Book to Film -INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)

Sunday 10 August 2pm INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Dir: Don Siegel USA 1956 80 mins)A small-town doctor (Kevin McCarthy) becomes aware of disturbing changes in the people of his community. Don Siegel’s sci-fi horror film is thematically rich in a way that, almost seventy years later, still creates debate, though its status as a classic of the Cinema of Paranoia is beyond dispute.

Daniel Mainwaring’s screenplay was an adaptation of Jack Finney’s novel The Body Snatchers, originally serialized in Collier’s magazine in 1954 and published in book form the following year. Principle photography went smoothly but it was in post-production that problems arose. The studio was concerned about a pessimistic conclusion and insisted on adding a framing device which altered the tone of the ending. There were ongoing debates about a suitable title but despite all of this, Siegel and his producer Walter Wanger still managed to deliver a film that Michael Dodd of The Missing Slate has called "one of the most multifaceted horror films ever made", arguing that by "simultaneously exploiting the contemporary fear of infiltration by undesirable elements, as well as a burgeoning concern over homeland totalitarianism in the wake of Senator Joseph McCarthy's notorious communist witch hunt, it may be the clearest window into the American psyche that horror cinema has ever provided.

This session will be presented by Clare Toonen and Damien Spiccia who will host a discussion after the screening.

NOTE: Two of producer Walter Wanger’s films were selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” One was Invasion of the Body Snatchers; the other is the film we’ll be screening next month at Book-to-Film.

Doors/Bar 1.00pm Film 2.00pm

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