O Dia em que Marte Invadiu a Terra

This was a 60's sci-fi movie that had somehow escaped my radar until today. I'm a particular fan of the genre. I almost did not watch it due to the low 4.8 rating on IMDb. This is one of the rare instances where I'm glad to say I disagree with the general consensus. I can see where the under 40 crowd, used to CGI and faced paced action/thriller type sci-fi movies would be bored with this film. Actually I would consider it a combination paranormal/sci-fi flick. The estate on which the film was made is stunningly beautiful, even in black and white. Not your average backdrop for a science fiction film. The premise is terrifying. There are the obvious flaws of "why in the world would they stay once they've seen what they did?" and other arm-chair quarterbacking thoughts that I'd have done a lot differently in their situation. I think it's difficult for 21st century viewers sometimes to put themselves in a 50's or 60's setting. How could they if they did not live during those times? I found the film to be suspenseful and entertaining. Doubt it will make to anyone's "top 10 film" list, but it was a very pleasant surprise and great way to spend a rainy afternoon. There is something primeval about the plot of the film that is very unnerving and thus makes it so scary. There are no cheesy costumed Martians or monsters to spoil this one. It's all intellectual type fear. Give this one a shot - especially if you are age 50+, you won't be disappointed.

the recent disappearance of the mars probe, the beagle, made me think of this film - although i had no idea what the title was. .. but i knew that i had seen it as a young child, and so i thought that it had probably been released in the 60's. so, went to teoma.com and looked for sites which might allow me to narrow the search. came up with a couple of possible titles, then followed a link to IMDb and typed in each possible before reading the plot line that seemed to fit.

this is the one.

this film creeped me out as a child - i remember having dreams about it afterward, and that the feeling of foreboding and threat, the horror of there being no escape, and the way that the characters never knew whether they were talking to their real family members or not, would sometimes enter my thoughts for years...

the ending i think was especially threatening - the sense of there being no way that anyone could find out the 'truth', when the evidence of their existence was washed away.... eeeughhhh.

so saying, i'd love to see it again now.

Don't kid yourself as this is a very low budget shocker.But it is a shocker and a pleasant one at that.99% of the film is shot in one location but what a location!

A scientist with a troubled marriage sends a probe to Mars.Unknown to all concerned the probe sends back a little something,namely Martians as invisible energy beings.They become doppelgangers of the scientist and his family. Their mission is clear;to stop earth from travelling to Mars.(They like their high property values obviously).The Martians play havoc with his home life until the very end.

A small budget flick with an appealing cast of old pros.Quickly paced and well written by Harry Spaulding.Even a downbeat ending to add to the menace.Better than average and worth a look in a forgiving mood.

The plot, very briefly, involves men from Mars who want to stop Earth from exploring their planet. The Martians travel through the galaxy to inhabit the bodies of a scientist and his family - that is, there is the "real" scientist and his family, and then there are their "body doubles" (the Martians, carrying out their mission). On top of this grave threat to humankind, there is a subplot as we view a crumbling marriage between the two leads. But I wondered if anyone who saw it really cared about them since it was definitely a B-picture. (Kent Taylor and Marie Windsor star as the scientist and his wife).

There were some truly creepy moments in the movie, though. Claire Fielding (Marie Windsor) learns from her son that there is an open door on the estate property where the family is residing. She goes to lock it, then hears movement around her. She becomes scared and hurries on. Suddenly her husband is standing there, with a look that is malevolent. "Where are you going, Claire!" he asks in an a threatening voice. We the audience know that it's really a Martian, but we watch from the point of view of Claire, who's never seen her "husband" this way, and the effect is unsettling. Another weird scene involves the daughter and her doppelganger - the doppelganger looks at her with evil intent. Not to mention what the daughter's doppelganger does to the young love interest of the daughter. As for the rest, watch and find out.

This film is better than its low rating, and I'd say if you like those low budget scifi's from the 50's and 60's this one is definitely worth your time.

It was a very interesting coincidence that I watched this film when I did--right after seeing "Ramona" (1936). That's because Kent Taylor was one of the stars in both films. However, here in "The Day Mars Invaded the Earth", he was late in his career--and in a lot less prestigious film! Now this isn't to say that sci-fi films of the period are all bad--they can be great fun. But they don't have the huge star power of this earlier film--when Taylor was on his way to being a major Hollywood star (though, it never exactly came to be--though he did appear in a huge number of films--mostly Bs). In addition to Taylor, Marie Windsor (who played a great film noir 'dame' in the 50s) co-stars as his loving wife--but she looks quite different with her blonde hair and 60s hairstyle.

The plot of this sci-fi/horror film is very familiar and reminded me of many sci-fi and horror films of the day. A man (Taylor) is working on a project that has sent a probe to Mars. Soon, weird things start happening to him and his family--as Martians come to Earth disguised as him or family members. It seems they do NOT want humans bothering them.

This is all very, very familiar territory but with one twist. The ending was NOT at all predictable and was pretty off the wall. Otherwise, a decent film for those who love the genre. Not a great film--but worth your time and it makes do quite well with a small budget.