The Day of the Triffids (1962)

A sci-fi film that relies on tension and imagination but is somewhat hampered by lack of budget and struggles to rise beyond the ordinary

Directed by Steve Sekely, Freddie Francis (additional scenes)
Written by Bernard Gordon, Philip Yordan
Inspired by the 1951 novel by John Wyndham
Produced by George Pitcher, Philip Yordan, Bernard Glasser
Cinematography: Ted Moore
Edited by Spencer Reeve
Music by Ron Goodwin, Johnny Douglas
Production company: Security Pictures Ltd
Distributed by Rank Organization
Running time: 93 minutes

Cast

Howard Keel as Bill Masen
Nicole Maurey as Christine Durant
Janina Faye as Susan
Janette Scott as Karen Goodwin
Kieron Moore as Tom Goodwin
Mervyn Johns as Mr Coker
Ewan Roberts as Dr Soames
Alison Leggatt as Miss Coker
Geoffrey Matthews as Luis de la Vega
Gilgi Hauser as Teresa de la Vega
John Tate as Captain — S.S. Midland
Carole Ann Ford as Bettina
Arthur Gross as Flight 356 radioman
Colette Wilde as Nurse Jamieson
Ian Wilson as greenhouse watchman
Victor Brooks as Poiret
Peter Dyneley as the narrator's voice

Introduction

On any day and even in such an idyllic setting as a pond or botanical garden in the middle of a modern city, “nature's scheme of things” can be seen to be at work if we choose to look carefully. For instance, “there are certain plants which are carnivorous or eating plants. The Venus fly trap is one of the best known of these plants. A fly drawn to the plant by a sweet syrup brushes against trigger bristles. Just how these plants digest their prey has yet to be explained. There is much still to learn about these fascinating eating plants.” Take this “newcomer” over here: “trifidus celestus.” Did you know that it was “brought to Earth on the meteorites” on the very day that initiated the events that almost spelled the end of civilization…..

Read on for more.....

Spoilers Follow below....

The world’s attention, however was being drawn elsewhere, upwards to the heavens where all eyes were “witnessing an unprecedented shower of meteorites” and assurances were being given by so-called experts that the meteorites would “burn up from the intense heat before they reach the Earth.” No-one at the time it would seem had eyes with which to see the awful truth just yet……..

“This is a thrilling once- in a-lifetime spectacle that simply must be seen!”

Royal Botanic Gardens

In London, sturdy and dependable Big Ben stands silhouetted against a night sky illuminated by a celestial show of brightly flashing meteors entering the Earth’s atmosphere. At the Royal Botanic Gardens, a security watchman armed with flashlight, transistor radio and his packed evening meal enters a greenhouse as he has done on many occasions. He begins his routine evening rounds checking that all is well with the imprisoned flora and vegetation. Tonight however, some of the inmates are restless as three of the triffid specimens begin to rapidly grow in response to the light show outside. Content that all is well, as it inevitably always is, our diminutive watchman treats himself with a peek through the greenhouse glass at the spectacular light show in the night sky.

Moorfields Eye Hospital

Standing at the window of a patient’s room, Dr. Soames and Nurse Jamieson are also enjoying what seems to be nature’s amazing display in the evening sky. They then turn their attention to their patient, Bill Masen, a merchant navy officer who is in bed with his eyes covered in bandages. Much to his chagrin, his surgery was performed nine days ago and Dr. Soames insists he wait the prescribed ten days before the bandages be removed. What irony, having to miss the meteor shower on such a beautiful clear night, when people the world over are being treated to a spectacular unprecedented meteor shower!

Lighthouse

Above a remote lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall, “the spectacular intrusion of meteorites into the earth's atmosphere is still turning the night sky into a blazing display of fireworks” as it is doing the world over. However, at the moment there are no eyes willing or able to see it from the lonely sentinel whose original intended function is to warn of danger and peril

The occupants of the lighthouse are a husband and wife team of marine researchers, Tom and Karen Goodwin. Their gaze is turned inward and focused on their martial difficulties. Tom has turned to alcohol to deal with his demons and has become very cynical, even claiming that the light show is an attempt by a tobacco company that “found a new way to light up the sky to sell more cigarettes.” Tom also easily flies off the handle whenever Karen makes an attempt at trying to repair their marriage and communicate with him. Instead, he wallows in self-pity declaring that he doesn’t care about his work as a marine biologist and that he just wants to get off the island and diver back into a bottle whenever he wants to. Nothing provides pleasure or incentive for him whether it be work or his relationship with his wife. It seems there is nothing left for the couple to do but leave the island and their research as soon as the boat arrives at the lighthouse the next morning to take them back to civilization.

