“…if one is not blinded by a sense of indispensability, one
must take it that we, like the other lords of creation before us, will one day
be replaced. There are two ways in which it can happen: either through
ourselves, by our self-destruction, or by the incursion of some species which
we lack the equipment to subdue. Well, here we are now, face to face with a
superior will and mind. And what are we able to bring against it?” – Gordon
Zellaby (The Midwich Cuckoos)
Children are our hope for the future, if we can divorce
ourselves from our egos long enough to appreciate them. At least for most
parents, we wish our children will supersede us, becoming more successful, but above
all, not repeating the same mistakes we made. While we’re waiting for our kids
to conquer the world, we beam with pride over every major and minor milestone
and accomplishment (“Aren’t they the smartest? Aren’t they the cutest little
dickens?).
If we are to survive as a species, humanity must undergo a
transformation, and our children are the key to evolving into something better.
As a parent, I want my kids to inherit an Earth without hate, war, or self-serving
agendas, but who will be the architects of this bold new society? John
Wyndham’s 1957 novel The Midwich Cuckoos examined the dark side of the
answer to this question. A film adaptation, Village of the Damned (1960)
debuted a few years later, followed by the sequel, Children of the Damned
(1964). How do these films stack up? Read on…
Village of the Damned (1960) Directed by Wolf Rilla;
Screenplay by Stirling Silliphant, Wolf Rilla and Ronald Kinnoch; Based on the
novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham; Starring: George Sanders,
Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens, Michael Gwynn and Laurence Naismith;
Available on Blu-ray and DVD
Rating: ****½
“I’ve got to confess I’ve been complimented over the years
for my direction of the children, and who am I to scoff at compliments? In
fact, there was no particular art to directing these children. The trick was
entirely in the concept. The only principle from which I started was that the
normal behavior of children is very restless. I made these children keep very
still at all times, move very deliberately, and very unchildlike ways. They sat
upright and very still. That’s what made them rather frightening.” – Wolf Rilla
(from Steve Haberman’s Blu-ray commentary)
Something strange is afoot in the quiet rural English town
of Midwich, where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Until one fateful
day, the townspeople seemed secure in the knowledge that nothing much has
changed, and nothing likely will. Suddenly, without warning, everyone within
the confines of the village becomes unconscious, collapsing in place. Anyone
who attempts to enter the confines of the town suffers the same consequences as
its residents, succumbing to the whatever invisible forces are at work (as one
unfortunate pilot soon learns, the effect extends several thousand feet into
the sky). On leave for the weekend, Major Alan Bernard (Michael Gwynn) plans a
visit to his sister Anthea Zellaby (Barbara Shelley) and brother-in-law Gordon
(George Sanders)* in Midwich, only to discover the place cordoned off. Just as
abruptly as they fell asleep, the townspeople wake up, and things are
apparently back to normal – at least for the moment. Shortly
after, Anthea learns that she’s expecting. The proud parents-to-be celebrate
their good luck, but their elation is short-lived.
* Fun Fact #1: Stirling Silliphant wrote the first iteration
of the screenplay in 1957, with Ronald Coleman in mind for the lead.
It’s not only Anthea, but all of Midwich’s fertile women who
have simultaneously become pregnant – whether they had partners or not. This obviously
creates friction in the tight-knit community, especially for one unfortunate woman,
whose husband returns from a year at sea to discover she’s expecting. The simultaneous
birth of the dozen children* only further forces a wedge through the village’s
inhabitants. The children, all born with flaxen hair, unusually shaped
fingernails and dark eyes,** immediately begin to exhibit formidable intelligence,
while developing at an unnaturally fast rate. They share a hive mind – what one
knows, the others instantly understand, exemplified by the scene where one of
the now two-year-old children solves a complicated wooden puzzle box, which the
others duplicate. Most alarming, however, is their ability to influence the
adults’ minds, to carry out their bidding or exact retribution. As we soon
learn, similar occurrences are simultaneously appearing in several locations
across the globe, with some communities taking drastic measures to combat the
perceived threat.
* Fun Fact #2: While there were 60 children in the book, the
number was reduced to 12 for the film version.
** Fun Fact #3: The filmmakers cast children with dark eyes
to contrast the light hair (actually wigs). The cut of the wigs accentuated
their foreheads, suggesting somewhat enlarged frontal lobes. According to film
historian Steve Haberman, the studio wanted the children to look weirder. Thankfully,
restraint prevailed.
As written in the novel, Gordon Zellaby in the novel was a
hopeless pedantic, in love with his own words and ideas. George Sanders’
interpretation, is much less insufferable – still the consummate intellectual, but
more grounded and relatable. Perhaps because of his love of knowledge for
knowledge’s sake, he forms a tenuous bond with the children, who greedily
devour anything he chooses to teach them. Barbara Shelley was reportedly
unhappy with her character as written, hoping for a more substantial role. To
her credit, she imbues Anthea with the appropriate amount of ambivalence
towards her son, David (Martin Stephens),* with her motherly love tempered by
fear for what she’s unwittingly brought into the world. When David leaves home
to join the other children, her visible relief can’t be contained.
* Fun Fact #4: According to Haberman, Stephens left acting
in 1965 to pursue a career in architecture.
