''Invasion, U.S.A.'' (sometime stylized ''Invasion USA'') is a 1952 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

based on a story by Robert Smith and Franz Spencer and directed by Alfred E. Green. The film stars Gerald Mohr, Peggie Castle and

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portraya ...

. ''Invasion, U.S.A.'' is set in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

and portrays the invasion of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

by an unnamed

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

enemy which likely refers to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. It is typical of the

Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...

film genre, common throughout the 1950s.

Plot

In a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

bar, the brooding, mysterious forecaster Mr. Ohman (

) is sitting and drinking from a very large

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

glass. He gets into discussions with a cross-section of affluent Americans at the bar, including local television newscaster Vince Potter ( Gerald Mohr), beautiful young New York society woman Carla Sanford ( Peggie Castle), a

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

, a rancher from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and a

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

. International news is bad, but the Americans do not want to hear it. While they all dislike

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and appreciate the

material wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...

they enjoy, they also want lower taxes and fail to see the need for industrial support of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. As he swishes the brandy around his snifter, Ohman tells the others that many Americans want safety and security but do not want to make any sacrifices for it. Suddenly the news becomes worse. "The Enemy" is staging air attacks over Seal Point, Alaska and then Nome.

Paratroops A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

have landed on Alaskan airfields. Soon, the enemy's plan of attack becomes clear: civilian airfields are captured as staging areas while military airfields are A-bombed. The US fights back and attacks the enemy's homeland with Convair B-36 missions, but the enemy steadily moves into

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

have been nuclear striked with large casualties. Meanwhile, the Americans at the bar scramble to return to their lives to do what they can against the enemy now that it is too late. Potter and Sanford fall for each other ("War or no war, people have to eat and drink... and make love!"). He continues to broadcast while she volunteers to help run a

blood drive Blood Drive may refer to: Donation *Blood drive, campaigns and special events to solicit blood donations Games * ''Blood Drive'' (video game), a 2010 vehicular combat video game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 *'' Corpse Party: Blood Drive'', a 2 ...

. The industrialist and the rancher both return home to find themselves on the front lines. The former is caught in the battle for

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, the latter in the destruction of Boulder Dam by a nuclear missile. The

US president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

, whose face is never shown in front view, only in rear view, makes ineffectual broadcasts with inflated claims of counterattacks to rally the morale of the people. The enemy continues to advance with stealth attacks by troops dressed in American uniforms (a plot point made necessary due to the film’s reliance on stock footage of US paratroopers to depict the invasion), including a paratrooper attack on the

US Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

that kills the congressman. New York is A-bombed, and Potter is soon killed during a broadcast. Sanford, threatened with rape by an enemy soldier, narrowly escapes his assault as she jumps from the balcony, presumably to her death. Suddenly, the image of her falling body appears in Ohman's brandy snifter. All five suddenly find themselves back in the bar since they have just emerged from a hypnotic state that Ohman had induced. After reassuring themselves that the recent events, including their deaths, did not really happen, they hurry off to take measures to boost military preparedness. Potter and Sanford "resume" their romance.

Cast

* Gerald Mohr as Vince Potter * Peggie Castle as Carla Sanford *

as Mr. Ohman * Robert Bice as George Sylvester *

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics *Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 *Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

as Tim the Bartender *

Wade Crosby Wade Crosby (August 22, 1905 – October 2, 1975) was an actor in American films. He was also part of radio programs. He was in several Republic Pictures films. Filmography * ''Ride a Crooked Mile'' (1938) as George Rotz * ''Wagon Train (f ...

as Illinois Congressman Arthur V. Harroway * Erik Blythe as Ed Mulfory * Phyllis Coates as Mrs. Mulfory * Aram Katcher as Factory Window Washer *

Knox Manning Charles Knox Manning (January 17, 1904 – August 26, 1980) was an American film actor. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He and Annette North Manning are interred at Ivy Lawn Cemete ...

as himself *

Edward G. Robinson Jr. Edward G. "Manny" Robinson Jr. (March 19, 1933 – February 26, 1974) was an American actor. He was the son of actor Edward G. Robinson and his wife Gladys Lloyd. Life and career Edward G. Robinson Jr. appeared in 23 films and television seri ...

as Radio Dispatcher * Noel Neill as Second Airline Ticket Agent * Clarence A. Shoop as Army Major * Joseph Granby as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

(uncredited)

Production

''Invasion, U.S.A.'' was the second film from American Pictures Corporation, who had just made their first film, ''

Captive Women ''Captive Women'' is a 1952 American black-and-white post-apocalyptic science-fiction film. It stars Robert Clarke and Margaret Field. The film has a running time of 64 minutes. It deals with the effects of a nuclear war and how life would be af ...

