Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Tags: allegory, cult, suspenseful, horror

Plot synopsis:
An apparently delusional and paranoid Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) has been arrested on a California highway and taken to a local hospital's psychiatric ward. There he tells a psychiatrist, Dr. Hill (Whit Bissell), and the attending physician, Dr. Bassett (Richard Deacon) his fantastic story.Several days earlier, Miles had been called home to Santa Mira from a medical convention. His nurse, Sally Withers (Jean Willes) told him that several patients had come in frantically insisting that their relatives and friends were not who they seemed to be. On the way to the office, Miles and Sally nearly ran over young Jimmy Grimaldi (Bobby Clark) who was fleeing from his mother (Eileen Stevens). Mrs. Grimaldi says Jimmy simply didn't want to go to school. Miles was sad to see that the Grimaldis had shut down their vegetable stand because it was too much work.Later, at his office, Miles learned that many of the patients begging for his return claimed they no longer needed his services. A former girlfriend, Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter) stopped by. She told him that her cousin, Wilma (Virginia Christine), insisted that her father, Ira (Tom Fadden), wasn't who he seemed to be. Miles agreed to visit Wilma later. Miles and Becky chatted, revealing that they both had recently divorced. After lunch, Jimmy Grimaldi was brought to Miles's office by his grandmother. He insisted that his mother was not really his mother. Suspicious, Miles gave the boy a sedative and told his grandmother to keep the boy at her house that night.Miles and Becky visited Ira and Wilma. Miles admitted his examination of Ira led him to conclude that it was indeed Ira. Wilma insisted that although nothing physically or mentally seemed different about him, his emotional connection to her was wrong. Wilma agreed to see a psychiatrist to discuss her concerns. That night, Becky and Miles went to dinner and encountered the town psychiatrist, Dan Kauffman (Larry Gates), in the parking lot. He mentioned that he too had seen many perplexing cases of people claiming that loved ones had somehow changed.Before they could eat, Miles and Becky were called to the house of Jack and Teddy Belicec (King Donovan and Carolyn Jones). They had found an inert, featureless humanoid creature in their poolroom. Teddy was disturbed by it, and the creature seemed to be taking on Jack's features. It even bled from a hand as Jack did when he cut it on a piece of glass. Miles took Becky home to her father's house. Her father (Kenneth Patterson) seemed normal but Miles was disturbed by something. Returning to the Driscoll house later that night, he broke into the basement and found another humanoid transforming itself into Becky. He snuck upstairs and rescued Becky.Miles and Jack called Dan Kauffman to see the bodies at the Belicecs' and Driscolls'. Both were missing. Dan suggested that they found a real dead human in Jack's poolroom and that its cause of death had been too small for Miles to notice in his examination. He also suggested that Miles saw Becky's double because he had been so unsettled by the mysterious body at the Belicecs'. Becky's father had called the police when he heard Dan, Jack and Miles in his basement. When Police Chief Grivett (Ralph Dumke) arrived, he informed them that a burning body matching the description of what the Belicecs found had been discovered burning outside of town.In town the next day, Miles encountered Wilma who told him she felt better about Ira and didn't need to see Dan. Based on Miles's demeanor she realized he knew something, and told Becky's father, who was hiding in her antique store. At his office, Miles saw Jimmy smiling next to his mother in the waiting room, apparently unconcerned about her anymore. That night, Miles, Becky and the Belicecs planned to barbeque. But Miles found enormous seed pods in his greenhouse. The pods opened up and inert bodies fell out. They quickly began to take the form of Miles and his guests. Miles tried to call the FBI in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Washington D.C. but was told by the operator that the lines are dead. Miles destroyed the creatures, then he and Becky and the Belicecs split up, hoping to get out of town. Miles and Becky stopped for gas. When Miles went to a phone booth to try to reach the FBI again, the gas station attendant placed two pods in the trunk of his car. Miles realized this and destroyed the pods later. He drove to Sally's house. Sneaking up to a window, he saw that she too had been transformed into a pod person and coolly planned to place a seed pod in the crib of her newborn. Miles was discovered by another