Royal Botanic Gardens

The watchman settles down to a well-deserved meal while listening to the BBC on his radio as listeners are kept posted on the “truly historic and marvelous display of nature at its best.” Closer to home, nature has indeed been hard at work as unknown to the watchman the triffids have grown much larger and appear to be on the move, gradually inching closer and closer to our oblivious little friend. Something innate perhaps seems to warn the watchman that something is wrong. Is it a sound? A primal sense or feeling that something is amiss? Or is it the constant drip-drop of water contributing to the sense of unease? Switching off his radio, he decides investigate but only hears the sound of water dripping. Suddenly, the watchman turns away from his table as one of the giant triffids looms over him. While frozen in place from sheer terror, the watchman is flailed by a whip-like appendage before being drawn towards the triffid’s maw.

“I don't think I'd care to see the things that you're likely to see”

Moorfields Eye Hospital

As indomitable Big Ben chimes 9.00 a.m. the next morning, Bill Masen counts the chimes and is astonished. Hadn’t the good doctor informed him that the bandages would be removed at 8.00 a.m? Even more disturbing is the fact that no one is answering his bell and after making his way to the door and the corridor he receives no response to his calling out for the doctor and the nurse. He cannot even get a response on the telephone!

Making his way back to his bed, Masen is startled by the sound of a woman screaming. Robbed of his sense of sight, all he has to rely on is his sense of hearing to make sense of this peculiar and unsettling state of affairs. All it is doing however, is serving to fuel his imagination in ways that must be almost unbearable. More data is required. Mason therefore, removes the bandages covering his eyes. Initially his vision is blurred, but objects in his room gradually resolve themselves and his eye-sight returns to normal.

Once out in the hallway outside his room, Mason is confronted with a scene of disorder as if a troupe of whirling dervishes had lost their minds and embarked on a rampage through the hospital. As Masen ponders the cause of the apparent wanton ransacking, he is suddenly startled by the touch of a man’s hand! It belongs to Dr. Soames. The doctor has been robbed of his eye-sight while his patient declares that he can't believe what he sees! As Masen is able to see, Soames asks him to be taken to his office.

In a strange twist of irony the two men’s roles are somewhat reversed with the patient shining a light in the afflicted doctor's eyes to determine the extent of the ocular damage. Even with his optic nerves gone, Dr. Soames is able to see things for what they are. He has deduced that “the glare of the meteorites last night” was the cause of the blindness that befell those who witnessed the light show and that Masen is “one of the few people left in London who can still see this morning." This realisation enables Dr. Soames to see the future implications not only for himself but for civilization as a whole and this leads him to his next decision. The doctor sends Masen out of the exam room to his outer office to retrieve a black leather bag. He does this in order to get Masen out of the way while he makes a dash for the window and leaps out, plummeting to his death below.

“Blindness...man-killing plans...I'm not drunk, am I?”

Lighthouse

From their isolated lighthouse, Tom and Karen Goodwin have seen no sign of the expected supply ship. They do however learn that “the entire population of England appears to be afflicted with blindness as a result of watching the meteorite shower last night” They also learn that at the Royal dockyard at Devonport “a number of naval personnel have escaped blindness,” that a rescue centre is being established and that “all those who are still able to see are urged to make their way to the dockyard.” An urgent warning is then issued informing anyone listening that “all of England appears to be infested with a strange new plant that can inflict a fatal sting” and that “it is also rumored that this plant can uproot itself and move about."

Having been appraised of the dire situation, Tom and Karen can only assess their own predicament and ask themselves the obvious question, “how do we get off this island….where would we go?” They are now stuck with each other where circumstances have forced them to look only to each other for strength and support to get them through this ordeal.

“Please, please help us!”

