ANN ROBINSON (Sylvia Van Buren) Who Starred In WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) Reads DIABOLIQUE "The Premiere Horror Magazine"
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Theatrical One-Sheet Poster
H.G. Well's
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
About Ann Robinson(born May 25, 1929) is an American actress and stunt horse rider, perhaps best known for her work in the science-fiction classic "The War of the Worlds" and in the 1954 film "Dragnet," in which she starred as a Los Angeles police officer opposite Jack Webb and Ben Alexander. Robinson was born at the Hollywood Hospital in Hollywood, California. She attended Hollywood High School from 1946 to 1949 (she flunked 11 math and thus graduated in 1949). Her father was employed by the Bank of Hollywood, at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. He taught her how to ride horses, beginning when she was only three. Ann Robinson hence became an accomplished rider, which led to her first professional work in Hollywood as a stunt rider in film Frenchie with Shelley Winters.
Her career as a leading woman was effectively ended in 1957, when she eloped to Mexico to marry a matador, Jaime Bravo, with whom she had two sons; Jaime A. Bravo, who is a director for ABC Sports and ESPN, and Estefan A. Bravo, who played the Axl Rose-like character in White Trash Wins Lotto, a musical by Andy Prieboy. Since that marriage, Robinson has played minor roles, mainly in science fiction films. The couple divorced in 1967. On February 2, 1970, Jaime Bravo was killed in an automobile accident on the way to a bullfight. In 1987, Robinson married real estate broker and business manager Joseph Valdez, residing in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles. She makes guest appearances at autograph shows and science-fiction conventions.
Mrs. Robinson has two grandchildren from her son Jaime. Victoria Ann Bravo and Samuel Anastasio Bravo, both born in 2001. As a stunt horse rider, Robinson doubled for Shelley Winters in Frenchie (1950), starring and riding in several westerns during her career such as The Cimarron Kid (1951) with Audie Murphy, Gun Brothers (1956), and Gun Duel in Durango (1957). Paramount Pictures signed her as an actress in the early 1950s. Her first leading role was as "Sylvia Van Buren" in The War of the Worlds (1953) co-starring with Gene Barry, a role she quasi-reprised in two later films, first as Dr. Van Buren in Midnight Movie Massacre (1988) and then as Dr. Sylvia Van Buren in The Naked Monster (2005). She also reprised the role in three episodes of the television series War of the Worlds (1988).
Ann Robinson worked on several other films, including Imitation of Life (1959), and the Doris Day thriller Julie (1956). She also had a starring role opposite Jack Webb and Ben Alexander in Dragnet (1954), a feature film version of the hit television series. From 1955 to 1959, Robinson was cast in ten episodes of the NBC children's western television series Fury as Helen Watkins, the teacher of series character Joey Clark Newton (Bobby Diamond) and romantic interest of his adopted father, Jim Newton (Peter Graves).
Her other television roles were on Adam-12, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bachelor Father, Ben Casey, Biff Baker, U.S.A., The Bob Cummings Show, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Days of Our Lives, Four Star Playhouse, General Hospital, Gilligan's Island, It's a Great Life, The Millionaire, My Little Margie, Perry Mason, Peter Gunn, Police Woman, Rawhide, Rocky Jones Space Ranger, Rory Calhoun's The Texan, Waterfront, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.
She was also featured in several commercials for Home Savings of America, Toni Home Perms, and Chesterfield Cigarettes. Ann performed a number of film voice-overs also, in English and Spanish. She did the leading actress' voice in "To Begin Again," which won the 1984 Oscar for best foreign film. She also did loops for the Bruce Lee series "The Dead Are Alive,""Tough Guys," and "Survive."
In 1985, she appeared in a documentary about George Pal titled "The Fantasy Film Worlds" of George Pal (produced and directed by Arnold Leibovit). In the 2005 Steven Spielberg film, "War of the Worlds," she played a cameo role as Tom Cruise's character's mother-in-law, the grandmother of Dakota Fanning's character, alongside her long-ago co-star Gene Barry.
- Plot Summary: H.G. Well's classic novel is brought to life is this tale of alien invasion told on radio. The residents of a small town in California are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills. Their joy is tempered somewhat when they discover that it has passengers who are not very friendly. The movie itself is understood better when you consider that it was made at the height of the Cold War... just replace Martian with "Russian."
