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'''Invasion of the Body Snatchers''' is a 1956 science fiction film. It stars Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, King Donovan and Carolyn Jones and is based on the novel ''The Body Snatchers'' by Jack Finney (originally serialized in ''Colliers Magazine'' in 1954). The film has been remade three times and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. A somewhat similar plot appeared in the 1958 film, ''I Married A Monster From Outer Space''.
The screenplay was adapted from Finney's novel by Daniel Mainwaring (who also wrote the film noir classic ''Out of the Past''), along with an uncredited Richard Collins. It was directed by Don Siegel, who went on to make ''The Killers'' and ''Dirty Harry''.

Contents

Plot

Themes

Parodies

Trivia

Related works

External links

Plot

Set in the fictional town of Santa Mira, California (actually shot in Sierra Madre, a town east of Pasadena), the plot centers on Dr. Miles Bennell (played by Kevin McCarthy), a local doctor, who finds a rash of patients accusing their loved ones of being impostors. Another patient is a former sweetheart of his; recent divorcee Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter), who tells him that her cousin has this same strange fear.
Assured at first by the town psychiatrist (Dr. Dan Kaufman, played by Larry Gates) that the cases are nothing but "epidemic mass hysteria," Bennell soon discovers, with the help of his friend Jack Belicec (King Donovan), that the townspeople are in fact being replaced by simulations grown from plantlike pods; perfect physical duplicates who kill and dispose of their human victims. The Pod People are indistinguishable from normal people, except for their utter lack of emotion. The pod people work together to secretly spread more pods—which grew from "seeds drifting through space for years"—in order to replace the entire human race.
The film climaxes with Bennell and Driscoll attempting to escape the pod people, intending to warn the rest of humanity. They hide; Driscoll falls asleep and is subverted. With the pod people close behind, a seemingly crazed Bennell runs onto the highway frantically screaming of the alien force which has overrun Santa Mira to the passing motorists and (in a moment that could almost be considered a breaking of the 4th wall) looks into the camera and yells, "They're here already! You're next!"
The film was originally intended to end with Bennell screaming hysterically as truckloads of pods pass him by but the studio, wary of such a pessimistic conclusion, insisted on adding a prologue and epilogue to the movie that suggested a more optimistic outcome to the story. In this version the movie begins with Bennell about to be sent to an insane asylum. He then tells the police his story in flashback. In the closing scene, pods are discovered at a highway accident, thus confirming his warning. The FBI is notified and presumably intervenes. These scenes were deleted in a 1979 re-release after the first remake appeared, paring the movie down to 76 minutes.

Themes

The film has been read as both an allegory for the loss of personal autonomy in the Soviet Union and as a indictment of McCarthyist paranoia about Communism during the early stages of the Cold War.
Despite these reported political connotations of the film, lead actor Kevin McCarthy said in an interview included on the 1998 DVD release that he felt no political allegory was intended. [1]

Parodies

★ An episode of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' titled "It May Look Like a Walnut!" was a parody of the film. First aired February 6, 1963, the episode depicted Rob Petrie's nightmare about aliens who replace his friends and family with emotionless replicas, with walnuts taking the place of pods.

★ In an episode of Barney Miller, an old lady goes to the precinct to report that an imposter has taken her husband's place. Dietrich jokingly asks "Did you check the basement for pods?" To which the lady quite seriously replies "That's the first thing I did!"

★ The animated paranormal mystery show ''Martin Mystery'' had an episode called "Attack of the Slime People" that had a similar story.

★ In "The Pie" episode of ''Seinfeld'', George, seeing Elaine's look-alike mannequin, says: "It looks like some pod landed from another planet and took your body. Don't fall asleep, Elaine."

★ In "The Apartment" episode of ''Seinfeld'', Jerry is upset over Kramer's lack of social skills, and says "Let me explain something to you.. You see, you're not normal. You're a great guy, I love you, but you're a pod. I, on the other hand, am a human being. I sometimes feel awkward, uncomfortable, even inhibited in certain situations with the other human beings. You wouldn't understand".

★ During the Reagan presidency, ''Saturday Night Live'' aired a parody in which people are taken over by GOP pods.

★ In the Duck Tales episode Send in the Clones, part of the subplot revolved around the Nephews seeing a movie called ''Invasion of the Quacker Snatchers'', an obvious reference to the film.

