a priest who loses his mind and meets a sticky end: the rational survive, the irrational do not. But Haskin and his screenwriter Barré Lyndon (an obvious but witty pseudonym) fudge this by inserting religious themes. Just before the Martians start falling out of the sky, the survivors are gathered in a church praying for a miracle. The narrator explains that "humanity was saved by the littlest things, which God, in His wisdom, had put upon this earth.". Suggesting after such carnage that God was involved all the time simply doesn't cut the mustard in this context.

    The War of the Worlds is perfectly passable tosh. It doesn't have the political balls or ambition of Orson Welles' version, and it deviates from its source so wildly that purists will be annoyed. But there is enough schlocky B-movie charm in it to entertain for its short running time, and those who are not fans of Spielberg's version will probably enjoy this more. It's nothing to write home about, but as 1950s B-movies go it has lasted and dated surprisingly well.
  • ajv2688
    November 7, 2010
    ajv2688
    The classic fifties version of the book. If you love fifties sci-fi movies, you should see this movie. It's not fantastic, but it is interesting and cool to see.
  • Redlats
    October 30, 2010
    Redlats
    I guess better late than never. Saw this for the first time 57 years after it was released. It was pretty amazing considering it was filmed in 1953. It is one of the classics.

    If it was filmed in the 21st century, I would not rate it as highly though. The story is short on c... read moreontent - and pretty optimistic if you are human. The Martians out-technology Earthlings, but our germs kill them. Of course, every 'good' movie needs a romance. But for its age, you should watch it.
  • FilmFanatik
    January 13, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    Yeah, it's a pretty cheesy sci-fi movie, but who cares. It's still a lot of fun and still has some relevant concepts in it. Not bad for a nearly 60 year old film.
  • bottcorecords1
    September 18, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    Although I might prefer Steven Spielberg's re-make, the original War of The Worlds is amazing in it's own right. The main difference is the special effects (and you have to look at it through 1950s eyes- if such a thing is possible), and as this story is mainly effects driven by... read more nature, the edge naturally has to go to the film with the better effects. I will say this, and it's something I didn't notice as a kid watching this for the first time, the directing is quite remarkable. There are a few scenes where the director intentionally uses out-of-focus close-ups on the actors in a method not used at that time outside of foreign films. It's a daring and artistic flare that meshes well with the (at the time) state of the art effects. The actors portray their characters in a manner fairly typical of 50s sci-fi, but it works here. War of the Worlds in alot of respects is more suited to 1950s sci-fi anyway; the birth of modern science fiction, where a high level radiation exposure might mean we need to "put up a barrier" to keep the people back, and giant meteors, far from being cataclysmic events, are actually an excuse to set up tourist traps replete with hot dog vendors. It's all good fun though, and like Spielberg's re-make, a suspension of disbelief is required to fully enjoy.
  • flixsterman
    January 6, 2009
    flixsterman
    One of my all-time favorite sci-fi flicks. A classic!
  • rubystevens
    October 30, 2008
    rubystevens
    today is the 70th anniversary of orson welles' live radio broadcast of war of the worlds, causing panic across the u.s. and u can listen to the original broadcast here!! http://www.radioheardhere.com/waroftheworlds/
  • rezpatriot
    March 2, 2008
    rezpatriot
    Superb Sci fi

View All The War of the Worlds Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
June 8, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

As the perfect crystallization of 50s ideology the film would be fascinating enough, but the special effects in this 1953 George Pal production also achieve a kind of dark, burnished apocalyptic beauty. Full Review

Variety Staff
June 8, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

War of the Worlds is a socko science-fiction feature, as fearsome as a film as was the Orson Welles 1938 radio interpretation of the H.G. Wells novel. Full Review

A.H. Weiler
October 31, 2006
A.H. Weiler, New York Times

Mind those heat rays! Full Review

Douglas Pratt
December 6, 2005
Douglas Pratt, Hollywood Reporter

A half-century after its creation, the film's best moments are still so enjoyably unnerving that they easily carry a viewer through the necessary but inevitably dated exposition.

Rob Humanick
October 3, 2011
Rob Humanick, Suite101.com

Understandably well-remembered, but its status as a high classic seems more incidental than earned. Full Review

Carly Kocurek
January 1, 2011
Carly Kocurek, Common Sense Media

Some grisly and scary parts. Not for young 'uns. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
March 2, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

classic

Steve Crum
February 22, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Definitely a sci-fi classic from the 1950s...great George Pal effects.

June 8, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Though it's bogged down by a stiff cast, a yawn-inspiring conventional romance, and a sappy religiosity, it remains a landmark in the history of special effects. Full Review

Mark Bourne
April 5, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

For a movie that already succeeded in scaring the Grape Nehi out of every ten-year-old in the audience, how disquieting it must have been for the Cold War-agitated grownups to witness U.S. might, tank... Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • War of the Worlds
    War of the Worlds (83%)
  • Independence Day
    Independence Day (82%)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
    Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (60%)
  • 1984
    1984 (100%)

More Movies like The War of the Worlds

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

The War of the Wo... : Watch Free on TV

The War of the Worlds Trivia

  • In what recording, (that has now been made into a film) was Richard Burton the voice of the Journalist  Answer »
  • Which of these movies is NOT based on a novel or short story by Philip K. Dick?   Answer »
  • In wich movie did Dakota Fanning and Tom Cruise face aliens sprouting out of the ground??????????  Answer »
  • Fill in the blanks: STAR____s Godzilla: Final ___s ___ of the worlds  Answer »
More The War of the Worlds Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for The War of the Worlds. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add The War of the Worlds to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

mbzrs Skin by mbzrs
43 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins