Invaders From Mars

While a B-movie in many ways, Invaders from Mars (IFM) is one of the top 10 classics of 50s sci-fi. One of the strengths of B-films was how quickly they could be produced. This allowed them to react quickly to news. IFM is a good example of this. Word was out about George Pal working on his epic War of the Worlds which he planned to release in late summer 1953. Producer Edward Alperson and director William Cameron Menzies were able to whip together IFM and release it in April, beating Pal to the punch and taking advantage of the Mars buzz Pal was generating. Rare for an early 50s B-film, it was shot in color.

IFM was written in 1950 and is one of the foundational movies which painted Mars as the hostile invader planet. IFM's martians invade on a very small scale (better for B-movie budgets). Nonetheless, Menzies puts together a captivating and erie tale which made a lasting impression on audiences and set the bar very high for B-movies. Few have met that standard since.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Young David, son of a rocket program scientist, sees a glowing green saucer land in the sand pits near his house. Soon his parents and other adult authority figures are acting strangely, or zombie-like. David surmises that they martians have taken them over to do their bidding, but no one will believe him. David finally convinces a social worker doctor and her astronomer boyfriend. Soon the military are properly alerted to the martians' subterfuge. Since the secret rocket project is so important, they react strongly. Trainloads of tanks and troops are brought in to surround the sand pits. For awhile, David and Dr. Blake are captured by the martian and his Mutant (pron.: Mew-tant) henchmen. The army breeches the tunnels place explosives aboard the ship. Everyone gets out just in time. David wakes up, as if it were all a dream, but he then sees a green light land in the sand pit, just like it had at the start of his "dream." Was his dream was prophetic?

Why is this movie fun?
Menzies did an amazing job with the limited budget he had. The stage sets have a surreal quality to them. Forced perspectives, angles or exaggerated proportions, such as the police station, keeps the mood edgy. The sets are reminiscent of the "art" sets of Russian Constructivism (Aelita's Mars) and German Expressionism (Metropolis). This is much more art than a B-film usually gets. See how much the sets defy normal proportions.

The effect of people being swallowed up by holes in the sand, accompanied by the atonal chorus is marvelous. The whole possessed-loved-one theme was striking and powerful. It showed up first in the obscure 1951 B-film The Man From Planet X but this film had too little exposure to make a lasting impression. IFM really kicked off the plot device of people being "taken over" by hostile aliens. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) would make this famous, but IFM had it first -- and very effectively.

Cold War Angle
The Russians aren't cited specifically, but the general angst over infiltration and invasion are dominant themes. Another subtle indicator of Cold War angst is the ample quantities of US military footage set with proud martial music. Morris Ankrum, playing Colonel Fielding sums up the American pride in it's military when he sees all the tanks surrounding the sand pit. "Tanks. Is there a more beautiful sight?" This is an upbeat aspect of Cold War feelings.

Notes
Unrealistic? -- Some reviews of IFM harp on unrealistic plot elements, but they usually miss the point of the film. It's told from young David's point of view. Yes, it's another one of those "it's all a dream" tricks, but since it's a 9 year old boy's dream, it would be unrealistic. The possession of David's parents, the police chief, etc. destroy the authority figures which make David's world secure. He's alone to face the frightening world. David finds a pair of ultra-caring surrogate parents in Dr. Blake and Stu. Stu's monologue about the 'theory' that the martians live in mother ships, created semi-human Mutants to serve them, and fear the earth rocket programs as threatening their status quo, is totally bizarre if it were intended as a serious bit of plot dialogue. But, since Stu becomes David's replacement male authority figure, he was expected to have everything all figured out. A boy's idolizing view of authority figures.

Stock Footage -- Many B-films make extensive use of stock footage -- often military footage. IFM is no different, but may have shot it's footage fresh instead of recycling. It's in the same color as the rest of the movie. The scenes of tanks rumbling by, or trucks of troops racing past the camera seem to go on and on, far beyond anything the plot required. Once again, however, keep in mind the perspective of a young boy's dream. All those tanks and troops symbolize the forces of Good preparing to take on the forces of Evil. Wallowing in the good-guys' heroic entrance is a natural.