★ A Bugs Bunny cartoon episode, "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers", depicted Bugs Bunny as fulfilling a regular schedule of comical fights with Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, and Elmer Fudd. On one occasion of such a schedule, Bugs discovers "pale stereotypes" – parodial figures who poorly imitate his rivals – who at the close of each encounter advertise "strange-looking carrots" to him. He eventually brings one of these carrots home; while he sleeps, it creates a "pale stereotype" of himself, which attempts to kill him. Bugs thwarts this attempt, then proceeds to capture the other impostors, discovering on each a trademark signature implying their manufacture on another planet. Later, the characters of whom these "pale stereotypes" are imitations return.

★ The Colbert Report created an immigration-related segment called "Invasion of the Country Snatchers".

★ ''The Simpsons Halloween Comic'' featured a story called "The Immigration of the Body Snatchers", which follows the original film almost to the letter. The comic also featured references to the 1978 version, including a dog with Willie's head and a character voiced on ''The Simpsons'' by Donald Sutherland (star of the 1978 version) is seen in the background. At the end, it is revealed that several alien species and robots have long established strongholds on Earth. However, Sideshow Bob breaks the fourth wall and reveals that everything is just a comic strip.

★ The spoof 1983 film ''Strange Invaders'' paid tribute to the film.

★ In "Not Particularly Desperate Housewives" episode of ''American Dad'', there is a scene where Francine is followed by the Ladybugs in the same manner as the 1978 version of the movie.

★ In Shaun of the Dead, Shaun and his companions walk and groan like zombies to avoid being noticed by the zombies in a similar way to the way the people who haven't been copied walk among the pod people to avoid detection

★ In the ''Futurama'' episode "Fear of a Bot Planet" Fry and Leela act as robots to avoid detection on a bot planet. A robot identifies them by pointing while emitting the trademark shriek of the 1978 remake of the film.

★ In ''The Simpsons'' episode: "The Old Man and the Lisa", after Lisa finds out that Mr. Burns is using recycled materials to turn sea life into "Lil Lisa Slurry", she runs out into the street and screams for everyone to stop recycling, upon which they tell her various recycling information in synchronized monotone. She then sees a truck go by her and climbs onto the back, seeing steel barrels full of Slurry arranged in the back in the same manner as the pods were in the original film.

★ On a Halloween episode of the ''Perfect Strangers'' tv series, Larry Appleton refuses to call it a night after watching a marathon of scary movies with his cousin Balki Bartokomous, and girlfriends, Jennifer and Mary Ann. Larry ends up going at it alone as the TV announces its upcoming flick, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The next morning, Balki ignites a pan by shooting a green lazer from his finger, then a giant pod falls out of the hallway closet as Balki walks out of a still closed door and later, he laughs maniacally as he floats at the office and outside the apartment window, as he reveals that the world's population is being transformed into Mypiots where "everyone are all cousins".

★ The sci-fi/comedy series Mystery Science Theatre 3000 parodies the film in the host segments of one episode. In one segment, Mike and Tom attempt to stay awake by drinking coffee and barely succeed. Crow, on the other hand, takes so many sleep deterrants, he can't help but stay awake.

Trivia

★ This film was #88 on Bravo's ''100 Scariest Movie Moments''.

★ Charlie, the meter reader in Dr. Miles Benell's basement, is played by director Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah, who contributed to the film's script, served as a dialogue director for director Don Siegel since Siegel's ''Riot in Cell Block 11'' (1954). He built up quite a reputation as a writer and director of television westerns before he directed his first feature in 1961, five years after his appearance in this one.

★ Eisley's first single off Combinations, Invasion, was inspired by ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers''.

Related works

★ ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1978 remake)

★ ''Body Snatchers'' (1993 remake)

★ ''The Invasion'' (2007 film originally intended as a remake)

★ The 2005 television series ''Invasion'' and ''Threshold'' explore the same themes.

External links

★

★ IMDB: "Things That Happen in All Three Films"; a list of eight parallels

★ The Greatest Films: ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers''; includes a detailed synopsis

★ "''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'': A Tale for Our Times," by John W. Whitehead, ''Gadfly Online,'' November 26, 2001; discusses the political themes of the original film

★ McCarthyism and the Movies