The War of the Words By Hank Silverberg I had a chance this past weekend to catch the 1953 production of “The War of the Worlds” on cable TV. The special effects are a bit primitive by today’s standards, but the plot and the acting is much better than the 2005 remake. If you don’t know the story , it’s based on H. G. Wells' novel which sent people all over the country looking for Martians when Orson Wells dramatized it on the radio in 1938. In the 1953 movie the Martians choose the Los Angeles suburbs to land first, instead of New Jersey, and despite the efforts of the military and Dr. Clayton Forester (the late Gene Barry), they start destroying the world. (watch the trailer here) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8a9uTJAoL0&feature=youtu.be All is lost until the Martians, exposed to our atmosphere, die from common bacteria to which we are immune, but they are not. The world is saved with the 1950’s twist that it was somehow divine intervention.