I was greatly saddened to see the news posted this morning at MSN.com that long time TV and movie actor Gene Barry had passed away. The 90 year old actor died at a rest home in the Los Angeles(CA) suburb of Woodland Hills. I've always had the greatest respect for this handsome and charismatic actor. I haven't always followed the late actor's TV career but I will always cherish his performance as scientist "Dr. Clayton Forrester" in the classic science fiction film The War Of The Worlds(1953). This film has stood the test of time very well and features great visual effects(for the time) by George Pal. More than anything, this movie is a great and epic story that is character driven and also serves as a reminder that perhaps we aren't alone in the universe...
In the movie Earth is invaded by Martians, who use devastating and seemingly indestructible machines to lay waste to cities. A group of scientists, led by "Dr. Clayton Forrester", frantically try to find a weakness of some kind in the marauding Martian machines, all while the military's efforts to stop the machines fail utterly. (no other spoilers)
Gene Barry (1919-2009)
This film has been released on Region 1 "Special Edition" DVD and can be seen for sale at Amazon by clicking the DVD cover art image above.