Village of the Damned uses the limited $225,000
(approximate) budget to its advantage, wisely never revealing the specific cause
of the children’s abrupt appearance, leaving us to speculate about their
presumably extraterrestrial origins. Likewise, the children’s intentions are
ambiguous, with David their de facto leader and spokesperson. Our only clue to
their ultimate goal is when they reveal they wish to spread out and propagate more
of their kind in the world. The idea that they can willfully exert control* over
the townspeople becomes a prospect too terrifying to ignore, becoming an “us or
them” proposition. In one of the film’s most chilling scenes, where a would-be
assassin turns the shotgun on himself, we witness the magnitude of their
powers. The prospect of killing children is unthinkable, but to allow them to
continue with their shadowy plans is to hasten the extinction of the human
species (at least in its present form). Gordon devises a defense against the
children, envisioning a brick wall – an impenetrable mental barrier, where he conceals
his innermost thoughts.
* Fun Fact #5: The glowing eye effect (when the children
focus their powers) was achieved by using a matte of the actors’ irises. The
positive image was then reversed to negative, making the children’s eyes appear
white.
Reviews of Village of the Damned were mixed, with
some critics calling it “sick.” MGM didn’t have much faith in the film, but once
again proving William Goldman’s Hollywood adage that “nobody knows anything,” the
little movie became a big hit (as well as ensuring the viability of a sequel). A
largely faithful adaptation of John Wyndham’s novel that preserves the main themes,
Village of the Damned is a thoughtful science fiction/horror hybrid that
asks difficult questions and doesn’t provide easy answers.
Children of the Damned (1964) Directed by Anton
Leader; Screenplay by John Briley; Based on the novel The Midwich Cuckoos
by John Wyndham; Starring: Ian Hendry, Alan Badel,
Barbara Ferris, Alfred Burke and Sheila Allen; Available on Blu-ray and DVD
Rating: ****
“It’s a science fiction thriller. That’s on one level. On
another level, it’s a moral fable about the use of brains by the two major
powers during the cold war. Because I took this tact, it became very different
from The Village of the Damned, where the intelligent children were all
evil and destructive. The children in this screenplay are mysteries until the
very end…” – John Briley (from Blu-ray commentary)
Children of the Damned uses the original story as a springboard,
rather than a bible.*/** Instead of clusters of children, individual children
are born in various corners of the world – presumably a second attempt by an
extraterrestrial influence to gain a foothold on Earth. In contrast to the
first film, by all outward appearances, they resemble ordinary children. Their
behavior, however, is eerily similar: all possess extraordinary IQs,
devastating psychic ability,*** and display the same emotional detachment as
their predecessors. Children from the Indian, Kenyan, Chinese and Soviet
embassies connect with their British counterparts, with all converging in
London. While the common denominator is that they were all born to mothers
without partners, their origins remain a mystery, with the second film playing
as coy as the first.
* Fun Fact #6: This was John Briley’s first sole credit for a
screenplay. Briley would go on to write the screenplay for Gandhi
(1982), which also earned him an Academy Award.
** Fun Fact #7: The film also marked Anton Leader’s feature
film directorial debut.
*** Fun Fact #8: In an effort to distance themselves from the
first movie, the filmmakers didn’t want to depict glowing eyes, but they were
overruled by MGM top brass, who insisted on the effect. As a result, the glowing
eyes are employed much more sparingly this time around.
Depicting international characters required more diverse
casting choices, compared to the original movie (with its purposely homogenous
kids). As outcasts among their own compatriots, they sequester themselves in a
crumbling, abandoned cathedral, where they attempt to continue their obscure plans
undisturbed. Although their ultimate intent is unknown, they construct a device
that can deliver a shrill, incapacitating signal, stopping some would-be
intruders in their tracks. The device provides a mere glimpse of their
potential, which becomes too much for the government to ignore.
One refreshing addition in the sequel is a sense of humor,
which was mostly absent from the first film. There’s some nice interplay
between Dr. Tom Llewellyn (Ian Hendry),* a geneticist, and Dr. David Neville
(Alan Badel), a psychologist. After meeting a parent of one of the exceptional
children, Dr. Llewellyn wryly remarks, “I think we can safely say that he didn’t
get his brains from mother.”
* Fun Fact #9: Richard Burton was considered for Hendry’s
role, but the filmmakers ultimately decided the children should be the real
stars of the film.
(SPOILER ALERT) The sequel presents us with the same dilemma
as the first film: are these extraordinary children too dangerous to be kept
alive? We’re left with essentially the same conclusion, but instead of a
willful effort to destroy them, human error is their undoing, with their fate sealed
by the careless drop of a screwdriver. The final shot of the film is especially
heartbreaking and poignant, with two of the children’s hands visible through
the rubble, joined together in death. Along with the children, there’s the
feeling that humanity’s best hope has died with them. Once again, the message
is clear, much to the world’s detriment, humanity isn’t ready to accept a radical
transformation.
On the surface, Children of the Damned appears to
follow a similar structure to the first film, but upon closer scrutiny, the
sequel displays its true colors. The children in the first film were a menace
that needed to be isolated and/or eliminated. It’s not so clear the second time
around, with the children seeming less the perpetrators and more the victims. According
to John Briley, Wyndham was so impressed with his interpretation of the source
material that he advocated for Briley’s sole credit on the screenplay. Much
like the kids themselves, Children of the Damned is an evolution of the
original film. While it could never match the first film for its novelty or
suspense, it’s a solid sequel, worthy of Wyndham’s premise.
Sources: Blu-ray commentary by Steve Haberman (Village of
the Damned); Blu-ray commentary by John Briley (Children of the Damned);
The Midwich Cuckoos, by John Wyndham