- Plot Keywords: martian | invasion | h.g. wells | invasion of earth | small town |
- Tagline: "A mighty panorama of earth-shaking fury!"
- Genres: Action | Sci-Fi
- Country Of Origin: USA
- Language: English | Spanish
- Release Date: August 26th, 1953 (USA)
- Also Known As: Kampf der Welten
- Filming Locations: Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 North Lake Avenue, Pasadena, California
- Budget: $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Production Company: Paramount Pictures
- Runtime: 85 minutes
- Sound Mix: 3 Channel Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (5.0) (L-R)
- Color: Color (Technicolor)| Black and White (newsreel archive footage before opening credits)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS(1953)
FULL CAST & CREW
FULL CAST & CREW
Directed by
| Byron Haskin | ||
Writing Credits
| H.G. Wells | ... | (novel) (as H. G. Wells) |
| Barré Lyndon | ... | (screenplay) |
Cast (in credits order) verified as complete
| Gene Barry | Dr. Clayton Forrester | ||
| Ann Robinson | Sylvia Van Buren | ||
| Les Tremayne | Maj. Gen. Mann | ||
| Robert Cornthwaite | Dr. Pryor (as Bob Cornthwaite) | ||
| Sandro Giglio | Dr. Bilderbeck | ||
| Lewis Martin | Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins | ||
| Houseley Stevenson Jr. | Gen. Mann's Aide (as Housely Stevenson Jr.) | ||
| Paul Frees | Second Radio Reporter / Opening Announcer | ||
| William Phipps | Wash Perry (as Bill Phipps) | ||
| Vernon Rich | Col. Ralph Heffner | ||
| Henry Brandon | Cop at Crash Site | ||
| Jack Kruschen | Salvatore | ||
| Cedric Hardwicke | Commentary (voice) (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke) | ||
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Cliff Clark | Australian Policeman (scenes deleted) | ||
| Rudy Lee | Boy (scenes deleted) | ||
| Peter Adams | Pine Summit Fire Watcher (uncredited) | ||
| Eric Alden | Man (uncredited) | ||
| Hugh Allen | Brigadier General (uncredited) | ||
| Ruth Barnell | Mother (uncredited) | ||
| Edgar Barrier | Prof. McPherson (uncredited) | ||
| Russ Bender | Dr. Carmichael (uncredited) | ||
| Paul Birch | Alonzo Hogue (uncredited) | ||
| Nick Borgani | Man in Church (uncredited) | ||
| Hazel Boyne | Screaming Woman (uncredited) | ||
| Chet Brandenburg | Man in Church (uncredited) | ||
| Tony Butala | Boy in Final Church (uncredited) | ||
| Mushy Callahan | Burning Soldier at Pit (uncredited) | ||
| Ann Codee | Dr. Duprey (uncredited) | ||
| Edward Colmans | Spanish Priest (uncredited) | ||
| James Conaty | Man at Pacific Institute of Science and Technology (uncredited) | ||
| Russ Conway | Rev. Bethany (uncredited) | ||
| Martin Coulter | Marine Sergeant (uncredited) | ||
| Vittorio Cramer | First Radio Reporter (uncredited) | ||
| Pierre Cressoy | Man (uncredited) | ||
| Jim Davies | Marine Commanding Officer (uncredited) | ||
| Helen Dickson | Woman in Church (uncredited) | ||
| Ralph Dumke | Buck Monahan (uncredited) | ||
| Jimmie Dundee | Civil Defense Official (uncredited) | ||
| Al Ferguson | Police Chief (uncredited) | ||
| Dick Fortune | Marine Captain (uncredited) | ||
| Alex Frazer | Dr. James (uncredited) | ||
| Frank Freeman Jr. | Bum #2 Listening to Radio (uncredited) | ||
| Charles Gemora | Martian (uncredited) | ||
| Ned Glass | Well-Dressed Looter (uncredited) | ||
| Jack Gordon | Man in Church (uncredited) | ||
| Fred Graham | Looter (uncredited) | ||
| Joe Gray | Looter (uncredited) | ||
| Herman Hack | Worker Listening to Radio (uncredited) | ||
| Nancy Hale | