Invasion of the Body Snatchers
(1956)
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Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction film directed by Don Siegel, starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, that was released through Allied Artists Picture Corporation. Daniel Mainwaring adapted the screenplay from Jack Finney's 1954 novel The Body Snatchers. The story depicts an extraterrestrial invasion that begins in a small California town when alien plant spores grow into large seed pods, each one capable of reproducing internally a duplicate replacement copy of each human: As each pod reaches full development, it assimilates the physical characteristics, memories, and personalities of each sleeping person placed near it; these duplicates are devoid of all human emotion. Little by little, a local doctor uncovers what is occurring and tries to stop the invasion. In 1994 Invasion of the Body Snatchers was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The slang expression "pod people" that arose in late 20th Century American culture references the emotionless duplicates seen in the film.