I'm glad that "Invaders from Mars" was found and restored. My DVD of this film has reasonable picture and sound quality. The film itself is a fairly standard one, very low budget but there are still some effective moments. There aren't many famous or familiar faces here which is probably just as well. The film works up a fair bit of steam toward its climax, plus a slight twist to the tale.

Invaders from Mars is directed by William Cameron Menzies, has a screenplay by Richard Blake and stars Jimmy Hunt,Arthur Franz, Helena Carter, Leif Erickson and Hillary Brooke.David MacLean(Jimmy Hunt)is awoken by a strange noise and light in the middle of the night. Looking out of his window he sees a flying saucer land near his house. He wakes up his dad(Leif Erickson)who goes and looks but doesn't come back. David's mum(Hillary Brooke)phones the police, two officers come and search and also go missing. The dad and the officers then return sometime later seemingly devoid of emotion and all bearing strange marks on the back of their necks. Later David's mother is also changed.David is convinced that aliens have done something to them and runs to the police begging them to get help. Nobody believes him except his friend the Astronomer Dr. Stuart Keltson(Arthur Franz)and Doctor Pat Blake(Helena Carter). This trio soon discover that aliens have indeed landed and must try and alert the authorities to try and stop them.This film has it's moments but too many weaknesses to make it one you'd want to watch again and again. The people controlled by aliens are very creepy(this altered behaviour precedes Invasion of the Body Snatchers by several years)and seeing the horror from the perspective of a child is quite interesting. The little girl who burns her house is very creepy(that scary smile of hers would make you run a mile in real life).There is nothing more frightening than knowing something to be true but nobody believes you and the film portrays that very well. Seeing the people being dragged beneath the sand to be altered is very creepy as it allows you to imagine all sorts of scary things. Unfortunately most of the acting is pretty bad, the seemingly endless army stock footage is unnecessary and the reveal of the alien base beneath the sand is a big disappointment, some things work better when unseen. This one has it's moments but could and should have been so much darker than it was.

*Spoiler/plot- Invaders from Mars, 1953. An overactive 10 years old boy's imagination and dreams take over his waking hours with seeing a flying saucer landing in a vacant lot near his house. The town leaders and military experts need convincing and help in the end. *Special Stars- Arthur Franz, Helena Carter, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke, Morris Ankrum, Milburn Stone, Barbara Billingsley, Robert Shayne.*Theme- The Govt is your friend, not the Martians.*Trivia/location/goofs- Color. Richard (Dick Van Dyke Show) Deacon's first film. Look for zippers on the backs of the mutant's green velor costumes. *Emotion- One of the earliest 50's sci-fi thrillers with a scary ending, so be sure to see the whole film. This film gave plenty of impressionable kids nightmares and time hiding in their rooms. The remakes of this film are terrible.*Based On- The Cold War invasion and rocket exploration fears.

***SPOILERS*** It's little David MacLean, Jimmy Hunt, who discovers with his high powered telescope that the Earth is being invaded by Men from Mars in practically his own back yard. That's when he spots a flying saucer land and borrow it's way underground not far from his home. At first not believed by his dad aeronautical engineer George MacLean, Leif Ericson, by him checking the landing site he himself disappears and later shows up at home acting as if he's been lobotomized! Soon a number of people in the area including David's mom Mary MacLean, Hillary Brooke, end up the same way like her now zombie like husband totally detached from reality as well as the human race.As the shocking truth comes to the surface it's a spaceship full of Martians lead by their leader, the guy with his head in a fishbowl, played by Luce Potter are planning to prevent the construction of a space ship that George MacLean is working on to be complete! They don't want anyone being able to travel to Mars like they can travel to the Earth and mess up their ecological system. It's the US Army that is summoned to stop the Martians before they can do any more damage.With Col. Fielding played by the "Eternal Colonel" himself Morris Ankum in charge to stop this invasion from Mars he unloads all the firepower he has at his disposal at the Martians who's underground hideout easily withstands. Taking the fight to the Martians to their own tuft in the underground hideout that they, with laser technology, made for themselves seems to backfire by Col. Feilding and his men not realizing how dangerous and unstable the Martians' laser ray machine is in the wrong hands: themselves! And with that Col. Fielding has set off a number of events that may well end up killing everyone within a 10 mile radius! ***SPOILERS*** There is a happy ending here but not one you would expect. Little David and his parents together with all the people in the movie who've been turned into brain numbed zombies are back to normal again but were not that sure that they'll stay that way. Like a repeating nightmare it, the movie, seems to go on forever but only for David who's the only one in the cast that's fully conscious of it!