Invasion *** (1965, Edward Judd, Valerie Gearon, Lyndon Brook, Yoko Tani, Tsai Chin, Barrie Ingham) – Classic Movie Review 12,874

Aliens crash land near a hospital and mount a night attack on an English village, in the surprisingly sprightly and inventive British 1965 sci-fi film Invasion.

Director Alan Bridges’s eerie 1965 Merton Park Studios low-budget British science fiction film Invasion is based on a story by Robert Holmes, and stars Edward Judd, Valerie Gearon, Lyndon Brook, Yoko Tani, Tsai Chin and Barrie Ingham.

Aliens crash land near a hospital and mount a night attack on an English village, in this surprisingly sprightly and inventive British 60s sci-fi. Eerie atmosphere and a thoughtful script by Roger Marshall make up for the cheap production.

Edward Judd is an effective hero as Dr Mike Vernon, while Yoko Tani (as Sita, leader of the Lystrians), Eric Young (as the Lystrian) and Cali Raia are sufficiently odd as the people from Lystria.

Robert Holmes re-used elements of his story in the Doctor Who serial Spearhead from Space (1970), introducing Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

It was made at Merton Park Studios.

It premiered at the ABC Lime Street cinema in Liverpool on 15 May 1966 before its UK released by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors and by American International Pictures in the US.

It was released on video by Warner Home Video in the UK in 1992 and released on DVD in November 2014 by Network. It screens on Talking Pictures TV.

The cast are Edward Judd as Dr Mike Vernon, Yoko Tani as Sita, leader of the Lystrians, Valerie Gearon as Dr Claire Harland, Lyndon Brook as Brian Carter, Eric Young as the Lystrian, Tsai Chin as Nurse Lim, Barrie Ingham as Major Muncaster, Anthony Sharp as Lawrence Blackburn, Glyn Houston as Police Sergeant Draycott, Ann Castle as Sister Evans, John Tate as Dundy, Jean Lodge as Barbara Gough, Stephanie Bidmead. Tony Wall, Peter Thomas, Cali Raia, Mark Kingston, Emrys Leyshon, Leonard Cracknell, Norman Mitchell, and Peter Sinclair.

Invasion is directed by Alan Bridges, runs 83 minutes, is made by Merton Park Studios, is released by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK) and by American International Pictures (US), is written by Roger Marshall, is shot in black and white by James Wilson, is produced by Jack Greenwood, is scored by Bernard Ebbinghouse, and designed by Scott MacGregor.

Edward Judd (4 October 1932 – 24 February 2009) was born in Shanghai. His English father and Russian mother fled Shanghai when the Japanese attacked China in 1937. Judd’s career was at its peak in the 1960s, with leading roles in British sci-fi films, including The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), First Men in the Moon (1964), Invasion (1965) and Island of Terror (1966).

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,874

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