Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966)

Director:

Gordon Flemyng

Writers:

Terry Nation (BBC television series)
Milton Subotsky (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

5 August 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Daleks' fiendish plot in 2150 against Earth and its people is foiled when Dr. Who and friends arrive from the 20th century and figure it out.

Plot Keywords:

2150s | Doctor Who | Product Placement | Telephone Booth | Telephone Box

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Who
Bernard Cribbins	...	Tom Campbell
Ray Brooks	...	David
Andrew Keir	...	Wyler
Roberta Tovey	...	Susan
Jill Curzon	...	Louise
Roger Avon	...	Wells
Geoffrey Cheshire	...	Roboman
Keith Marsh	...	Conway
Philip Madoc	...	Brockley
Steve Peters	...	Leader Roboman
Eddie Powell	...	Thompson
Godfrey Quigley	...	Dortmun
Peter Reynolds	...	Man on bicycle
Bernard Spear	...	Man with carrier bag
Sheila Steafel	...	Young woman
Eileen Way	...	Old woman
Kenneth Watson	...	Craddock
John Wreford	...	Robber
Robert Jewell	...	Leader Dalek Operator

Directed by
Gordon Flemyng

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Terry Nation		BBC television series
Sydney Newman		characters (uncredited)
Milton Subotsky		screenplay
David Whitaker		additional material

Produced by
Max Rosenberg	....	producer (as Max J. Rosenberg)
Milton Subotsky	....	producer
Joe Vegoda	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Bill McGuffie

Cinematography by
John Wilcox		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ann Chegwidden

Art Direction by
George Provis

Set Decoration by
Maurice Pelling

Makeup Department
Bunty Phillips	....	makeup artist
Bobbie Smith	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Ted Wallis	....	production manager
Tony Wallis	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anthony Waye	....	assistant director

Art Department
Bill Waldron	....	construction manager
William Alexander	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Buster Ambler	....	sound recordist (as A. Ambler)
John Cox	....	sound supervisor
John Poyner	....	sound editor
Peter Dukelow	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ted Samuels	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Gerald Larn	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
David Harcourt	....	camera operator
Ray Jones	....	camera grip
Maurice Gillett	....	supervising electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jackie Cummins	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Barry Gray	....	composer: electronic music
Bill McGuffie	....	conductor

Other crew
Pamela Davies	....	continuity

Production Companies

• AARU Productions (in association with)
• British Lion Film Corporation (made in association with)
• Amicus Productions (uncredited)

Distributors

• Amicus Productions (1966) (UK) (theatrical)
• Continental Distributing (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Walter Reade Organization (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Lumiere Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1988) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Daleks Invade Earth 2150 A.D. (USA) (TV title)
Dr. Who: Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (USA) (video title)
Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

AARU Productions

Trivia:

This film was part-financed by the company that makes "Sugar Puffs" cereal, in return for an exclusive merchandising deal. Several posters for "Sugar Puffs" cereal are visible during the movie, an early (for a British movie) example of product placement.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: There is very obvious use of the commercially-available Louis Marx toy Daleks in the climactic explosion sequences.

Quotes:

Dr. Who: Your bomb is designed to slide down this shaft, strike a fracture in the Earth's inner surface, and so release the magnetic core of our planet. But the fracture is near the meeting point of the magnetic influence of the North and South poles. One mistake, one deviation in the aiming of your bomb and enough magnetic energy will be released to destroy you.
Dalek: There will be no mistake! These prisoners are to be exterminated!
Dr. Who: One moment. You must listen to me. If you spare us, I can help you. I can show you how to neutralize this magnetism, so that your plan can be carried out with no danger to yourselves.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Body Stealers (1969)

Extermination is not an Option

When I first saw this on TV as a kid, I was really taken with the fanciful far-out concepts of a conquered Earth. For a 12 year-old boy into sci-fi, this was and is the ultimate escapist fare. I had no knowledge of the British TV series at the time so my intro to Dr.Who was Peter Cushing (playing older than he is), the movie version of the old-time traditional Doctor. I probably saw this film before the previous one "Dr. Who and the Daleks" as I was puzzled by the Doctor's recognition of his old foes, the unforgettable Daleks. Yes, who can forget those frog-like voices, warped by metallics, usually screaming for the death of humans. The British cast is really keen, especially Cribbins as an out-of-place copper and Andrew Keir as a hobbled resistance fighter. They bring a curious reality to the fantastic setting.

The picture has a decidedly British flavor and, of course, is filmed in the British countryside. Though I didn't reason this out at the time when I was a kid, it had an obviously different taste to it; I was mostly familiar with U.S. low budget sci-fi pics of the '50s and '60s at the time. The scope of the picture seemed really huge back then: London in a destroyed state, humanity decimated. There was that really cool flying saucer, looking fully functional and detailed. And there were the creepy Robo-men, in their slick black bodysuits and far-out helmets, like some futuristic Nazis or space zombies. All of this stuff really just took me over and I couldn't wait for the next time the local TV channels would run it again (not very often, as it happened). Some years later, I realized the title, 2150 AD, sounded cool, but the invasion by the Daleks must have occurred only a few years before the events of this movie, and the dilapidated buildings all looked like they'd been wrecked in the sixties. Ah, no matter. Many years later, I got the DVD and the thrill, tho muted by the long passage of experience and adulthood, is still there. They really knew how to make 'em back then.