“Tell them everything's all right and not to worry”

“There is no one on board who can help you”

London

After the suicide of Dr Soames, Masen leaves the hospital and attempts to find a means of transportation back to his ship. Well, Bill you can now begin to see and understand the fears expressed by Soames as he visualised the breakdown of society where its citizens have been robbed of their primary sense of sight and are now beginning to lose their way. See the wrecked vehicles and blind people groping their way along the streets of the once bustling metropolis. The ability of a civilisation to function and progress depends on its ability to perceive the world visually. It’s greatest strength has become its greatest weakness now that collective blindness has taken over.

In the London Underground station people either wait about or wander around aimlessly while cold comfort instructions issue forth from a loudspeaker to their ears exhorting them to “remain calm” and not do anything that might cause them to injure themselves. The measure of people’s desperation can be gauged from their reaction at discovering that Masen can see. He is soon inundated by multiple appeals for assistance. In this world where “there are no taxis and the phones don't work,” it isn’t long before overwhelming fear takes over and that the once familiar world becomes a very strange and dangerous place.

At the platform, Masen witnesses a speeding locomotive approaching before it crashes. Blind passengers spill out of carriage doors and windows and a mass of entangled, distressed and confused humanity forms on the platform. Into this direrctionless and cacophonous human horde, a young girl by the name of Susan exits a train carriage. Unlike the other people, she can see and admits this in earshot of a desperate blind man who quickly grabs hold of her as if she were a human life-preserver.. Noticing this, Masen rescues her from the blind man’s clutches and they both exit the station.

Masen learns that Susan was on the train by herself hidden in the luggage van and that she had run away from that “stupid boarding school.” Furthermore, Susan doesn’t have any parents and that she’s “part of an estate” through which the bank in London takes care of her.

Suddenly, the barking of dog draws Masen and Susan’s attention. It turns out to be a small confronting introduction to the danger posed by triffids as Masen tries to shield Susan from witnessing the killing of a dog by a lone triffid.

Masen and Susan soon locate an abandoned car and use it to make their way to Masen’s ship. Along the way, their car seems as if it is engulfed by a pea-soup fog of the kind of smog that once bedevilled London. It certainly plays havoc with their sense of sight and therefore their ability to navigate. Their car soon becomes stuck in the path’s sandy soil which forces them to get out and search the nearby woods for rocks to use to extricate the car. During the search, Susan is pursued back to the car by a triffid intent on making her its prey. During a tense moment, Masen gets the car to move just as the pusuing triffid sprays a slimy subtstance on the car’s rear windshield.

Masen and Susan arrive at the docks and board Masen’s ship. A radio broadcast from France and translated by Susan informs them that all services have stopped. Meanwhile, on board the SS Midland the situation is dire with the passenger ship plying the sea commanded and crewed by personel who are as blind as all of their passengers. With the blind now leading the blind it ids little wonder that “the passengers have started to panic.” The sense of fear and panic has even gripped the ship’s doctor who cannot be located. He is unable to heed the edict, ‘physician heal thy self’ let alone anyone else…..There is indeed no-one on board who can help the passengers.

In Paris a “disaster meeting” is to be convened and an appeal is made for those who can see to make contact. Meanwhile, high up in the sky, Flight 356 from Cape Town is issuing a mayday and requesting an emergency landing and to have someone to talk them down. As with the ship at sea, the crew and passengers of the plane are all afflicted with blindness. With the expected functioning structures of normal operations, authority and command breaking down, survival has become a diminished option forf all. All those in charge can offer is to assure those in their charge that “everything's all right and not to worry.” In other words, lies and platitudes instead of the truth. It turns out that the passengers on board the plane cannot handle the truth when they realize that the pilot is also blind. At that point all semblance of self-control and order is abandoned and a state of complete panic ensues. Masen and Susan witness the results as the plane plummets to earth before crashing in a fireball of death and destruction.

“There is no one here who can see. There is no one

left. There's nothing”

Lighthouse

Back at the lighthouse, Tom is alerted by Karen to the presence of “one of those plants growing out there….on the ledge by The Cove.” Tom leaps into action and fashions a harpoon to use as a weapon against the triffid intruder. With he and his wife in peril and realising that one cannot be completely isolated from the world and the fate of humanity, his words stand as a lame mockery when he suggests that “there's no sense in getting killed by a plant” and that he had “picked a much pleasant way to die.” When faced with such danger, life can be given addedd meaning and purpose especially when there is something and someone to live and fight for. And so, with his wife insisting on accompanying him, the Goodwin’s exit the lighthouse to face whatever danger that awaits them together.

