War of the Worlds (1952)
Article 5520 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-16-2017
Directed by L.F. Broom
Cast unknown
Country: UK
What it is: Amateur Wells Adaptation

Martians arrive on Earth and terrorize a British town.

This being an amateur film, I’m not surprised there isn’t a listing for it on IMDB. And, this being an amateur film, I find myself cutting it quite a bit of slack and accepting certain things of which I’d be more critical if it had been a professional production. Yet, on certain levels, I’m not sure I really need to make these extra allowances; the movie is more coherent, better acted, and more exciting than some professional productions I’ve seen. The fact that it is an amateur film does add a generous dollop of charm to the proceedings; for example, I couldn’t help but notice that the movie advances its plot through narration and its music is a stock classical music piece (I think it might be Holst’s Mars – The Bringer of War from The Planets), yet both touches add to the excitement and effectiveness. Even the primitive stop-motion effects and make-up add to the flavor, and the sincere acting is a big plus. In the end, I love and applaud this little amateur film.