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L.T. Hanlon

Tag: Byron Haskin

Martians ruin a square dance!

May 7, 2019May 7, 2019 L.T. Hanlon2 Comments

My crudely done frame grab from the 1953 War of the Worlds show thirtysomething girl-next-door Ann Robinson as Sylvia Van Buren with mouth agape as she feels an alien hand on her shoulder.

Photo of the following typewritten text. Wednesday, May 7, 2019. Chicago, USA. Hermes 3000, 1968 model. They drew their plans against us. Tonight I'm watching Byron Haskin's classic 1953 version of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. I’ve seen this movie many times but always enjoy it again. Despite a switch from England to California, the film's action remains fairly true to the source material. Sure, we don't get the wacky guy who wants to live underground or the waterway-clogging red weed, but most of the plot elements are intact. Even the updated martian war machines pay a fine homage to Wells' invading tripods. Although Haskin’s machines don't walk around on legs, they're levitated by a trio of force beams. One fantastic aspect of this movie is its use of the Technicolor process. Green death rays, orange-red heat beams, and eerie, multicolored glows add to the menace from another world. I’ve always liked how Ann Robinson's character is no dummy. Sure she screams — and gets drafted into serving coffee — but she's intelligent, has a master's degree, and teaches at USC. And when things are at their worst, she saves Gene Barry. Both Robinson and Barry make great cameos in the 2005 Tom Cruise remake. Warning: This typecast has not been edited.

 

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