police officer. Miles and Becky escaped, pursued by the police and other pod people.Miles and Becky hid out in Miles's office. Realizing that the pods were most effective at replacing people when they were asleep, they took amphetamines to stay awake. The next morning, they saw police officers detain people just arriving to town, and watched as transformed citizens accepted pods to take to their relatives in nearby cities. Jack, Dan and Chief Grivett arrived. Miles and Becky were horrified to learn they'd all been transformed. Jack and Dan explained that the pods had arrived from outer space and that the transformation was painless. Soon everyone would be reborn into a better way of life, evolved beyond human emotions like hate and love. Jack and Dan brought pods into Miles's waiting room and locked Miles and Becky in the office. Miles filled three syringes with a sedative, then created a diversion that brought Dan and Jack back into the office. Miles struggled with them but drugged them, with Becky taking care of Grivett.Hoping to pretend to have been transformed by appearing emotionless, Becky and Miles made their way out of the office and into the street. But Becky saw a truck nearly hit a dog and called out in fear. Alerted, the pod people chased Becky and Miles into the hills around Santa Mira. They hid in an abandoned mine. Miles left Becky to try to find help. When he returned, he found Becky asleep. He tried to carry her to safety but learned when he kissed her that she had been transformed too. With other pod people in pursuit, Miles ran to the highway. He pleaded with motorists to stop but they considered him crazy. He saw a truck full of pods headed to Los Angeles. Miles wandered the highway, telling people that "They're already here! You're next!"Drs. Hill and Basset consider Miles insane and plan his treatment. Then an ambulance brings in a truck driver who had been in an accident. His truck was full of unusual pods, and had been on the road from Santa Mira. Realizing Miles is telling the truth, Dr. Hill immediately calls the police and the FBI.

Review: Other versions about this known story are the following : 1978 new version , being one of few instances where a remake is an improvement on the original , directed by Philip Kauffman with Donald Sutherland , Brooke Adams and features cameos by Don Siegel and Kevin McCarthy from the original , realized with great originality in spite of being a remake concerning again about mysterious seeds duplicating people .
Admittedly, this section is directed in a standard way for its era, but "standard" here is enough to subtract a point.However, once we reach Miles' friend Jack Belicec (King Donovan) discovering a body on his billiard table, the suspense and tension gradually increase, and the remainder of the film is a very solid ten.The literal "weapon" of the film's horror could have easily come across as cheesy, but it doesn't.
The film is also notable for slightly ahead-of-its time portrayals of relationships and divorce.Much has been said about the parallels between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the "communist paranoia" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, especially as it was directed against Hollywood by the House of Un-American Activities Committee.
'Invasion Of The Body Snatcher's is a smaller movie, a low budget black and white paranoid thriller that is a classic of its type.
The man then tells the doctor about how a small California town has been invaded by some sort of alien seeds that grow into human clones...Coming straight from the McCarthy era and general Cold War paranoia this is one scary movie.
Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter head the cast of this four-star classic in which the inhabitants of a small California town are being replaced by alien look-alikes.
The best scene in the film takes place in a greenhouse where several alien pods burst open and disgorge the half-formed copies of the horrified humans.A prologue, a new ending, and a voice over-narration were added after the film's initial release, to help the audience follow the strange plot.
At the end of he movie the doctors are understandably skeptical about McCarthy's weird yarn, but an unexpected event lends credence to his story.Many film reviewers criticize these added scenes as unnecessary, an unwise attempt to conclude the story with a happier ending.
The remainder of the film consists of Bennell trying to call for help, observing the distribution of seeds in trucks in the small town's center, being trapped in his office, overcoming two guards, fleeing, and losing Becky to the monsters, before he finally convinces authorities that he is not insane; this requires an accident--to a truck carrying giant seed pods, from Santa Mira.