''. The company consisted of

Albert Zugsmith Albert Zugsmith (April 24, 1910 – October 26, 1993) was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s. With a background in music promotion (Ted Weems, P ...

, Peter Miller,

Aubrey Wisberg Aubrey Lionel Wisberg (October 20, 1909 – March 14, 1990) was a British-American filmmaker. Biography Born in London, Wisberg emigrated to the United States in 1921, attended New York University and Columbia University, and married B ...

and

Jack Pollexfen Jack Pollexfen (1908–2003) was an American writer, director and producer. He collaborated with Aubrey Wisberg on several science fiction and monster movies of the 1950s. Before entering the film industry he worked as a journalist. Selected fi ...

with Joseph Justman as producer. They planned to make six films a year for five years out of a fund of $3.5 million. Robert Smith wrote the script. The film had the co-operation of the US Civil Defense.

Harold Daniels Harold Daniels was an actor and then a director of American films. He directed about 14 films. The 1958 ''Terror in the Haunted House'' he directed was the first to use the technique known as '' Psychorama''. Filmography Director *'' They Met in ...

was to direct but he was instead assigned to American Pictures Corporation's, ''

Port Sinister ''Port Sinister'' (a.k.a. ''Beast of Paradise Isle'' in the UK) is a 1953 American independently made black-and-white adventure science fiction film, produced by Jack Pollexfen and Albert Zugsmith, and directed by Harold Daniels. The film was w ...

'', and Alfred E. Green replaced him.

Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

was meant to appear in the cast but had to pull out. William Schallert replaced Clete Roberts. Gerald Mohr replaced Michael O'Shea. Filming started 26 March 1952. Zugsmith said the film was made for a cash budget of $127,000 with $60,000 deferred. He called the movie the way that he really learned filmmaking, and he got an education from Al Green and Ralph Black in particular. "The Enemy" is never named but is clearly meant to be taken as the communist

because of its approach through Alaska, pseudo- Slavic accents, and "People's Army" proclamations. Principal photography began in early April 1952 at Motion Picture Center Studios. Much of the film's running time is taken up with inconsistent combat

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

. On a philosophical level, ''Invasion, U.S.A.'' is also often viewed as humorously (and unintentionally) ironic, as the lesson it communicates encourages citizens to subordinate their individual needs and desires to that of the state to combat communism. Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill, two Lois Lane actresses, and William Schallert, a B-movie stalwart, all have small parts in the film.

Reception

A contemporary review in '' Variety'' states: "This production imaginatively poses the situation of a foreign power invading the US with atom bombs. Startling aspects of the screenplay rom a story by Robert Smith and Franz Spencerare further parlayed through effective use of war footage secured from the various armed services and the Atomic Energy Commission.""Review: ‘Invasion U.S.A.’."
''Variety'', December 31, 1951. Retrieved: December 8, 2015. The film was commercially successful and brought in net profits of about $1.2 million, according to Zugmsith.

Later issues

''Invasion, U.S.A.'' was subsequently shown on television in the late 1960s but then was not widely viewed for a long time. In 1994, it was spoofed as Episode 602 on the movie-mocking television show ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''. In 1998, ''Invasion, U.S.A.'' was released on VHS, then on DVD in 2002. A special edition in 2009 featured two original Civil Defense Department audio recordings on the alternate DVD audio track: ''The Complacent Americans'' and ''If the Bomb Falls: A Recorded Guide to Survival''. The 1956 reissue theatrical trailer; and interviews with stars, Dan O'Herlihy, William Schallert and Noel Neill. The original and controversial "Red Scare" short '' Red Nightmare'', narrated by

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...

, was also included in the bonus features.West, Peter
"DVD Review: 'Invasion U.S.A.' (50th Anniversary Special Edition)."
horrortalk.com, April 24, 2009. Retrieved: December 8, 2015.

References

Bibliography

* Beaulieu, Trace. ''The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide''. New York: Bantam, 1996. .

External links

*
Production history of film
at Conelrad.com *
''Invasion U.S.A.'' on MUBIMST3K treatment on ShoutFactoryTV
{{Alfred E. Green 1952 films 1952 drama films American drama films American anti-communist propaganda films American aviation films American black-and-white films Cold War films Columbia Pictures films Films about nuclear war and weapons Films directed by Alfred E. Green Collage film Films about hypnosis Films scored by Albert Glasser Films with screenplays by Franz Schulz Films about World War III 1950s English-language films 1950s American films