They're After Our Women -- IFM has a scene of the iconic They're-After-Our-Women type, as it shows on the poster. One of the Mutants carries the unconscious Dr. Blake through the tunnels to the ship. (although she wears white, not red) In keeping with the icon, her suit jacket is torn at the shoulder -- part of the abducted & ravaged element -- even though the Mutants are just baggage handlers with no interest in anything. The image is there deliberately.

Cheap Ending? -- Some people feel cheated with the "dream" ending of IFM, though they may have missed the prophetic angle (or time loop angle). There were actually a two different endings. The American release had its all-a-dream, but then not, ending. The UK distributor didn't like the unresolved (and somewhat depressing) end of the original, so had an alternate ending produced, in which the dream angle was eliminated. The martians are simply destroyed in the end. The earth lives happily ever after. It's interesting that John Tucker Battle's original screenplay was between the two. In Battle's ending, the ship is destroyed but two Mutants and the martian escape through a tunnel and hide in the field until the army leaves. That night, another ship comes down to get them. David sees this and watches them fly away uttering his typical "Gee whiz." This may be what Menzies was striving for. The ship David sees at the end MIGHT have been the 'rescue' ship Battle wrote about, but without supporting scenes to let us know that the martian and mutants escaped, the ending has its prophetic time-repeat quality.

Bottom line? IFM is one of the decade's classics. Anyone making even a brief sampling of 50s sci-fi should include it on their viewing list.

Things to Come

This 1936 British production is another one of the early epics of science fiction movies. The screenplay was written by H. G. Wells, though with considerable input and guidance by producer Alexander Korda and director William Camreon Menzies. The screenplay was based on Wells' novel The Shape of Things to Come published in 1933. He needed the help. His novel is a long, complicated, talky psuedo-history of the world from 1900 to 2061. The screenplay gave Wells an opportunity to rewrite and condense the (too) many themes of the novel into a more coherent plot line. Wells himself had to admit that his first attempt at converting his novel to a screen play was "quite impracticable for production." Even after much revision, the plot and pacing of Things to Come (TTC) can still seem complicated and a bit confusing. It's a huge story to tell in only 100 minutes.

TCC is not a typical mainstream cinema with straight-line plot, but IS a very ambitious sci-fi epic. Wells saw TCC as an alternate view of the future from Fritz Lang's Metropolis(1927) which predicted a rather dark future. TTC is roughly contemporary with Hollywood's Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials, but has a much more of an A-film seriousness to it.

Throughout the film, Wells' anger and frustration at the "old world" of capitalism, nationalism and religion are blatant. The First World War (by that time) was only before, and leaves an obvious scar on Wells' emotions. Equally as hard to miss is Wells' infatuation with the idea of a humanist New World Order led by scientists. In his novel, and other writings, Wells is both Eeyore AND Pollyanna. He is both cynical about mankind, and yet, starry-eyed hopeful about mankind. Note, throughout, how the "old world" (the real world of Wells' day) is disparaged and the New World Order idolized.

Quick Plot Synopsis
TTC moves through three "acts", each having several distinct "scenes" which almost amount to miniature stories of their own. The first "act" covers the world before the war, the outbreak and the decades of war itself. The second "act" covers life amid the ruins of "Everytown" after the war. The third "act" is the world of 21st century.

TCC open in a generic "Everytown" on Christmas Eve 1940. War breaks out, sweeping aside festivities. Destruction comes to Everytown. War rages on for decades. Civilization is set back to the medieval level.

The "Wandering Sickness" devastates the survivors. In the ruins of 1970 Everytown, a petty despot emerges, reinstating a semblance of order. He's obsessed with getting his "air force" (a dozen WWI trainers) in the air. The status quo of The Chief's fiefdom is disturbed by the appearance of an ultramodern airplane.
Cabal, the pilot, announces a new world order: "Wings over the World." A cadre of engineers and scientists had been secretly keeping scientific progress alive during the war and how seek to impose the order of Reason. The Chief, not accepting his loss of power, imprisons Cabal. The Chief's engineer, Gordon, escapes in one of the trainers, and goes to tell Cabal's compatriots of his imprisonment. The moderns arrive in squadrons of impressive flying wings, to drop "The Gas of Peace" which puts everyone to sleep. Paratroops land, free Cabal and usher in the new world age.