The slow buildup, in which the entire town is take over by monsters who emanate from giant pods and take over the bodies of the real people, works extremely well in this film.
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.
What must be considered one of the most original of all the science fiction films emanating from the '50s is INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, a low-budget sci-fi film about a sleepy Southern California town infested with a bunch of pods that are replicating the town's humans in physical form hatched from alien pods and taking over mind and body.It doesn't waste any time in getting to the core of the horror element, with McCarthy as a doctor invited to a friend's house where he sees the first evidence of a sleeping pod form taking on the shape and identity of another.
KEVIN McCARTHY, DANA WYNTER, VIRGINIA CHRISTINE, WHIT BISSELL, KING DONOVAN and CAROLYN JONES all deliver fine performances and director Don Siegel keeps the suspense taut until the final scene.Summing up: Alien invaders have always been a big part of sci-fi stories but never quite as creepily as depicted here.
Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, King Donovan and Carolyn Jones are an excellent cast in an excellent little story of "What's going on in my little hometown?" I have the novel based upon the Collier's Magazine serial written by Jack Finney, and I can honestly tell you there really is nothing about anti-communism, anti-(Senator) McCarthyism, etc., in this film.
I'll say that Siegel is ten times the action director that Kaufman could ever dream of being, that the original Body Snatchers has a cool, thoughtful tone that makes the shock scenes even better.
Dr. Miles Bennell discovers the horrible truth behind the alien invaders and their plot to destroy our world, but his warnings are dismissed as the ravings of a madman.Fast-paced and wonderfully paranoid, this film has been seen as an analogy for everything from the threat of Cold War communism to the mob hysteria, fascism and witch hunt atmosphere of red-baiters such as Joe McCarthy.
Invasion Of the Body Snatchers has been made several times and this is the best version.A doctor discovers that people are being taken over by aliens in the form of seed pods that grow into duplicates of humans.
The story has been redone and revised several times in the years since the original novel this movie is based on was written: an unknown alien plant species has landed on earth, and replaces people as they sleep with perfect copies.
The main characters are a doctor and his lady friend (played by Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter) who slowly come to understand the nature of the threat, and spend the latter part of the movie trying to stay awake and find some way, any way, out of their seemingly inevitable fate and come up with some means to keep the invasion from spreading from their California town to the world beyond.Body Snatchers is all about paranoia and the fear of a threat that can't be comprehended, and it pulls those themes off pretty well.
Besides the somewhat slow start, and a few nagging questions that never get answered (like, what happens to people's original bodies?), and the altered ending (I think if the movie would have ended at the point where it was originally supposed to, it would have had much more of an impact on the viewer), Invasion of the Body Snatchers didn't leave me with a lot to complain about..
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS Aspect ratio: 2.00:1 (Superscope)Sound format: Mono(Black and white)A small Californian town is overrun by alien pods which begin to replicate the inhabitants, prior to spreading their influence across the country - and the world.Alien invaders masquerading as human beings?
Don Siegel's clever film not only taps into the paranoia of its era, it also exploits the timeless fear of 'invasion from without' which has sustained dozens of similar horror/sci-fi movies over the years.
Back to the roots of cinema, i'm surprised to discover that those old movies stay as good still today: sure it says also that today cinema goes down for quality and moviegoer experience but here we have a nearly perfect movie: a really intelligent story in a remarkable setting with an outstanding cast, everything tied with a inspired director and in 80 minutes!This space invasion with green pods is a brilliant idea that modernizes the vampire subject with stunning visuals: this pods - eggs would inspire later Alien, Gremlins and this silent, soft takeover looks like the future Salem novel from Stephen King.
But it's also a incredible slice of the American way of life because at that time, 1956, everything looks shining, new, modern and really cozy...The late McCarthy was just really good and i understand why Joe Dante appreciated him: His girlfriend Dana Wynter is much more than the poor screaming woman and is the proof that old fashion was not outrageous nor too much closeted!At the end, with today eyes, you feel that this movie reunites a lot of ideas, moments that would be used and abused long after.
