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18. The War of the Worlds: HG Wells' Martians in 1953

As always there are spoilers ahead!

 

Description

Are we sick of Alien invasion films? I certainly hope not! Although this one is a little different. It Came from Outer Space (1953) was directed by Jack Arnold who would make a name for himself in the 1950s as a sci-fi director. Although the script was written by Harry Essex the treatment for the film was written by none other than the famous Ray Bradbury. The film is a mix of schlocky sci-fi and poetic soliloquys set in small town USA.

 

To help us dig a little deeper into this film I have two fantastic guests.

 

The Experts

Scott Higgins is a Professor of Film at Wesleyan University as well as being the Curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives.

 

Phil Nichols is a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and a researcher with a special interest in Ray Bradbury. He is Senior Consultant to the Ray Bradbury Centre at Indiana University and editor of The New Ray Bradbury Review. He is also the man behind the Bradbury 100 podcast and the Science Fiction 101 podcast.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the show and guests

01:40 The beginnings of a sci-fi film director Jack Arnold

04:30 Ray Bradbury’s influence on the film

09:40 The schlocky/elusive Aliens

15:54 Bradbury’s politics in the 1950s

18:22 Bradbury’s treatment vs Harry Essex’s screenplay

21:38 Small town USA: provincial views, scandal and something simmering beneath the surface

28:11 Teenage culture: post war boom, TVs and rock and roll

33:26 Body snatching

36:00 3D cinema!

42:57 A little more on Ray Bradbury’s treatment

45:22 The legacy of the film

50:56 Recommendations

 

Shownotes

  • Jack Arnold was an American filmmaker born in 1916. He was considered one of the prominent sci-fi directors of the 1950s. You can find his IMDB page here.

  • Robert J Flaherty was an American filmmaker who made the silent documentary Nanook of the North in 1922. You can find his IMDB page here.

  • William Alland was an American actor and filmmaker born in 1916. You can find his IMDB page here.

  • Ray Bradbury was an American writer born in 1920. He wrote an array of books in various genres including the extremely well-known dystopian fiction Fahrenheit 451.

  • Harry Essex was an American screenwriter and director born in 1910.

  • John Putnam is the main character in It Came from Outer Space and he is played by Richard Carlson who in the 1950s was a lead actor in many science fiction films.

  • Invaders from Mars was also released in 1953.

  • You can learn about Ray Bradbury and his supposed communist sympathies in this article. Bradbury voted for Nixon in 1968 and was a Republican from then onward.

  • There is a short overview of the 1950s in the USA here.

  • The Wild One (1953) is a seminal biker film starring Marlon Brando. The impact of Brando as the rebellion leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club on fashion and as a symbol of rebellion have been huge. In the UK  the British Board of Film Censors refused to grant a certificate for the film due to its portrayal of hooliganism.

  • You can learn a little about the growth of teen culture in this (quite wonderful) article here.

  • You can learn more about Bwana Devil here.

  • When I mention Elvis’ first hit in 1954 I mean his release of the Arthur Crudup song That’s All Right.

  • The Body Snatchers is a science fiction novel written by Jack Finney and released in 1954. The 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers and its remakes are based on this book.

  • Who Goes There? Is a science fiction novella written by John W Campbell and was the basis of the films The Thing from Another World (1951) and The Thing (1982).

  • The Puppet Masters is a 1951 science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein.

  • IMDB pages for Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bwana Devil, Dial M for Murder and House of Wax.

  • You can hear the Siouxsie and the Banshees song 92º here.

  • The IMDB pages of The Day the Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. You can learn more about The Day the Earth Stood Still in this podcast episode!

  • The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) was also directed by Jack Arnold.

  • You can listen to the episode of X Minus One that Scott mentioned here.

  • You can find out more about Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles here.

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be taking one of my pesky detours! I speak to brainiac theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham about the science of Interstellar which is ten years old on November 6th 2024. Interstellar (2014) is available to rent or buy at an array of outlets. You can check JustWatch to check which platforms it is available in your region.

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