Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter

Directed by Don Siegel

Available to stream on Prime Video

We continue our month of "Spooky, Scary, and Other-Worldly" with a classic science fiction movie from the 1950's -- Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

All the residents of a small town are being replaced with "pods" who are their exact duplicates, except for their total lack of emotion, and their violent determination to change everyone else in the world into a pod. A doctor and his girlfriend are the only ones who keep their individuality, but are unable to get anyone to believe them.

Dana Wynter and Kevin McCarthy

Why it's good and scary: Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a frightening illustration of the kind of conformity and groupthink that can occur in any era in history.  Scarily relevant still.

"The most essential science fiction film of the 1950's is also the subtlest.  Produced on a low budget without major stars, its imagination and intensity have kept it provocative, topical, and inspirational to modern filmmakers." (TCM's The Essentials by Jeremy Arnold)

The only problems are the first and last 2-3 minutes of the film where a weak framing story was mandated by the studio to make the movie less scary, in an effort to reassure the audience that the FBI would take care of the problem. The director intended the movie to end when Kevin McCarthy yells "You're next!" 

Fun Facts:

Based on a story by Jack Finney originally published in Collier's in 1954 and later published as a novel in 1955.

Dana Wynter, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, and Kevin McCarthy

• Carolyn Jones, who plays Teddy, is most known today for her portrayal of Morticia Addams on the TV show The Addams Family.

Dana Wynter and Kevin McCarthy running from the pod people

• The movie was filmed in only 19 days and with a small budget of only $300,000.

• "Siegel recalled in his autobiography, that 'My brilliant art director, Ted Haworth, figured out a way of creating the pods that was simple and relatively inexpensive (around $30,000). The most difficult part was when the pods burst open, revealing exact likenesses of our leading actors. Naturally, they had to have naked impressions of their bodies made out of thin, skin-tight latex. Foaming soap bubbles would gradually disappear, revealing, yet still concealing, their entire bodies.'" (From TCM website)

Dana Wynter posing for her pod impression

Featured Cocktail:

Last Word

First served in 1915, this classic drink was a Prohibition-era favorite. However, it fell out of favor after World War II. It was reintroduced around 2000 and is now a staple in many bars.

¾ oz (22.5 ml) gin                                                                                    

¾ oz (22.5 ml) lime juice

¾ oz (22.5 ml) green Chartreuse

¾ oz (22.5 ml) maraschino liqueur

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry if desired.

Cheers to the Classics!