Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Daniel Mainwaring (screenplay)
Jack Finney (Collier's magazine serial)
(more)

Release Date:

5 February 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

... there was nothing to hold onto - except each other.

Plot:

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

Plot Keywords:

Psychiatrist | Delusion | Doctor | Uncharacteristic Behavior | Fingerprints

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Miles J. Bennell
Dana Wynter	...	Becky Driscoll
Larry Gates	...	Dr. Dan 'Danny' Kauffman
King Donovan	...	Jack Belicec
Carolyn Jones	...	Theodora 'Teddy' Belicec
Jean Willes	...	Nurse Sally Withers
Ralph Dumke	...	Police Chief Nick Grivett
Virginia Christine	...	Wilma Lentz
Tom Fadden	...	Uncle Ira Lentz
Kenneth Patterson	...	Stanley Driscoll
Guy Way	...	Officer Sam Janzek
Eileen Stevens	...	Anne Grimaldi
Beatrice Maude	...	Grandma Driscoll
Jean Andren	...	Eleda Lentz
Bobby Clark	...	Jimmy Grimaldi
Everett Glass	...	Dr. Ed Pursey
Dabbs Greer	...	Mac Lomax
Pat O'Malley	...	Baggage man
Guy Rennie	...	Restaurant owner
Marie Selland	...	Martha Lomax
Sam Peckinpah	...	Charlie (meter reader)
Harry J. Vejar	...	Pod carrier in Miles' office
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Hill (uncredited)
Richard Deacon	...	Dr. Harvey Bassett (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Robert Osterloh	...	Ambulance driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Siegel

Writing credits
Daniel Mainwaring		(screenplay)
Jack Finney		(Collier's magazine serial)
Richard Collins		uncredited

Original Music by
Carmen Dragon

Cinematography by
Ellsworth Fredericks		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert S. Eisen

Production Design by
Ted Haworth		(as Edward Haworth)

Set Decoration by
Joseph Kish

Makeup Department
Emile LaVigne	....	makeup artist
Mary Westmoreland	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Allen K. Wood	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Beaudine Jr.	....	assistant director (as Bill Beaudine Jr.)
Richard Maybery	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Ralph Butler	....	sound
Del Harris	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Milt Rice	....	special effects
Don Post	....	special makeup effects: pods and other props (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James V. King	....	additional camera operator: final sequence (uncredited)

Music Department
Carmen Dragon	....	conductor
Jerry Irvin	....	music editor

Other crew
Irva Mae Ross	....	script supervisor (as Irva Ross)

Production Companies

• Walter Wanger Productions

Distributors

• Allied Artists Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Artisan Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2000) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (198?) (USA) (VHS) (as Nostalgia Merchant)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Sleep No More
They Came from Another World (USA) (working title)
Walter Wanger's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | West Germany:16 | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #17567)

Filming Locations:

1200 N. Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

Only $15,000 of the budget was spent on special effects.

Goofs:

Continuity: As the posse runs through Bronson Cave, after the policeman stops on the planks, says his lines, and then runs ahead, look closely for the man in the white shirt: it looks like he fell down onto the planks before the shot ended.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Harvey Bassett: Oh, Doctor Hill.
Dr. Hill: Dr. Basset. Well, where's the patient?
Dr. Harvey Bassett: I hated to drag you out of bed at this time of night. You'll soon see why I did.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Morons from Outer Space (1985)

One Word Only......Masterpiece!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is the quintessential sci-fi film of the 50s, praying on the particular fears and paranoias of the time as well as more basic, instinctual phobias within each of us. The story is simple enough about a benevolent, intellectual doctor returning from vacation only to find that some weird, unexplainable feelings have been generated in the small town of Santa Mira. Some people say that relatives are not who they seem to be, despite being exact duplicates physically and mentally. This leads to one discovery to another for the good doctor, his girl, and two friends, and what we have through each discovery is one more piece to the puzzle that an alien presence is at work. What makes this film so successful is the pace and frantic mood it creates. We are caught up in Dr. Bennel's work, his fears and anxieties, his discoveries, and his uncovering of the truth. We feel confined, betrayed, and even suspicious of everything he encounters. Credit for this certainly must go to director Don Siegel and his outstanding ability to create this almost claustrophobic atmosphere, as well as to Kevin McCarthy who does an outstanding job playing the doctor. There are scenes in this film that live on long after viewing it...and the last one in particular has forever been etched into my mind. For a good fright, see Invasion of the Body Snatchers...They're here! They're here!