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''The War of the Worlds'' (also known in promotional material as ''H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'') is a 1953 American Technicolor science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal, directed by Byron Haskin, and starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. The film is a loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel of the same name, and is the first of five feature film adaptations of his famous 1898 novel concerning an invasion of Earth from the planet Mars. Large meteorite-spaceships come crashing down all over the Earth, disgorging manta ray-shaped Martian war machines armed with fearsome heat-ray and "skeleton" beam energy weapons; they slowly begin the rout of humanity wherever they move. ==Plot== In early 1950s southern California, Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry), a scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project, is fishing with colleagues when a large object crashes near the town of Linda Rosa. At the impact site, he meets Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) and her uncle, Pastor Matthew Collins (Lewis Martin). Van Buren was told that the meteorite came down at a low angle, while Forrester observes it appears far lighter than normal for its massive size. His Geiger counter also detects it is slightly radioactive, but the object is still too hot to examine closely. Unable to account for these anomalies, Forrester is intrigued and decides to wait in town overnight for the object to cool down. Later that evening, a round hatch on top of the object slowly unscrews and falls away; a pulsating, mechanical, cobra-shaped head piece emerges, supported by the long goose-neck of a Martian war machine. Three men who remained behind as night guards at the crash site approach, waving a white flag, but the cobra-head vaporizes them with a heat-ray; it also damages a nearby electrical tower, knocking out the power to Linda Rosa. Dr. Forrester notices that his and other people's watches have stopped running, having become magnetized; he then observes the sheriff's compass now points away from magnetic north and towards the meteorite crash site. A deputy picks up the Sheriff and Forrester, and they head to the crash site. The heat ray attacks the fleeing police car after Forrester and the Sheriff take cover; they eventually are able to raise the alarm. Amid reports that other large meteorite-ships are landing throughout the world, the Marines surround the original landing site. Three large, copper-colored, manta ray-shaped war machines rise from their gully and begin to slowly advance. Pastor Collins approaches them, reciting Psalm 23, his Bible held up as a sign of peace and goodwill; the Martians disintegrate him instantly. The large Marine force immediately opens fire, but each Martian machine is protected by an impenetrable force field. The Martians then use their advanced weapons to send the military force into full retreat. Military leaders of the Sixth United States Army later gather in Los Angeles to brief reporters and formulate a counterattack defense plan, as well as prepare for an evacuation of major cities in the path of the Martians. Forrester and Van Buren escape the carnage in a small military spotter plane, but later crash land, barely avoiding colliding with other Martian war machines now on the move. They eventually hide in an abandoned farmhouse, but are trapped inside when another meteorite-ship comes crashing down, half-burying the farmhouse. Later, a Martian electronic eye attached to a long, flexible cable inspects the ruined farmhouse's interior, but fails to notice them, finally leaving the ruins. When a lone Martian explorer later confronts Van Buren, Forrester wounds it with an axe. Forrester saves a sample of Martian blood on Van Buren's scarf after quickly using the axe to sever the thick, long cable of the returned electronic eye; he then grabs the undamaged camera housing, and they quickly escape before the hovering war machine blasts the farmhouse. They eventually rejoin Forrester's co-workers at Pacific Tech in Los Angeles. From the blood sample and the electronic eye's optics, the scientists make deductions about Martian eyesight and physiology, in particular that the creatures are physically weak and have anemic blood. In a desperate bid to stop the invaders, a United States Air Force Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing bomber drops an atomic bomb on the war machines, but it cannot penetrate their force fields; the Martians continue to advance and the government orders an immediate evacuation of Los Angeles. The Pacific Tech scientists estimate the Earth can be conquered in just six days. Widespread panic among the populace scatters the Pacific Tech group as they leave; a mob stops and then steals their trucks and wrecks their equipment, and in the chaos Forrester and Van Buren become separated. All seems lost; humanity is helpless against the Martians. Forrester searches for Van Buren in the burning ruins of Los Angeles, now under attack. He remembers something she told him and finds her in a church with other refugees, waiting for the end. An approaching war machine suddenly crashes into a building, then another one falls nearby. Forrester discovers that the invaders are dying. As in H. G. Wells' novel, the Martians have no defenses against the Earth's viruses and bacteria to which humanity has long since become immune. The smallest creatures that "God in His wisdom had put upon this Earth" have saved mankind from extinction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The War of the Worlds (1953 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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