Fast forward from 1970 to 2036. The modern scientific age has rebuilt Everytown as a gleaming underground city. All is not bliss, however. A prominent artist foments a rebellion against the age of Science, especially their "space gun" which is soon to launch a young couple to a moon mission. The incited mob rushes to break up the gun, but the scientists get the capsule launched before they can damage anything. TCC ends with Oswald Cabal (great grandson of John Cabal) rhapsodizing about mankind's relentless march towards progress and the universe.

Why is this movie fun
TCC is pure HG Wells. His vision of the future is very entertaining. TCC may be the only screenplay Wells actually wrote. Others have "adapted" his novels, but he actually wrote this one. This gave him the opportunity to remake his own novel -- which was far too bogged down with extraneous details to be readable. Wells gives us a collection of vignettes, each of which are full of food for thought. Throughout TCC there are contrasting pairs working off of each other, which keeps the tension alive. It's fun to watch the set and costume details, knowing that Wells had an artistic hand it. He didn't call all the shots, of course, but his hand was there.

Director, William Cameron Menzies, applies a wide variety of views which keep up the visual stimulation. Close ups, room shots, rapid montages, sweeping landscapes, off angles, etc. keep the viewer from getting a stale vantage.

Cold War Angle?
Since TCC was made in 1936, it was too early for a Cold War theme. However, there is a dominant anti-war theme throughout. Wells was not worried about the Soviets so much as he was against the war-making tendencies of the "old world".

Notes & Observations
Play of Opposites
Wells uses repeated pairs of opposites throughout the movie. In the beginning is John Cabal's fatalism vs. Pippa Passworthy's naive optimism. John Cabal's pessimism about mankind stands opposite Oswald Cabal's determined optimism. Similarly, 1940's "Pippa" Passworthy exudes confidence in his (old) world. 2036's Raymond Passworthy exudes fear and trepidation at his (modern) world. Then there are leadership styles. Rudolf "The Chief" is the bombastic, petty local warlord, wearing layers of authority symbols -- a uniform jacket, a home made rosette badge, a fur cape, etc.. John Cabal is the unflappable rational world leader, wearing a simple all-black jumpsuit. There are too many other opposites to list here.

Anti-War Themes
Wells was famous for his anti-war views. Some of the scenes are blatantly anti-war, such as young Horrie Passowrthy marching about in his Christmas gift soldier costume, only later to lie dead amid the ruins. Or the scene of the two airmen, in which John Cabal shoots down one of the enemy, yet the two talk as brothers, with the enemy pilot giving up his gas mask to save a little girl from the gas HE dropped. "I may have killed her father and mother," he said to himself, "yet I give up my mask to save her. Now that's funny..." The bringer of death then dies himself.

Yet, despite the many overt anti-war elements, there is an undercurrent of urgency to be better prepared for war -- a traditionally hawkish stance. A recurring theme in British culture is the fear that "the enemy" was better prepared for war than the British which left them vulnerable. This sentiment was often used to justify increases in defense spending. TCC does this too, at a more subtle level. For instance, when war breaks out, the "enemy" have gleaming sleek streamlined tanks. The British have antiquated post-WWI hardware. In the air, the "enemy" have swarms of sleek monoplanes. The Brit (Cabal) flies an obsolescent Hawker Fury biplane against them. In the early scenes, Cabal talks of needing to stop "the brutes." Stopping brutes usually means a fight.

The Tyranny of Science
As much as Wells is obviously promoting the benefits of a new world order in which the scientists and engineers are in control, the whole comes across as equally uncomfortable as the old world rule of nationalism. Wells has several characters pose the counter-arguments against the Technocracy, but instead of really defeating the arguments, Wells' future-man protagonist, Oswald Cabal dismisses them. When the mob cries for a halt to "progress", the voice of the people has no weight whatever. The elite scientists know best. Even though Wells framed his technocracy in glowing ways, there's little difference between his despot driven by faith in Science than an old world despot driven by religion.

