rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1956
Directed by Don Siegel; produced by Walter Wanger; screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring
Starring Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Jean Willes
Based on a three part serial in Colliers Magazine, 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' is a dramatic science fiction thriller working on multiple levels. On the one hand it tells a low-budget story of an alien life form slowly taking over a small town. On the other it is able, whether intentional or not, to show the hysteria and paranoia both toward Communism and McCarthyism.
Hardly anything happens what we would expect in a science fiction thriller like this. There is only one big chase scene, no real special effects, little action. It works because it is all so damn creepy. The tension is slowly build up. At first only some villagers are taken over by aliens, seen through the people who love them. Then more suspicious things start to happen. Of course there is psychiatrist who suggests it is in their heads - even though we are talking lots of people here.
The hero is Dr. Miles Bennell (ironically played by McCarthy, Kevin). He belongs to the small group of people who believe something is wrong. Together with love interest Becky (Dana Wynter) and their friends Jack (King Donovan) and Teddy (Carolyn Jones) they actually see one of the alien beings slowly turning into Jack, and later Miles sees one turning into Becky. Not long after they discover the pods producing the creatures, the entire town has turned alien. The four are now officially on the run.
The film is creepy instead of really scary. This has to do with the nature of the aliens. They are still the same human beings, only lacking real emotions. Instead of fighting our heroes they are talking to them, hoping they will give up their resistance and simply join them in their non-emotional world after a good sleep. This non-violent approach can be very effective, as Roman Polanski's 'Repulsion' and 'Rosemary's Baby' show even better.
Science fiction films from the 1950s are often silly. They belong to the quintessential B-films. In a way 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' qualifies for this, but I would say it works too well on the surface and has that hidden layer. If all of thse so called B-films would be as good as this one, I would have a lot of catching up to do.