I
had forgotten just how long the beginning was.
I sat waiting for the invasion to begin as the
low monotone voice quietly explained just why
the Martians had picked the Earth to invade. See,
the outer planets were too cold, and the inner
planets were too warm. (Oddly enough, the film
makers of the 1950's left out Venus. Probably
because they were unsure if this planet, like
Mars, somehow harbored life). Earth was just right
for their needs.
Then,
there's a half hour pause as we're introduced
to the main characters. We meet Dr. Clayton Forrester
*. A typical 50's scientist with a chiseled jaw
of iron and the inelegance of Einstein. You know,
the type of guy who's as at home solving complex
equations as he is firing an M1 rifle. We meet
Sylvia Van Buren, Clayton's love interest. The
typical mid-century starlet who's good at screaming
when any monsters come around. The place that
they live is a wonderful little town in California
where nothing bad ever happens. That is until
the Martians pay them a visit.
Finally,
after a long wait, the invasion begins.
I
had forgotten, as a child, just how frightening
this movie was to me. The creatures scarred me
little, what really frightened me was the "idea".
The "idea" that even with all of our
technological might and military power, we could
be overwhelmed and destroyed by another force
greater than our own. The movie brought out questions
in me: could the Soviets, as in the terrifying
movie THE DAY AFTER, destroy our way of life simply
on a whim? The fact that civilization can be pushed
over the edge towards the brink of destruction
in a few days really made me think just how tenuous
our lives could be.
I
watched in amazement as the Martian rays blasted
soldiers, artillery, tanks and
finally entire cities into smithereens. The hopelessness
of it all as the Army turned from fighting battles
into meek attempts to delay the Martians and allow
civilian populations to somehow escape the onslaut
of the Martian invaders. It was all for naught.
Eventually the Martians would destroy us all.
How
would/could humanity survive? We attacked the
Martians with everything that we had. We fired
rockets, dropped bombs and even attacked them
with the dreaded "A-bomb" all to no
avail. At every turn, humanity lost battle after
battle and the Martians won. It was slowly becoming
apparent that the Martians would wipe humanity
off the Earth and there was little that we could
do about it. Then it happened.
The
invasion stopped. It was over. The littlest of
creatures, the Germ, had infected and obliterated
the entire Martian army. The low monotone voice
had returned to reassure us that the Germ had
been placed on Earth by an all knowing God just
for this purpose. The End.
What
struck me most (other than the fact that the movie
INDEPENDENCE DAY REALLY ripped this movie off
in their, in my opinion poor, "remake"
of WAR OF THE WORLDS) was the fact that I had
forgotten just how much I loved this movie. I
would even call it my favorite movie from this
period of time. Sure, other movies from this time
period were good, but this one was GREAT.
If
every movie could be this good I'd go the theater
more often.
Then,
there's a half hour pause as we're introduced
to the main characters. We meet Dr. Clayton Forrester
*. A typical 50's scientist with a chiseled jaw
of iron and the inelegance of Einstein. You know,
the type of guy who's as at home solving complex
equations as he is firing an M1 rifle. We meet
Sylvia Van Buren, Clayton's love interest. The
typical mid-century starlet who's good at screaming
when any monsters come around. The place that
they live is a wonderful little town in California
where nothing bad ever happens. That is until
the Martians pay them a visit. 
and
finally entire cities into smithereens. The hopelessness
of it all as the Army turned from fighting battles
into meek attempts to delay the Martians and allow
civilian populations to somehow escape the onslaut
of the Martian invaders. It was all for naught.
Eventually the Martians would destroy us all.