For a truly insightful look at America's pervasive "Red Scare" culture of the 1950s, one need look no further than Don Siegel's (original) 1956 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", wherein the pod people are metaphors for the near universal fear of a "Godless, soulless" Communist takeover coming from within via sleeper agents born, raised, and trained to seamlessly blend in with American society (they look, talk, and seem just like us, but are alien and out to destroy us).
If you want to know what those basic fears are, look to the nightmares that are common to all people.The story involves a small town doctor (Kevin McCarthy) who begins to notice a pattern in the unusual behaviors of his patients.
It's about a doctor (Kevin McCarthy) who returns home from a trip to slowly discover the people in his small town are being replaced by aliens.
It is Discussed, Debated, and Philosophized about to this Day. A Bonafide Classic and no matter what the Intent, the Conventional Wisdom is that it Packs a Wallop with its Psychological implications and its Sociological Parallels with Communism and Conformity are Timeless and Scary.Director Don Siegel knew when He was making the Movie that it had broader Appeal than the average Sci-Fi at the Time and admits that it was Metaphorical and could not be denied its Due as a Thoughtful Allegory.
I found the pods the characters carry around to look fairly silly, at this point, like overgrown brussels sprouts, but we can't really hold that against a 60-yr old movie.Yes, like most I would say that the 70s version is my favorite, mostly because it feels a little more fresh for today's audience, but the original is still a classic worth watching..
Although Invasion of the Body Snatchers did not intend to become an allegory of political work according to director Don Siegel, it is evident that through specific instances, the film became a symbolic contrast of individualism and collectivism.
The office scene between protagonist, Miles Bennell played by Kevin McCarthy and former girlfriend Becky Driscoll played by Dana Wynter occurs as they are escaping the pod people, launching the chase sequence.
Based on Jack Finney's novel, this classic film stars Kevin McCarthy as Dr. Miles Bennell, who returns to his small-town practice only to discover a number of his patients who claim that their loved ones are now impostors, since they no longer act like their normal selves.
At first Miles thinks this delusion, but he comes to discover, with the help of his old flame Becky Driscoll(Dana Wynter), that alien seed pods have landed, and are systematically replacing people with pod lookalikes, who only appear human.
You can see how sleepy the both of them are after stay awake for so long, I guess that's a credit to the acting of Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter who did a great job in this.I highly recommend this 1956 original version of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'.
And exclusively, I'm going to say this to you: watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as it's one of the best horror movies of the 50's.
With his former girlfriend Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter), Dr. Bennell soon finds out the sinister truth behind the phenomenon initially assumed to be nothing but mass hysteria, but the menace has advanced further than he expected and it's difficult to find anyone who believes his story.Invasion of the Body Snatchers is considered a classic in the genres of both science fiction and horror, and after seeing the film last night, I see no reason to dispute its reputation.
In any case, be it an allegory for the fear of McCarthyism, nuclear radiation, conformity or general alienation in the pressures of the modern world, in the end the Invasion of the Body Snatchers is also an effective and good-looking sci-fi thriller.
With the enemy being us suspense leaps out from the most unlikely of places and it provides for one paranoid exciting chase.As the audience identifying character Dr. Bennell, Kevin McCarthy effectively transforms from mild to wild with each little discovery over the films torrid pace.
I am sure that my fears are gone because it's just impossible but the film's cast including Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter Carolyn Jones, Larry Gates and others are great and believable in their roles..
Usually the titles of sci fi were more interesting than the movies, but here is a film that really takes over the viewer almost as much as the pods take over the town.
released one of the most chilling and unsettling tales of paranoia the world had ever seen on screen, 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' Don Siegel's film version of Finney's novel, adapted by former San Francisco Chronicle journalist Daniel Mainwaring, immediately stirred controversy, though it did so to the sound of acclaim and praise.
