Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Sadly there is little in the way of solid writing or archive photos for the effects of Don Siegel's classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It was the late Bob Burns, film archivist and asisstant to '50s creature suit maker Paul Blaisdell, who was able to explain how it was done.

Burns, who knew many mask makers active in the '50s and '60s, was interviewed briefly for the 2006 featurette 'Sleep No More: Invasion of the Body Snatchers Revisited'.

The pods and the half-formed pod people were overseen by Milt Rice, who was credited under 'special effects'. However, Rice went to mask company Don Post Studios for help, with Don Post making the assorted foam rubber props. It was at Don Post's where the life-casts of Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter and King Donovan were taken, to create their duplicates.

The pods were also static foam rubber props, also created at Don Post's.

Don Post also made the 'birthing' pods, which worked via rudimentary air bladder techniques. An air pressure gun was fired to blow up the prop like a balloon, giving the appearance of a person's shape forming. The gunge was a mixture of soap suds, glycerin and shaving foam!