Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Kevin McCarthy   d/ Don Siegel

The great original from 1956...adapted from a novel by Jack Finney. Pods from space duplicate the bodies and eventually the minds of ordinary people rendering them cold, emotionless automatons.

The theme of paranoia in the film has been examined from every possible angle but most commentators agree it reflects the unsettled times. Fear and suspicion had been successfully implanted in the public consciousness (duck and cover anyone?) and this yarn tapped skillfully into that meme.

Siegel has his actors in constant motion thus increasing the sense of tension and generating a breathless urgency to the drama. Although obviously done on a low budget this stands with any of cinema's all-time thrillers as a white-knuckled ride into the unknown.

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