Vision of the Future
Wells predicted many things in TCC. Some were correct, some were not. He correctly predicted the Second World War, being off by only a year and five months for the start. (Though in 1936, this didn't take a genius to see.) His notion of the clean art deco city complete with moving walkways and monorails, wasn't unusual. That vision lingered until the "post-modern" period. He almost correctly predicted helicopters. He did predict thin flat-screen monitors -- "televisors" -- , perhaps even the jumbotron. He also imagined personal intercom (cell phone-like) wrist bands. His notes even spoke of synchronism for personal electronic devices, much like we're seeing nowadays.

It's also interesting to see what he didn't get. He didn't foresee jets. His airplanes of the 21st century were still propeller driven. He didn't get rockets. His "space gun" was more 19th century than 20th. His notion of future clothing was way off (what's with the huge shoulder wings?) though perhaps if one only lived in climate-controlled underground cities, the quasi-toga bare-legged could work. You have to give him some points for trying. Wells could be the source of the sci-fi cliche that "advanced" clothing had to have huge shoulders.

All of the above tells you that Things to Come is a nicely complex sci-fi movie. There's a lot of meat to it, even if a bit dated. Wells' film adaptation of his own novel is much more accessible than his novel was. As one of the ancient titans of sci-fi, TTC is definitely worth the watch. A question still worth asking is: would the world be better off with a scientist dictator instead of a nationalist one or a religious one?

Metropolis

Fritz Lang's sci-fi epic was almost too far ahead of its time when released in 1927. Metropolis gets strong praise from some, and puzzlement from others. One reason for this is that for a long time, only a poor quality copy, which had a hack-job of an edit done to it, was all most people were exposed to. At its premier, the original was over 210 minutes long, while the common edit was around 114 minutes. American theater moguls felt American audiences wouldn't sit through 210 minutes of movie. Little wonder some folks were bewildered by Metropolis. The story was too complex to still make total sense with over a quarter of it cut away. Watch is the restored version. (more on the restoration below)

Quick Plot Synopsis
Set in the year 2026, the world (typified by the city "Metropolis") has widened the separation between the privileged classes who live in penthouse gardens, and the workers who labor at huge machines underground. Freder, the twenty-something son of Metropolis' ruler, Joh Fredersen, becomes fascinated with a young woman who takes care of workers' children. He follows her down to the subterranean workers' world. Maria, spiritual leader of the workers, is kidnapped by a sinister scientist who replaces her with a robot duplicate. Robo-Maria incites the workers to revolt. They smash the machines that supply Metropolis with power. This destruction also causes the reservoirs to flood the underground workers' city, where all the rioting workers' children remained. Freder and real-Maria (who escaped) rescue the children, taking them to the upper world. The rioting workers think they've killed their own children by listening to Maria (Robo-Maria), so chase after real-Maria to extract revenge. In a mix-up, the workers catch RoboMaria after all and burn her at the stake. Mad scientist carries off real-Maria, but Freder fights him and wins. Freder then becomes the mediator between the workers and the elites (his father)

Why is this movie fun?
Metropolis is one of THE foundational classics of the sci-fi genre. In its day it was a influential as Star Wars was from the late 70s onward. As long as you accept Metropolis for what it is -- and not expect it to be a modern movie -- there are tons of things to keep you fascinated. The whole atmosphere of an early Art Deco Modernism, German Expressionist saga is just so different, even the sets, pacing, effects, etc. are great to watch.

The contrasting pairs of forces are interesting too. The bright world of the penthouses vs. the dark world of the workers. The foliage and fountains vs. the steam-belching iron below. The holy vs the demonic. The modern vs the ancient. Through all these opposing pairs, moves the main character, Freder, the focal point of them all.

Cold War Angle?
Produced in the mid-1920s, there was no Cold War. Peripherally, however, we can see the workers-vs-bourgoise struggle that is the spiritual heart of Socialism, which can cast a different tint onto Cold War morality tales of the mid 50s.

Notes
The Acting -- Modern viewers are sometimes put off by the exaggerated acting inherent to silent films. We moderns need to keep in mind that both actors AND audiences of the silent film era were accustomed to the "body language" of stage acting. Live theater moves required exaggeration to be seen at all. Audiences of the 20s knew how to "read" the sign language. Instead of griping about the "unnatural" moves, try to appreciate them. Try to "read" them.

