"War of the Worlds" 1953 The Making of the War of the Worlds "The Sky is Falling"
Published 2024-06-25
A behind the scenes documentary on the making of the film.
The War of the Worlds (1953 film) Wikipedia,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(1953_…)
The War of the Worlds (also known in promotional material as H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds) is a 1953 American science fiction thriller film directed by Byron Haskin, produced by George Pal, and starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. It is the first of several feature film adaptations of H. G. Wells' 1898 novel of the same name. The setting is changed from Victorian era England to 1953 Southern California. Earth is suddenly invaded by Martians, and American scientist Doctor Clayton Forrester searches for any weakness to stop them.
The War of the Worlds won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and went on to influence other science fiction films. In 2011, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress, who deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
All Comments (21)
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If the word "classic" has any meaning, it fits this movie perfectly. It was the 2001 of its day, and still holds up 70 years later.
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One of my absolute favorite movies ever, seeing those beautiful "martian" space craft and even more amazing to me that Northrop YB-49 flying wing! I'm 52 and I still get excited to watch War of the World just like I did when I was 5 years old.
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What makes the doc so great, is the interviews and insights from Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. And so many others who were actually connected with the making of the film.
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This is the absolute best version of War of the Worlds ever made! It beats out even the modern versions and remakes.
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I was a 10 year old fellow when we saw "War." It instantly became my top favorite...along with "Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951); "When Worlds Collide" (1951) and 1960's "The Time Machine." All by George Pal. I was a solid sci-fi fan from then on!
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This movie came out 3 years before I was born but when I saw it as a youngster it left a lasting impression. I still watch it regularly, it being the very best of sci-fi then and now!
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I saw this movie for the 1st time in the 80s. I must have been 6 or 7. At the time it was shown on tv my parents had recently bought our first VHS player. It was recorded so my Dad could watch it when he got home from work. Over the following months I played that VHS so much that it degraded to nearly unwatchable. I still love this movie to this day.
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Thanks so much for posting this! Great movie. Was born in '53, didn't see this until it finally ran on tv when I was a kid and I loved it, esp. the magnificent Oscar winning sound which still lives in my nightmares (and the creepy, eerie less-seen-more-suspensefully-scary creatures and beautifully designed martian technology/ships.) I had always been a Wells fan. So great to see Ann Robinson talking about this and such interesting insight too. She was a 'babe,' and I just googled her--and she's still with us as of today at 95! I've been a Geo. Pal (and Harryhausen) fan since childhood. And I don't remember seeing that pic of Wells and Welles together before! Fascinating (and chilling) to think that H.G. was born shortly after our Civil War and lived to see 2 world wars (he had predicted) and the atomic bomb. Man was a visionary.
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The 1953 adaptation of War of The Worlds is my favourite adaptation. The first time I saw the film, it left a lasting impression on me. Fun Fact: Gene Barry & Ann Robinson have cameos in the Spielberg adaptation of War of The Worlds; they play the grandparents we see at the end of the film.
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Ann Robinson seems like such a cool lady. This was fascinating and very educational. Thanks for posting.
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This is the best sci Fi movie ever. Even newer versions cannot compare.
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After the copyright expired, this movie was remade more times than almost any other film, with the exception of perhaps Sherlock Holmes or Dracula. Two other sci-fi films from the 1950s that come to mind as being tops of their genre are "The Day The Earth Stood Still" from 1951 and "Forbidden Planet" from 1956, yet somewhere along the way sci-fi films lost their respect until it was rekindled in 1968's "2001".
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The thing, the war of the worlds, forbidden planet, the day the earth stood still....wow, what great science fiction films!!!
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I got to see one of the models for the Martian ships when I stayed at Forrest J Ackerman's place in the '90s. He had an absolutely mind-blowing collection. It was a major treat to be able to take it all in. I grieve that we'll never see another Ackermansion--nor another Forry.
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Great piece. Thank you for posting.
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This is my favorite movie version of War of the Worlds!
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fascinating stuff. people today are so spoiled by CGI.
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Anne Robinson is still with us in 2024 she turns 95 this year
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I think the whole idea of making the tripod legs on the Martian machines composed of electromagnetism was perfect. They were still tripods, but suitably futuristic. I'd bet that Wells himself would have approved it. Esp considering his skepticism about the ability for his own book to be modernized.
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This was much better than the remake in every way.
