Children of the Damned (1964)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Anton Leader

Writers:

John Briley (writer) and
John Wyndham (novel)

Release Date:

29 January 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

So young, so innocent, so deadly - they came to conquer the world!

Plot:

Scientists discovers that there are six children who each have an enormous intelligence. The children are flown to London to be studied...

Plot Keywords:

Children | Church | Embassy | Scientist | Intelligence

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ian Hendry	...	Col Tom Llewellyn
Alan Badel	...	Dr. David Neville
Barbara Ferris	...	Susan Eliot
Alfred Burke	...	Colin Webster
Sheila Allen	...	Diana Looran
Ralph Michael	...	Defense Minister
Patrick Wymark	...	Commander
Martin Miller	...	Prof. Gruber
Harold Goldblatt	...	Harib
Patrick White	...	Mr. Davidson
André Mikhelson	...	Russian official
Bessie Love	...	Mrs. Robbins, Mark's Grandmother
Clive Powell	...	Paul
Yoke-Moon Lee	...	Mi Ling
Roberta Rex	...	Nina

Also Known As:

Horror! (USA)
The Children (UK) (working title)
The Children Return (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Unrated (video release) | UK:12 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:X (original rating) | Norway:16 (1964) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Bermondsey, London, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fantastic Fantasy Fright-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

an underrated and misunderstood classic

Children of the Damned has generally been considered grossly inferior to Village of the Damned. I beg to differ as the point of both movies is quite different. In Village of the Damned the children were the result of alien insemination (presumably) and were simply evil. In Children of the Damned they are the result of a jump in evolution and they, themselves, are unsure of who they are and why they are here. The mystery is cleared up however when Paul makes a very eloquent speech near the end of the movie where he states that they have realized that they are here to help mankind. This speech no longer exists on the video version. It apparently was edited out at some point. However without it the ending makes no sense. The dropped screwdriver is played as a tragedy in the movie which contradicts the impression that the children are evil. In fact what the movie is about is a religious theme about how mankind kills its saviors.