While Tom and Karen search unsuccessfully for the triffid, they are unaware that the plant has surreptitiously entered the lighthouse in their absence. Does this suggest a degree of intelligence on the part of the triffid by undertaking a tactic both of diversion and ambush?

When the Goodwin’s return to the lighthouse, they soon discover within the presence of the triffid behind them. Tom quickly proceeds to engage in a desperate battle with the hostile plant, while Karen screams an awful lot and engages in a succession of terror-stricken facial expressions. Tom valiantly manages to vanquish the creature before comforting his distraught wife.

The momentary feeling of relief, however is soon replaced by a final radio broadcast from across the Channel declaring “because of worldwide disruption it is impossible for delegates to gather.” Furthermore, the city of Paris, “with its millions of helpless inhabitants has become dangerous.” The broadcast ends on a very solemn and despondent note admitting that “there is no one here who can see…..there is no one left…..there's nothing…..”

“Faith is fine Mr Durant, but we'll need a lot more than that if we're going to to survive”

France: Paris & Château

After the horrifying plane crash, Bill and Susan across the channel in a small launch and commandeer a car in Paris. The once bustling city is now a lifeless and morose empty shell of silence. Amid a downpour of rain,Masen and Susan are lost with only a road map to guide them. Suddenly, they encounter a couple of women out in the open who have been expecting someone else. One of the women is Christine Durant who can obviously see. Masen and Susan drive the pair back to their Château .

In the courtyard of the Château Masen and the others are met by Mr Coker who can also see as can his sister, Miss Coker. Christine's Chateau has been converted into a hostel for about forty blind survivors. She and The Cokers met when they had an automobile accident. Being under sedation, they did not witness the meteor light display with the “tragic irony” being that “the sick stayed well and the healthy became blind.”

Susan is led upstairs by Miss Coker to the women’s sleeping quarters where she is introduced to one of the blind girls, Betina. Betina tries rather unsuccessfully to work out Susan’s physical appearance by means of her sense of touch. Susan diplomatically agrees with her assessments. Betina concludes her examination by optimistically pronouncing that they are “going to be good friends until things get back to normal.” This shows that she’s a good judge of a person’s character and personal qualities which is not so dependent on the sense of sight as is determining a person’s physical characteristics. It also shows how important optimism, faith and hope are when faced with dire circumstances, no matter how unrealistic it might prove to be.

Speaking of optimism, Masen is not at all optimistic about their chances while remaining at the Chateau and instead suggests that they make their way to Spain. Judging by what he has witnessed thus far, “things are never going back to normal.” He disagrees with Christine when she suggests her preference for relying on faith. For Masen survival is what counts and that will require making hard-nosed rational decisions especially considering “in France alone there's over 50 million people, almost every one of them blind.” Consequently, “there's going to be starvation, fire, pestilence” and that “anyone caught in the middle of it doesn't stand a chance.”

The moral and ethical dilemma is raised when the question is posed as to how to get all the people at the Chateau to Spain. Masen’s simple answer is that they can’t. For Christine that would be tantamount to just running away to which Masen replies that she is closing her eyes and refusing to see the situation for what it is. It is all to easy to say who is right and who is wrong and what one would do in such a situation, but when one is forced into that situation, who can tell what is the right thing to do? Nothing is that simple.

Later on, faith and optimism are put the test when it appears that the lights are once again on and the electricity is working. Sacré Bleu! Don’t tell me “France is back to normal!” With such hope rising, an attempt is made to contact the outside world with the phone. Ah, but hope is soon dashed when Masen enters and informs the others that he has just put some fuel in the auxiliary motor for the generator and as long as it lasts they’ll have light. As for the phone…...

“I assure you it's not for the greater glory of science. I just want us to survive”

Lighthouse

Within the lighthouse, Tom and Karen work on dissecting and studying the dead triffid. Karen is pleased to see him working again but Tom assures her that he just wants them both to survive, and that if they can work out how the triffid functions, they might discover a more practical way of killing it. Once again, there is probably a lot more of significance lying behind his words and bluster than he is willing to admit.. He now has purpose and a goal and it is surprising how much meaning that can give to a man's life.

