Invasion, U.S.A.

It's worth noting that this ultra-low-budget splicing-together of unmatched stock footage was mocked and panned even in its own day, so it should not be viewed seriously as an accurate document of Cold War paranoia. Even in the depths of the Red Scare, most Americans weren't stupid enough to be scared by crap like this. It was more like a super-cheapie public service announcement for the military-industrial complex. If you fast forward through most of the stock WW2 battle scenes, which are endless, and slow down for the "story" scenes, it's a mildly amusing exercise in what-if? science fiction -- doofy and utterly implausible, but good for some wry smiles. I mean, you gotta love that the hypnotist fortune teller is named Ohman. It's also kind of interesting that many, many more "serious," bigger-budget invasion and terrorist- plot films since this one have followed a pretty similar storyline, if more competently. Add the general atmosphere of paranoia post-9/11, and this thing is worth a look, with the FF button to the metal.

This incredibly cheap film is not without its entertaining moments. While America is being invaded by The Enemy, the President appears on television to assure the nation that the US military is exacting vengeance on Russia - for every atom bomb dropped on the US, three are being dropped on Russia! While this sounds comforting, it merely proves the key to Russia's success, since the Russians have already transported everything they'll need to win the war. By devoting so much energy to attacking the Russians on their own soil, the US fails to defend itself against the invading Russian army. Apparently national "defense" is an alien concept, for a nation accustomed to fighting its wars overseas.

This film is no masterpiece. But it is nowhere near as bad as often made out, perhaps by those who have never seen it.

The use of stock footage, and some cheap special effects, is not unusual for films of this vintage. For a low budget film, it actually made good use of the available resources.

I suspect most of the criticism is not based on the film itself, but its supposed political failings. However the politics of a film are not a reason to pan it. We recognise the Battleship Potemkin as a great film, despite it being communist propaganda. The same applies to Triumph of the Will as Nazi propaganda. Less successful but no less political films, such as Schindler's List, are rated on their merits, irrespective of their message.

Invasion U.S.A. adopts a narrative that is close to documentary. It does not include irrelevant romantic distractions, or complex sub-plots. It is rather more of a war film than an anti-communist work.

The enemy is not clearly identified. They look and sound rather more like Nazis than Reds. The identity of the enemy is not as important as the message that America needs to be ready to defend itself. I would have thought that the message that a country needs to be vigilant is as correct now as in 1952.

The course of the invasion, and its successful outcome, were refreshing after watching too many gung ho American films where the US heroes always prevail. This film shows the reality that the USA could have been invaded by the Soviet Union in 1952 - if they had been, the Soviets would almost certainly have won the war. Russia had a narrow window of opportunity, before the USA developed too many thermonuclear weapons, and invasion would be too costly. There were Soviet invasion plans prepared.

I wonder when we will see an American film about a successful Taliban or ISIS attack on the USA, with the message that the USA needs to be prepared.

Like many people who have seen this movie, I saw it through the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, which lampoons bad movie. As such, I was suprised to find that Invasion USA was not a bad movie. Perhaps this post- 9-11 world makes us all a bit more paranoid about an external enemy, so that this deeply paranoid, McCarthyism influenced film doesn't seem too ridiculous. The film seeks to relay the message that if America lets its guard down we are vulnerable to attack. While full scale invasion seems unlikely, we all learned a painful lesson that we are vulnerable. Is this a great movie? No. The usage of stock footage is excessive, and the subject is overly preachy. The film plays out almost like a morality tale in which each character ultimately meets their doom as a result of America's laxness. Invasion USA is a deeply paranoid film from a different time, whose only purpose is to relay a message, but its a message we should all keep in mind.

Invasion U.S.A. (1952)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

If you listen to most reviewers they'll have you believing that this propaganda film is among the worst movies ever made. The story is pretty simple as a group of strangers are sitting in a bar when the news breaks that the Soviet Union have invaded America. Before long most of America has been hit with an Atomic Bomb.

INVASION U.S.A. is considered by many to be one of the worst movies ever made but I think that's rather extremely. There's no question that there are some very bad things in the picture but at the same time it manages to hold you attention no matter how bad things get. I think the biggest problem with the film is the fact that its budget was so low that they really weren't able to do anything good with the picture.

I say that because even though the film is only 72-minutes long, I'd say a third of that is made up of stock footage, which obviously makes the picture look cheap. There are so many scenes where it's either stock footage or projection stuff that you can't help but not be frightened by anything you're looking at. The entire point of this picture was to frighten you into thinking that the Soviet Union could strike at any moment but without the drama there's just not much here. To make matters worse, there are some unintentional funny moments including a scene where the Hoover Dam is bombed and a family gets taken out by the water.

There are some decent performances here including Gerald Mohr and Dan O'Herlihy. Character actor Tom Kennedy is also on hand playing the bartender. Another problem I had with the story is the fact that America pretty much falls without any issue. I mean, as easy as it was for us to be taken over it would be impossible for America to beat anyone. Still, INVASION U.S.A. isn't nearly the bomb some make it out to be.