NEWS

The War of the Worlds (1953) – Movie Trailer

Director: Byron Haskin
Stars: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson

Orson Welles’ radio adaptation of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds is famous because people actually believed it was real. While that seems insane in retrospect, an alien invasion seemed like a legitimate possibility in the days leading up to World War II. A decade and a half later, the movie adaptation may not have had the same documentary-like realism, but the effect on a society primed for nuclear holocaust was nearly as big. Though the flying saucers and special effects are charmingly hokey, the massive scope of the film is still evident today. Watching The War of the Worlds now may not give you nightmares, but it will make you realize just how long disaster movies have been ripping off this formula. Tom Cruise has nothing on Gene Barry.