Village Of The Damned (1960)

 Village Of The Damned

Village Of The Damned is a science fiction horror film released in 1960, based on the 1957 novel, The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The film was directed by Wolf Rilla with a screenplay by Stirling Silliphant, Wolf Rilla, and Ronald Kinnoch, and was distributed by MGM.  The film stars George Sanders as Gordon Zillaby, Barbara Shelley as Anthea Zillaby, and Martin Stephens as David Zillaby (one of the strange children with mental powers), and Michael Gwynn as Alan Bernard.  

Village Of The Damned is filmed in England at MGM's Borehamwood Studios and on location in the village of Letchmore Heath, near Watford England, and is set in the fictional town of Midwich England.  John Wyndham is also the author of the science-fiction horror novel Day Of The Triffids (I plan to add the film adaptation of that novel to my collection in the future).  MGM originally planned to film Village of the Damned in the USA on it's studios in Culver City California, and originally intended it to be directed by Robert Stevens, and star Ronald Coleman.  However there were issues with the censors, especially the Catholic Legion of Decency who took issue to some of the events in the story, especially with the occurrence of a virgin birth of one of the children.   So instead of being made in 1958 the production of the film was put off, and was ultimately moved to England.  Though the starring actor Ronald Coleman, died before the film could be made, and he was replaced by George Sanders (interestingly enough Coleman's widow would go on to marry Sanders in 1959). 

Village Of The Damned is about the events that occured in the quiet village of Midwich, when mysteriously every living creature in the village passed out one afternoon.  While the military was investigating the events under the direction of Alan Bernard, suddenly everyone wakes up.  No reason could be found for the event.  Soon later every woman of childbearing age in the village became pregnant, including virgins and women whose husbands were away, which caused a lot of issues and drama among the residence of the village.  All of the children are born in one day, and they all have blonde hair and strange eyes.  It is later discovered that the children act with a hivemind, and have mental powers.  The government is meanwhile trying to figure out what to do with the children as they pose a threat to the world's safety with their powers, but can those powers be harnessed by the government and be used as a weapon?  The children have no intention of being the pawn of the government or to be controlled.  Still the question persists to the origin of these children, are they mutants, freaks of evolution, or even aliens from outer space?  What can be done about these powerful mysterious children?

Village of the Damned was made on a budget of $320,000 and grossed $2,175,000 in the box office, making the film a success for MGM.   The film also opened to positive reviews in both the US and in the UK.  The film went on to become an influential science fiction horror film, and went on to inspire future writers like Stephen King, who mentioned the film in a few of his books including praising it in his non-fiction novel Danse Macabre.   Village of the Damned was followed by a sequel, Children Of The Damned in 1964, and a remake by John Carpenter in 1995.   

I love this film, and would definitely rank it among all must-see film lists.  It had an interesting and thought provoking story, and the special effects though minimal, were cutting edge for the time period.   The film is well cast, especially the creepy children, and well written, and it looks good.  It is not a high action film, and the pacing is a slow relaxed pace, which fits the setting of the quiet English village, but it is effective and the horror lies in the "what if" element of the story.   So if you have not yet seen Village Of The Damned, I highly recommend finding a copy of it.