Early Distopia -- It was fairly common in the early 20th century to imagine the future as a wonderful realm of techno-marvels. Perhaps as a counterfoil, a common theme of sci-fi movies is a future-gone-wrong. In Metropolis, society is the problem. Technology is not cast as the bad guy (despite the Moloch scene). In fact, when the worker mob take on the Luddite role and wreck the machines, they end up ruining their own homes and endangering their children.

Auto Future -- An icon of later sci-fi would be to include a car-of-the-future. Flying cars, bubble cars, hover cars, etc. Metropolis seems to miss the boat. At first glance, all the cars look like ordinary 1920s machines. A closer look, however, reveals a fascinating bit of auto-trivia. In the traffic jams (the only close-ups of automobiles), you'll see Rumpler Tropfenwagens.

Rumpler, a former aircraft firm, took to building cars after the war. Their Tropfenwagen had a "streamlined" cab-forward body shaped like a water drop (hence the name). Very radical stuff considering that Ford's Model T was a contemporary. There are two amid the junk the mob uses to burn Robo-Maria at the stake. You've probably never heard of the Tropfenwagen, but they're rescued from auto-history oblivion by Lang.

Robot Rampage -- Rotwang's robot, which they call "Mechanical Man" (even though clearly made to look like a woman) is the forerunner of later sci-fi robots. It's no stretch at all to see C3P0 in her. Rotwang's "Futura" (as the script called her) is also a forerunner of the robot persona -- the replacement person, but an opposite one. Where real-Maria was angelic, altruistic, and religious, Robo-Maria was decadent and heartless, the embodiment of all seven deadly sins. Robo-Maria didn't "turn" on her master (as many later robots would) but faithfully carried out Rotwang's orders to ruin both the workers and the elites.

Religious Elements -- Metropolis shows a strong Catholic or Lutheran influence. Maria is very much a Madonna figure standing under several crosses. She preaches to the crowd of a coming "Mediator" which would rescue them. In contrast, the robot is given Maria's likeness beneath a huge pentagram -- clearly the product of satanic forces. The very gothic cathedral scenes stand in stark contrast to the art deco "secular" world -- underscoring the schism between mankind's spiritual and secular lives. Maria tells the workers the Biblical account of the tower of Babel, as a foreshadowing of Metropolis, including the worker revolt and damage.

Another interesting Biblical reference comes when Freder sees the M-Machine explode. From the shock, (perhaps delusion) he sees the machine as if it were an ancient idol being fed workers as a sacrifice. The word "Moloch" flashes on the screen. This was the Phoenician god mentioned in the Old Testament, to which people sacrificed their children (by fire). Freder's vision was of the machines as evil men-devouring false gods.

Multiple Versions
When Metropolis debuted, it ran 210 minutes. This was quick cut down. Some "edits" were less than 90 minutes long. The American cut was 114 minutes. People who viewed the seriously hacked versions were understandably confused. Too much of the supporting side stories were removed, giving the whole movie an almost chaotic feel. The 2002 Murnau restoration (123 minute run time) combined all known footage. Several side stories' footage remain lost. The Murnau version supplies title cards to describe the action of the lost scenes. This helps the explain otherwise puzzling characters such as the Mephestopholes-like "Thin Man" and the prince-and-pauper character, worker "11811".

Overall, any sci-fi fan ought to watch Metropolis, so as to get familiar with a sci-fi ancestor. Despite its age, Metropolis still has messages relevant today.

Magnetic Monster

This is the first sci-fi movie of the year 1953. This would prove to be a very full year for sci-fi fans, with some classics (famous and infamous) emerging. Magnetic Monster (MM) is the first of three sci-fi movies Ivan Tors wrote & produced. Tors, perhaps more famous for his Flipper productions, had written dramas and romances prior to this. MM, Tors' entry into the sci-fi genre definitely brings in a different mood.

