Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Adapted from Jack Finney’s taut novel, Siegel’s low-budget science fiction is one of the true masterpieces of the genre. Driven by Siegel’s customary pacy direction and his ability to move chameleon-like between genres, the film is elevated above its counterparts by a rich intelligence, and screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring’s subtly integrated subtext and allegorical ambiguity. The sense of post-war, anti-communist paranoia is acute, as is the temptation to view the film as a metaphor for the tyranny of the McCarthy era.

Kevin McCarthy,,Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan,Carolyn Jones

80 minutes, B&W, 1956