''Invasion, U.S.A.'' (sometimes 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

based on a story by Robert Smith and Franz Spencer and directed by

Alfred E. Green Alfred Edward Green (July 11, 1889 – September 4, 1960) was an American film director. Green entered film in 1912 as an actor for the Selig Polyscope Company. He became an assistant to director Colin Campbell. Biography Green was born on Jul ...

. The film stars

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

Peggie Castle Peggy Thomas Blair (December 22, 1927 – August 11, 1973), known professionally as Peggie Castle, was an American actress who specialized in playing the "other woman" in B-movies. She was Miss Cheesecake in 1949. Early life Castle was born ...

and

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (1 May 1919 – 17 February 2005) was an Irish actor. His best-known roles included his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the title character in Luis Buñuel's ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1954), Brigadier General Warren A. Black in ...

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

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and portrays the invasion of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by an unnamed

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

enemy which likely refers to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. It is typical of the

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

film genre, common throughout the 1950s.

Plot

In a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

bar, the brooding, mysterious forecaster Mr. Ohman is sitting and drinking brandy. He gets into discussions with a cross-section of affluent Americans at the bar, including local television newscaster Vince Potter, beautiful young New York society woman Carla Sanford, a California industrialist, a rancher from Arizona, and a congressman. International news is bad, but the Americans do not want to hear it. While they all dislike

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and appreciate the material wealth they enjoy, they also want lower taxes and fail to see the need for industrial support of government. 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 Nome may refer to: Country subdivision * Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt * Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. ) Places United States * Nome, Alaska ...

Paratroops A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

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 The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built, although it was exceeded in span ...

missions, but the enemy steadily moves into Washington state and Oregon. Shipyards in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

are hit with atomic attacks causing massive 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. He continues to broadcast while she volunteers to help run a blood drive. 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, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, the latter in the destruction of

Boulder Dam #REDIRECT Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed bet ...

by a nuclear missile which results in a tidal wave, flooding most of the country and killing a family attempting to flee from it. The

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

, 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, including a paratrooper attack on the

US Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

that kills the congressman. New York is hit with an atomic bomb, and Potter is soon killed at Clara's apartment. 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

as Vince Potter *

as Carla Sanford *

as Mr. Ohman *

Robert Bice Robert Bice (March 14, 1914 – January 8, 1968) was an American television and film actor. Biography Bice was born on March 14, 1914, in Dallas, Texas. He died on January 8, 1968, in Los Angeles, California. Bice was buried in Eternal Vall ...

as George Sylvester * Tom Kennedy 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. Personal life Crosby died in 1975 at the age of 70 in Newport Beach, California ...

as Illinois Congressman Arthur V. Harroway * Erik Blythe as Ed Mulfory *

Phyllis Coates Phyllis Coates (born Gypsie Ann Evarts Stell; January 15, 1927 – October 11, 2023) was an American actress with a career spanning over fifty years. She was best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film '' Superman and th ...

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. Early life Robinson was the son of actor Edward G. Robinson and his wife, Gladys Lloyd. Career Edward G. Robinson Jr. appeared in 23 films and tele ...

as Radio Dispatcher *

Noel Neill Noel Darleen Neill (November 25, 1920 – July 3, 2016) was an American actress, pin-up girl, and model. She played Lois Lane in the film serials ''Superman'' (1948) and '' Atom Man vs. Superman'' (1950), as well as the 1950s television series ' ...

as Second Airline Ticket Agent * Clarence A. Shoop as Army Major *

Joseph Granby Joseph Granby (March 24, 1885 – September 22, 1965) was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1915 to the 1960s. Born in Boston he started in movies in 1915, mostly shorts, acting for Universal, its predecessor Independent Motion Pi ...

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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

(uncredited) * John Crawford as Man in Bar (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'' (U.K. title ''3000 A.D.'') 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 nucle ...

''. 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, ...

, 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 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 one of the first to use the technique known as ''Psychorama''. Daniels was born Harold Goldst ...

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 an American independently made black-and-white adventure science fiction film produced by Jack Pollexfen and Albert Zugsmith and directed by Harold Daniels. It was released i ...

''.

replaced him.

Ron Randell Ronald Egan Randell (8 October 1918 – 11 June 2005) was an Australian actor. After beginning his acting career on the stage in 1937, he played Charles Kingsford Smith in the film '' Smithy'' (1946). He also had roles in '' Bulldog Drummond ...

was meant to appear in the cast but had to pull out.

William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on ''Richard Diamond, Private ...

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 Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

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

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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.

and

, two

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

actresses, and

(TV news caster), a B-movie and TV stalwart, all have small parts in the film. O'Herlihy had the distinction of costarring in another Cold War drama climaxing with the nuclear destruction of New York, when he appeared in 1964's ''

Fail Safe In engineering, a fail-safe is a design feature or practice that, in the event of a failure of the design feature, inherently responds in a way that will cause minimal or no harm to other equipment, to the environment or to people. Unlike inheren ...

.''

Reception and legacy

A contemporary review in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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. ''Invasion, U.S.A.'' was subsequently shown on television in the late 1960s but then was not widely viewed for a long time until 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 television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

'' alongside the 1950 education short '' A Date with Your Family''. 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, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise), ''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 American collage films 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 Mystery Science Theater 3000