Karen convinces her husband to get some sleep if only for an hour. During that time, the apparently inert dead triffid specimen begins to move on the dissecting table. While Tom and Karen slumber, the triffid gradually reconstitutes itself and then slowly and stealthily makes its way upstairs to where their bedroom is located. Karen is suddenly awakened by a crashing sound below and goes to investigate. When she spots the source of the sound ascending the stairs, true to form she screams – Loudly! Not surprisingly, her scream alerts the triffid and it skedaddles the hell out of there. (What? Can it actually hear?) With the lab a complete mess and the lighthouse door smashed outwards, Tom deduces that the triffids “regenerate” and that “it's like like worms” when you “cut them in half and you can't kill them.” As Tom with sleeves rolled up high on his arms launches into action-man mode and repairs the door. Karen ominously observes, "It's like being nailed in your own coffin."

“Most plants thrive on animal waste, but I'm afraid this mutation possesses an appetite for the animal”

While Masen refills the fuel tank on the generator, Bettina enters the utility room to talk to him about leaving for Spain. His earlier hard-edged uncompromising rationalism is somewhat diminished when he explains to her that the only way he can help is to try to find some “real help” and that he can't do it by staying put at the Chateau. He tells Betina that he’ll come back….if he can.

Later, Masen and Coker are in town foraging for supplies from the local store for the Chateau. Upon spotting a lone triffid, Masen puts a couple of rounds into it but with little effect. Both men then head in the direction the triffid went and discover a multitude of growing triffids along with spores blowing about in the air. Coker had seen a triffid in a greenhouse several years previously and it was known that it had come “to Earth in a meteorite” and that “this reappearance must have been caused by the meteorite explosion of the other night.” The chilling thought is raised as to “why should they attack people” when “most plants thrive on animal waste?” The horrible conclusion is that “this mutation possesses an appetite for the animal.” As for the spores? “this must be how they propagate” and with millions of them around, “one light wind and they're everywhere.”

As far as Masen is concerned the situation now makes it imperative to “pack up and leave” the Chateau before they are swarmed by triffids. Christine, however will not hear of leaving behind to die those she grew up with and who are her friends.

Everyone’s attention is soon drawn to the sound of a plane overhead and when they go outside to see, the plane begins to experience engine trouble and descends before crashing. Masen and Coker go to investigate the plane crash. Before the pilot dies, he reveals some information concerning Toulon and “the Naval Base being a rescue center.” Masen knows of the French base in the Mediterranean near Marseille. Suddenly both men find themselves surrounded by triffids. As they flee, Coker injures his ankle and as he is carried by Masen in a fireman’s lift, he is sprayed by a triffid and dies.

Later on, Masen makes his way back to the Chateau on foot only to discover loud music being played and that escaped convicts have invaded the building. Upon finding Susan, she tells Masen that the convicts who can all see have taken all the females in the main room and “made them dance with them” and that they had “brought all kind of food and whisky.”

In this instance, a crisis has managed to bring out the worst in the worst kind of people. Within the confines of the Chateau, all sense of morality, human decency and order has broken down and is replaced by the satisfaction of personal lusts and desires. Within the Chateau faith and hope is abandoned and the law of the jungle reigns supreme in which the individual takes whatever they want and gives themselves over to e very kind of vice.

Bill takes Susan outside to a parked prison van then returns to the house to rescue Christine. As he accomplishes this, Bettina makes her way outside but is killed by the triffids who have begun to overrun the Chateau. In the end, Masen, Susan and Christine survive by fleeing in the prison van.

“You're alive and you wonder why”

Toulon

After driving all night, Masen, Christine and Susan arrive in Toulon the next day. To their dismay, all they they see before them is a scene of utter destruction. Their next destination is to be an American Naval Base near Cadiz.

During the drive the matter of ‘survivor’s guilt’ is raised in which Masen understands how Christine must be feeling knowing that she survived while the others perished. The inevitable question that eats at someone who finds themselves in such a situation is Why me? Why did I survive and the others didn’t? “Why me, why not someone better?”

Spain

The trio finally make it into Spain, albeit with just a horse and cart. While Masen and Christine are preparing a meal and experience feelings for each other beginning to surface, they unexpectedly hear music coming from outside. It is Susan who has found a ‘Toto Circo’ truck with a loudspeaker.

