The War of the Worlds Page #2

It's no meteor. That's for sure.

Darnedest thing I ever saw,

the way that's unscrewing.

- Thank you, Doctor. Having fun?

- You know what I was thinking?

The energy from one square dance

could send the meteor back home.

- Must be somebody in there.

- Who? Where do they come from?

I read that Mars is near Earth now.

It happens every 20 years, they say.

Men from Mars...

- What do you think?

- Maybe these are not men, like us.

Everything human doesn't

have to look like you and me.

If it's men from Mars, we ought to

let them know we're friendly.

- No, you don't know what it is.

- We'd be the first to make contact.

We'd be in all the papers.

We could walk out there

with a white flag.

I got an old sugar sack in my car.

What are we going to say to them?

"Welcome to California."

Come on.

(PULSATING ELECTRONIC NOISE)

We're friends!

Open up!

- How will they understand us?

- We'll talk in sign language.

Everybody understands that the white

flag means we want to be friends.

- Hey there, open up!

- Come on out, we're friends!

- We welcome you!

- We're friends!

No smooching in the dark, folks.

- Any candles around?

- All the lights in town are out.

- Somebody found some candles.

- I like it in the dark.

Call the electric company

and see what happened.

- Hey, the phone's gone dead.

- The phone isn't on the same circuit.

What are they saying? Something's

wrong with my hearing aid.

We play "Good Night Ladies" at

midnight, anyway. It's near that now.

- My watch has stopped.

- I've got the time.

- Mine's stopped, too.

- Mine ain't working. What is this?

They've all stopped

at the same time.

There's only one explanation for a

thing like this. Do you have a pin?

See that? My watch is magnetised.

That's what

knocked the phones out, too.

- But everyone's watches all together?

- Do you have a pocket compass?

- The needle isn't pointing north.

- It's pointing toward the meteor.

(POLICE SIRENS)

Let me through!

- What's going on?

- I don't know any more than you do.

Look at the fire out there!

The power lines are down.

That explains why the lights went out.

- Hey, look at the cars!

- Where are the three men you left?

Look there!

People in town started to follow us.

Don't let them come near here.

(PULSATING ELECTRONIC NOISE)

Get under cover!

- What is that gizmo?

- A machine from another planet.

We'd better get word

to the authorities. Look!

Sheriff, you'd better get word

to the military. You'll need them.

Get moving. On the double.

Take cover along the riverbed.

Get those 30s over here.

The area is controlled by Marines.

The gully is surrounded.

Here is Prof. McPherson of Canada.

Is it true you've had reports

of landings in other places? Canada?

Not in Canada yet, but in

Bordeaux, France. Some in Spain...

There's supposed to be one

down in Italy.

We're trying to locate the second

meteor that landed here at midnight.

- Do you think they come from Mars?

- Dr Forrester?

It's possible. It seems certain

they're from some other planet.

If they are Martians, what would

they look like? Bigger? Smaller?

As to Martians, our heavier air

would oppress them.

You think they'd breathe like us.

What about hearts and blood?

If they are Martians, with hearts,

they'd beat at a slower rate.

Their senses could be

quite different from ours.

They may be able to smell colours.

It is possible that they would have

more than one brain.

- Two? Three? Just think of that!

- It's only speculation.

What about these meteor machines?

They're probably controlled by jets,

navigated with a gyroscope system.

Thank you, Doctor. Colonel, can you

tell us anything about this plane?

Itll drop a flare. Then Air Force

cameramen will get pictures.

There's been a lot of mysterious

activity around the machine.

Lights and dust, as if they're digging

themselves out. There it comes again!

If it keeps up,

it'll be a guide for the plane.

(AIRBORNE AIRCRAFT SOUNDS)

The pilot's just blipped his motor.

That means he's dropped the flare.

We'll be the first men on Earth to get a

real look at these invaders from space.

They're after the plane with their rays!

Jump for it!

Here we are...

Hey, they cut me off!

They got my truck!

They'll come out of the gully soon.

Our defences have to be ready.

- You'll need plenty of reinforcements.

- We'll get them.

- The troops are certainly moving in.

- You sent word to the 6th Army?

No, Col. Heffner's in charge.

(SQUEALING CAR BRAKES)

You never know where you'll wind up

when you go to a square dance.

- That's D-24.

- Correct.

Locate your observation post

on this hill.

Position your recoilless 75s

back here. Carbon Canyon.

I want your battery here. In daylight you

may be exposed. Be ready to pull out.

- But you'll get first crack at them.

- Suits me, sir.

Heffner...

Half-tracks? Okay.

Get in back of Hill Three.

If it's a moving target,

follow up from there. Over and out.

They've located that second meteor.

There's one, there's the other.

We're right between them.

- So is the town.

- I warned them to prepare to evacuate.

Everyone has been alerted.

- Gen. Mann, I was told to expect you.

- I'm here to report back, not interfere.

Clayton Forrester,

I haven't seen you since Oak Ridge.

This is Pastor Collins,

Sheriff Bogany, head of local control.

- Miss Van Buren.

- Would you care for some coffee?

Gen. Mann's in charge of intelligence

for the Pacific area.

You've certainly got them surrounded.

- They've neutralised communications?

- Not all. The field phones are okay.

A cylinder reported by Huntington

Beach. That's a job for the Navy.

- Any news from abroad?

- We're in touch with their militaries.

They're coming down all over.

Santiago has two cylinders.

They're outside London.

They're in Naples.

We've got them between here

and Fresno. Two on Long Island.

- They're coming down at random.

- No.

According to information from foreign

sources, they have some kind of plan.

What it is isn't clear yet, because

once they begin to move,

no more news comes out of that area.

We've had reports

of destruction, massacre.

"Town south of Bordeaux

wiped out by ray."

"Local reports say nothing remains."

What do you make of that?

- All we've seen is their heat ray.

- Our newest weapons will stop them.

From the data, and that picture

the Air Force took tonight,

this is the original pilot ship.

Its observations

guided the others down.

One lands, then two, making groups

of three joined magnetically.

My orders are not to go into action

unless they move out of the gully.

This is the only place

we have them contained.

What happens here will be a guide

to other operations.

When it starts, and a defence pattern

develops, I'll report to Washington.

- You've deployed your forces well.

- We'll blast them right off Earth.

They'll probably move at dawn.

There's something moving

in the gully.

(PULSATING ELECTRONIC SOUND)

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