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INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Don Siegel's 1956 sci-fi classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is not just a film about an alien invasion - it is also about losing one's emotions in favor of conforming to a loveless, emotionless society. Scary and awash in paranoia, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is one of the best sci-fi films of the 1950's.

The 80-minute version of this film begins and ends with a studio-imposed prologue and epilogue, which diminishes the impact of the alternate version (the one I am most aware of). Nevertheless, Miles, the small-town doctor of Santa Mira (played with effervescent energy by Kevin McCarthy, an actor who demonstrated a similar glow when I met him at Chiller Theatre many years back) wonders what is happening to the people in town. Concerned family members of the denizens of Santa Maria are wondering why certain people have changed - no emotional response though they resemble the people they know and love. Miles' own friends, Jack and Theodora, have discovered a body that is not fully formed on their pool table. Miles also finds giant leafy pods in his greenhouse, bubbling and forming into human shapes! What on earth is going on?

Director Don Siegel's pacing and frantic energy brings "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" a lot of snap and it becomes progressively scarier as it proceeds. The aliens assume the form of the humans they clone and presumably kill them. Miles doesn't know who to trust, and hides in his office with his girlfriend Becky (Dana Wynter) in gradual fear and with the hope of escaping town to warn others. It is that relentless fear and paranoia that carries the film, the fear of being found and of being cloned. Two scenes stand out among many brilliant ones - the townsquare where swarms of people converge to the center of the square, awaiting further instructions (it has the look and feel of a militarized dictatorship). The other scene follows soon after when Miles and Becky feign emotionlessness and Becky cries out in shock when a dog is nearly run over. A lot of this smacks of the 1950's Communist witchhunt - a time when Communists and Russians were deemed as devoid of emotion towards others and when the fear of a Red existing in your own town, even if it was a false accusation, could cause panic. Is there a Red under your bed, or is it an alien pod? Take your pick.

The original version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" simply had Miles in the highway, warning all motorists not to go to Santa Mira. It is the ending I prefer, a little bleaker only because how do you warn humans about aliens who look human as well? How does one differentiate between emotional responses and lack of them when the film existed in a time of suppressed emotions? That is what makes the film scary - it is not so much the anti-Communist allegory, which is good for political enthusiasts, that makes the film work on a subtextual level (For the 1950's era, conformity to society's expectations was in full swing - an ideal that I am not sure ever truly went away). It is the fact that 60 years later, those of us so inclined to use our cell phones to text people rather than speaking to them may want to be reminded that we are less comfortable with our emotions than previously thought.