Episode 324: The War of the Worlds (1953)

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For this pairing we turn the work of master director/producer George Pal, a true supporter of the advancement of special effects technology in film in the 1950s and 1960s! We start with his first adaptation of an H.G. Wells property, 1953's "The War of the Worlds!" Directed by Byron Haskin, with a screenplay by Barre Lyndon, and produced by Pal, the film stars Gene Barry as Dr. Clayton Forrester, a scientist who happens to be camping nearby when a meteor comes down in upstate California. Upon investigating, he meets Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) and her uncle Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins (Lewis Martin) who have also come to see what there is to see. Also on scene is an old acquaintance, Major General Mann (Les Tremayne), who has brought troops to help quell the crowds and assess any possible threat. But the meteor proves to be much more than cosmic driftwood, it's a pod containing creatures from the planet Mars who have descended upon the Earth to conquer it. Mankind attempt every type of military response imaginable, but nothing works, and it appears the human race's time to extinction is rapidly counting down! What can possible save Earth from the invaders from outer space?

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