April 12, 2007

History in Film

Mr. Reed

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Kevin McCarthy as Dr. Miles J. Bennell

Dana Wynter as Becky Driscoll

Larry Gates as Dr. Dan “Danny” Kauffman

King Donovan as Jack Belicec

Carolyn Jones as Theodora “Teddy” Belicec

Summary:

As Dr. Miles J. Bennell returns from a trip out of his small town, he notices that the people he has known forever are acting strangely. When his patients start to complain that their family members are not the same people, he starts to wonder if something is wrong. Jack Belicec and his wife Theodora “Teddy” Belicec, discover a body that resembles that of Jack, only it does not have character, finger prints, or a pulse. As the film goes on, pods appear and take the form of people in the town. They never say what happens to the original person.

The similarities to the communist scare in the 1950”s are dead on. The thought that your neighbor whom you have known for years, looks the same and carries on as usual, might have been seduced by “Reds” was frightening to Americans of the time. The main character sums it up best with the line that the movie was meant to end on: “They're here already! You're next! You're next, you’re next”.

Awards:

This film was never even nominated for an award.

I would give this movie an A for entertainment and an A for historical value, just because if you look at it like it was meant to be an anti-communist movie it makes more sense.