MM is first of an O.S.I. trilogy (Office of Scientific Investigation).Tors approached sci-fi as an FBI drama, spinning it as adventures of "A-men" (A as in Atom) -- detectives in the field of science. The opening voiceover provides their motivation, "New dangers face mankind, dangers which challenge his very existence..." With the almost constant narration, MM has an almost Dragnet-like flavor. (Coincidentally, Dragnet was a popular TV show at this same time.)

Quick Plot Synopsis
Mysterious magnetic happenings at a local hardware store eventually gets a couple OSI agents called to the scene. They find a dead man in an upstairs apartment "lab" and traces of an unknown isotope. They trace this mystery to a Dr. Denker who was trying to fly his unstable isotope back to a university lab. Denker is dying of radiation poisoning, but tells A-Man Stuart how he accidently created the isotope and, more importantly, how it periodically "grows" by sucking in all the energy around it, converting energy to matter, doubling itself in size. With each cycle, the isotope, called Serenium, demands twice as much energy and grows twice as dense. Denker's last words were: "Keep it under constant electric charge. It's hungry. It has to be fed constantly. Or, it will reach out it's magnetic arms and grab at anything within its reach, and kill it. It's monstrous."

The OSI try to follow this advice, but eventually the Serenium grows too big. Even a whole city's power grid is not enough to contain it. If left alone, the Serenium would keep growing until it's mass threw off the rotation of the earth, sending it wobbling off into space. They have only 11 hours (the period between absorption-growth cycles) to fly the Serenium to an experimental cyclotron in Nova Scotia, which is hoped can produce enough power to overfeed the isotope, causing it to split into two stable isotopes. With much drama, the Canadian Deltatron is pushed beyond it's limits, destroying itself, and the underground lab, but also accomplishing the mission. The magnet monster was stopped.

Why is this movie fun?
There's much about MM that is very different from the usual sci-fi. These differences make it fun. First off, the "monster" is inanimate. It's an isotope. It's quite a challenge to make a non-living thing the frightening villain in a story. Tors actually does a pretty good job. A similar "monster" film Monolith Monsters (1957) would try this too, but with less success.

Also, the Deltatron is pretty cool. It seems grander than a low-budget B-movie would usually have, which turns out to be true. It's recycled footage from a 1934 German film Gold, which featured a huge electrical generator. (the premise of Gold is a huge generator used to turn lead into gold.) Tors liked this footage and used it. He had some costuming changes and stage sets built to harmonize with the Gold footage, and spliced them in. That does explain the rather almost Metropolis-like expressionist look of the Deltatron. And, why all the characters start wearing overcoats and fedoras. Still, it makes for some good watching.

Cold War Angle
The whole Serenium grown, feeding on things around it, until it threatens to destroy the world, is a pretty obvious metaphor for the nuclear age. At the end of the film, Stuart talks with his pregnant wife about families and multiplying. "Multiplication. Done through love, the result is a baby -- a lovely thing. But without love, done through hate or with fear, the result is a monster..." There's your Cold War / nuclear moral for the story.

Notes
Sure, some of the science they spout comes across as techno-babble and seems contradictory at times, but this isn't a big detraction. It's a movie after all. If we can suspend our critical inner lab-coats to accept aliens and flying saucers, or "atomic" rockets to other planets, then it's not such a big task to accept an isotope which can convert energy into matter. The moral of the tale is how man ought not be tampering in nuclear things he doesn't really understand. So, our not understanding how Serenium works should be expected.

MM follows the fine old B-movie tradition of using military stock footage, including the mismatches that often result. One such mismatch is the plane the isotope is flown to Nova Scotia on. They load the Serenium onto an F-80 Shooting Star (straight wings, tip tanks, intakes on the sides), but all of the in-flight footage is of an F-86 Saber (swept wings, no tanks and an intake in the nose.) Yet at refueling, yet another Saber is shown which HAS wing tanks. Atop this, the narrator is telling how the jet had to drop its wing tanks. (?!) Perhaps audiences in 1953 were not so critical. Any shiny aluminum jet was the same as any other.

All in all, MM is a pretty good B-movie. It kicked off 1953, but would become overshadowed by that year's more famous films, Invaders from Mars and War of the Worlds. That's too bad too. It deserves better than the obscurity it's gotten.