Invaders from Mars (1953)!

Mutterings continued.

A damn good film! Leece and Rob came over for dins last night (chili prawns, noodles, and fruit and ricotta in filo) and we watched the Muppets (Roger Moore, Veterinarian's Hospital - the continuing stooooooory of a quack who's gone to the dogs) and Invaders from Mars.

There's a web site dedicated to what they call "the scariest sci-fi movie of the early fifties". Cheap and nasty sets perhaps, but very intelligent use of archival footage of tanks, trains etc and excellent characterisation. A clever kid who's taken seriously, a woman doctor who doesn't spend her time screaming or hiding behind the hero, and a real sense of paranoia. They also did a very nice job of predicting the Star Wars missile defense system some 40 years before.

Arrived at work to a fabulous sight this morning - a huuuuuge flock of Western Long-billed Corellas (they're the white ones) had taken up residence in Onslow St and were creating mayhem. They were flying into the pine trees in the Zoo, near my office, biting off the cones, and then flying across the road into the gum trees and dropping the cones on the cars below.