We continue our survey of the twenty greatest movies of the 1950s.
For the Twenty Greatest Movies of the 1940s, click here.
For a listing of the greatest movies of the 20s and 30s click here.
15. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956.
This film has no CGI. No SFX. And no gripping battle scenes in outer space. And yet, absent these current staples of the genre, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, because it focuses relentlessly on humanity, and what makes us human, remains one of the greatest Sci Fi movies ever made,
Based on a 1954 novel by Jack Finney, Invasion was budgeted at $350,000 and a twenty day shooting schedule. Saddled with such a low budget, veteran producer Walter Wanger hired director Don Siegel. Getting his start in the montage department at Warner Bros.—he cut the opening montage of Casablanca—Siegel was accustomed to making the most of tight budgets.
Wanger and Siegel wanted Dick Powell and Kim Novak for the lead roles, but with so little money available, the relatively unknown Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter were cast.
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