The discovery of the little clown truck raises another of those ethical questions that have be dealt with during times of crisis resulting in hard lessons that need to be learned along with tough decisions that have to be made, all in the interests of survival. If our trio is to make use of the truck, this will necessitate the abandonment of the horse. Not surprisingly, a mortified Susan will not hear of this. It may not be fair, but little is really fair in life and sometimes one just has to settle for what is best or right for everyone concerned. There is no sense in shielding Susan from such tough lessons if she is to survive in these changed conditions.

“There's an answer here in front of us, there has to be!”

Lighthouse

Tom and Karen are hard at work trying to discover something that will affect the triffid tissue but they find that “nothing, absolutely nothing seems to affect this tissue!” After all, the triffids “live, they grow, they take nourishment, they have sensory response, they absorb and spend energy.” Whatever they are made of, something must “interrupt their life cycle.”

Karen recalls the last radio call from Devonport and compares it to “listening to the end of the world.” Interestingly enough, her husband who had previously been despondent and cynical retorts that it is not the end of the world and declares that there has to be an answer. Karen comes up with yet another less than cheery analogy for their predicament with the triffids outside the lighthouse staring in. She compares it to being like having “ guards outside a condemned cell.”

Casa de la Vega
(House of the Meadow)

Heading toward the American naval base in Cádiz, Masen, Christine and Susan are brought to a halt by roped-off roadblock. Beyond they catch sight of a large, white villa toward which they begin walking. When they arrive they are met at the door by Luis de la Vega and his wife, Teresa de la Vega. Teresa is pregnant and is very close to giving birth. The couple are both blind, but Teresa had lost her sight years ago. She along with others who are visually impaired would probably fare better than most in this new world of enforced darkness..

The others soon learn from Luis that the Naval Base had to be evacuated by submarine. He had heard on the radio that some submarines had been submerged during the night of the meteorites and that their entire crews had not been afflicted by blindness. Luis had trad to communicate with them but his transmitter wouldn’t function. While Christine and Susan begin to make preparations for the delivery of Teresa’s baby, Masen sets about the repair of the radio.

When the radio functions the following broadcast comes through:

“….Survivor pickup will be on Saturday at Alicante. We repeat our warning: vast bands of triffids are roaming the area. Do not travel at night. Barricade all doors. We repeat our warning. Do not travel at night. Barricade all doors. Final. Survivor pickup will be on Saturday at Alicante……”

This means that the little group at the villa will have to leave the very next day in the morning.

“It's sound that attracts them”

That night, Masen sets about electrifying the villa’s fence while a short time time later at the other side of the fence a gathering of triffids have taken up position and appear intent on gaining access to their human quarry. Susan speculates that the plants might be able to hear and are therefore attracted to sound. The switching off of the generator confirms this. Meanwhile, Teresa has given birth to a baby boy. However, any feeling of initial hope and joy is short-lived when, with the villa surrounded by a mass of triffids, the electric fence proves not to be effective due to weak electrical current. When triffids begin their concerted attack, Masen, during a moment of inspiration, believes that fire might just well prove to be effective. Consequently, he resorts to using a makeshift flamethrower made from a large hose attached to a small petrol tanker truck. The flame thrower ignites the triffids but there are just too many of them.

“This is the Gibraltar rescue center for the Mediterranean area. Our pickup at Alicante has been made on schedule. This is the final rescue operation for the present...”

Dash for Gibraltar

Amidst a pall of thick smoke, everyone except Masen has piled into the de la Vega’s car. It is planned that they’ll all meet up in Alicante near Gibraltar where a mass evacuation is to take place the next day. Meanwhile, Masen intends to use the little truck and its loudspeaker to attract the triffids. The plan is successful and Masen leaps out of the truck and makes his way toward the rendezvous point. The rest of the party arrive at the Naval Base and board a submarine. Just before it is about to depart, Masen dives into the water and is picked up by a search party of sailors on a survival raft near to where Masen dove into the water.

“You hunt and you search and all the while the answer is right in front of you."