With looming comparisons to Robert Wise's 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'  a film released during the start of the Cold War and the first atomic bombs  and the pioneering, special effects-laden 'Forbidden Planet,' 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' remains the pinnacle of paranoid sci-fi pics and won't soon be conquered..
Perhaps one of the best science fiction films ever, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" still delivers the goods.
There isn't much I can add to what every other review wrote about this wonderful film that mixes horror and thrills...and interpretation of the "true" meaning of the film for the film watcher.Brilliant in its story telling, acting (the great chemistry between the actors!!!), camera angles, direction, and execution, this is the best and grand daddy of them all - whether you wish to believe its about aliens - communists - lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) **** (out of 4) Kevin McCarthy plays a small town doctor who starts to see strange behavior in those around him.
Then I came to seeing this, Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and I can truly appreciate what an inspiration it is to the genre of horror and I enjoyed it in equal measure.Yes, the film is better than the remake but that isn't saying much.
But the idea it presents and the paranoia it creates is a remarkable, tangible thing.Loosely based on the novella by Jack Finney and directed by Don Siegel, THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS was just a little black and white horror film--but it exploded within America's 1950s subconscious with all the force of an atomic bomb, tapping into fears of everything from Cold War-era communism to a decreasing sense of community to the notorious House Unamerican Activities Committee.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers its a great movie, not just for being a Science Fiction/Horror film from the 1950's but it also works really well if don't take the genre into account.Its incredibly effective, few movies have made me feel as paranoid as this one did, probably the 1978 remake of this film, Rosemary's Baby and The Hateful Eight.
This one is now on that list of films that made me distrust everyone on screen.Politics aside, this film also has many philosophical thoughts about who we really are as individuals and what makes us human, as oppose to alien plants I guess.Overall, a classic that inspired several remakes and scared lots of people in its original run and even years later..
Despite others' dismissive denials, Dr. Bennell, his former girlfriend Becky (Dana Wynter) and his friend Jack (King Donovan) soon discover that the patients' suspicions are true: an alien species of human duplicates, grown from plant-like pods, is taking over the small town.This is such an entertaining movie.
It's intentions is to duplicate itself into every life form on the planet - including humans - in order to survive.I read about the original ending to this film - that sounds like it would have been good to me - it was a grim ending with Dr. Bennell screaming as he saw more pods in a truck (no hope for the Earth).
I would not mind seeing the original idea - but his "happier ending" was good to me.This makes a great after dark film for those that like sci-fi.8.5/10.
Upon returning to his practise in a small California town Dr Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) meets his former love interest Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter), who approaches him regarding strange occurrences, where people claim that their close ones have been supplanted by someone else, despite the same appearance and memory.
Initially suspect Bennell comes around to accept the wild story, when his friends Jack Belicec (King Donovan) and Carolyn Jones (Theodora 'Teddy' Belicec) find a non-complete duplicate body in their house...Heavily influenced by the paranoia of the time - communism angst and McCarthy witch hunts - "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" manages to live through the period unscathed by gripping at more subliminal fears and issues of identity.
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) **** Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, Carolyn Jones, King Donovan.
And the ending was quite different: Miles' girlfriend Becky did NOT get taken over by a pod!So many reviews of this film give Don Siegel credit for this dialog and that scene and that event.
For science fiction, this masterpiece is a little movie by the name of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
As with any movie of its time, Invasion of the Body Snatchers lacks the horror associated with science fiction.
Many of the decades science fiction films were expressing similar fears of invasion (The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), War of the Worlds (1953)), but Siegel's was a far more subtler production, than some of the more lavish special effects driven movies.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an eerily brilliant sci-fi film.
Alongside Dirty Harry, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is Don Siegel's best directed film, the music is atmospheric,there is genuine tension and suspense in the atmosphere which alone sets it apart from the other film versions, and the acting is fine for what it was, with Kevin McCarthy giving one of his more memorable performances.