Film #052 - Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966)
Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. is the followup to the successful Dr. Who and the Daleks. Like its predecessor, Invasion is based on an original serial from the BBC TV series Doctor Who, in this case, “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”. Also like the first film, this one is a condensation of a very long serial, encompassing twelve half-hours (compared to the first stories six). This leads to Invasion having a lot more changes to the storyline than Daleks.
It starts with the fact that two of the characters from the original serial and film, Ian and Barbara, are not present here. Instead, we are introduced to policeman Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins) and Dr. Who’s niece Louise (Jill Curzon). This gives a lot of the scenes a very different feel from the original ones, as well as changing the match-ups of who goes with who and where. This, naturally, serves to streamline the film, but also removes much of the character development.
The original story served as a final story for Susan and she actually grows to maturity throughout its course. Roberta Tovey, who plays Susan in the films, was much younger than Carole Ann Ford and that aspect of the story would never work. But that was one of the main focuses of the original story, so losing it leaves behind what is basically just an adventure story. It’s still good, but lacks that more human touch.
Peter Cushing again shows why he was the perfect choice for the cinematic Dr. Who. He gives the character a sympathetic center that was often missing from William Hartnell’s original, while retaining much of the edge that made the Doctor such a dynamic character.
Cribbin’s Tom is a much more serious replacement for Ian than the more comedic Roy Castle in the first film, but Louise is basically a cypher. She does little but scream and get chased around, having none of the ingenuity and grit shown by Jacqueline Hill as Barbara on television. Of the rest of the cast, they are of little note. (Although I would like to mention that Philip Madoc, who plays the traitorous Brockley here, would go on to appear four times on Doctor Who to great distinction - one of the few actors to appear in both the show and the films.)
Naturally, it’s in the visuals where Invasion really outshines the show. As with the first film, there’s simply no way the BBC could afford the kind of stuff the filmmakers could. Shot on location, there’s nary an unrealistic grassy knoll in sight and everything has a solid, realistic look to it. Most notable is the Daleks’ flying saucer, which is barely above Plan 9 from Outer Space quality in the original. In the film it is one of the most visually impressive looking flying saucers I’ve ever seen. It is completely believeable and even outstrips some of the stuff I’ve seen in the recent revival of the show.
I’ve always liked these films and, as I’ve said before, I think Cushing is every bit as viable a choice for the role as any of the TV guys. I’ve heard a lot of complaining about these films because of the changes that were made, but for the most part they either don’t hurt or just help make the story more palatable for the big screen. There are certainly no aggregious transgressions here, things that ruin the overall story. And it’s just so nice to see a Doctor Who story given such a lavish treatment, something we wouldn’t see again until the 1996 TV movie. Any fan of the series should enjoy this film. If they can’t, they’re taking it all too seriously. It’s a great alternate take on one of the Doctor’s best tales.