Lighthouse

Just as Tom and Karen hear of the rescue at Gibraltar on the radio, the triffids begin to break into the lighthouse and pursue the Goodwins steadily up to the top floor, in a scene that is reminiscent of an alien chasing the crew of a spaceship to the top-most levels of the craft in the film, “It, The Terror From Beyond Space.” With few options left, Tom decides to use the fire hose to direct seawater at the Triffids. Masen had used fire in a similar move and now Tom is successfully employing sea water which acts like an acid on the Triffids - plants that grew from and then liberated themselves from the earth and set about propagating themselves by means of spores spread through the air by the wind. As the triffids steam and dissolve, Tom observes, "Seawater. Two-thirds of the Earth is covered with it. You hunt and you search and all the while the answer is right in front of you."

In the end we come full circle with the realization that “nature's scheme of things” can be seen to be at work if we choose to look carefully. In this instance, a simple method had been found to destroy the triffids in the form of sea water “from which life on Earth had sprung” and had “became the means of preserving life on Earth.” The idea of having faith in something greater than ourselves even during times of peril is reinforced by the idea that mankind has reason to give thanks for having survived as indeed do Masen, Christine, and Susan along with many of their fellow human beings who are seen ascending and entering into a cathedral.

Points of In Interest

Kieron Moore who played Tom Goodwin starred in other science fiction films like Satellite in the Sky (1956) and Crack in the World (1965) both of which are featured in this blog.

Apparently filming had to be cut short as the producers ran out of money before they had the chance to film a lighthouse sequence where the character Tom hits upon the idea for killing the triffids.

Initially, the final film ran for only 60 minutes necessitating the inclusion of extra material. It has been alleged that there had been a reluctance or inability to spend the money for shooting major action and special effects sequences planned for Spain. There was also a requirement to spend most of the money in England to qualify for a government subsidy under the ‘Eady Plan.’

A new story line was devised which added thirty minutes of screen time but due to the potential expense involved did not involve the original cast. It was therefore decided to use two characters in an isolated setting - in the lighthouse.

Day of the Triffids was part of a double feature with Horrors of the Black Zoo and was not released in cinemas until May 1963.

The film contained some basic plot elements from John Wyndham's 1951 novel, The Day of the Triffids, and should be a seen as being a somewhat loose adaptation. For instance, unlike in the novel where the triffids are experimental plants that are capable of movement and attack people, the triffids in the fiml version arrive from a meteor shower. Also, some of the action is moved to France and Spain and nowhere does the character Josella Playton appear! For a fuller comparison between the book and film version please refer to my blog post: Sci-Fi Stories That Inspired Classic Sci-Fi Films: "The Day Of The Triffids" (1951)

The idea of most of humanity being struck blind by the brilliant light show emitted from a spectacular shower of meteors is a very telling and effective one. Consider the panicked reaction of the passengers on the plane who discover that their pilot is blind, or indeed the passengers spilling out of the crashed train onto station platform and the resulting melee. Then there are the scenes of eerily deserted cities with small clutches of people suddenly robbed of sight attempting to navigate once familiar streets with hands outstretched seeking desperately for those still able to see. The story forces us to consider the power of imagination: what it might be liker being blind and and feeling vulnerable, helpless and fearful. The recent history of the Covid-19 pandemic has given us a taste of what this might be like.

My own eye-sight has been gradually failing but I shudder to think what it would have been like if I had suddenly woken up one morning to discover nothing but darkness. At least I have had time to adjust, adapt and make good use of what sight I have left. 

Ours is a civilization based largely on the sense of sight or what can be perceived and understood visually. It is one of our greatest strengths which like the power of electricity or the connectivity of the internet, once we are deprived of it, civilization could face the danger of complete collapse. Why would an alien race bother truing to unproductively take pot shots at us in an attempt to invade and subdue humanity when it could simply devise a way to rob us of our greatest strengths which then ultimately turn out to be our greatest weakness?

Speaking of alien invasions, it has been too often assumed that the potential invaders would be grotesquely humanoid in appearance, technologically and intelligently superior to humans and would embark on such a course of action in order to supplant or dominate us for our planet and its resources. Instead in Day of the Triffids, we have monstrous mutated man-eating plant-based life forms whose growth has been initiated by meteors entering the earth’s atmosphere. Extraterrestrial life as we imagine to be may not turn out to be what we will be confronted with.

Image generated by Chatgpt

If you're tempted to watch the skies

To see what up there flits and flies

To you I would strongly advise

That you close fast and seal your eyes!

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Big Fat Book of Sci-Fi Films of the 1950s

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©Chris Christopoulos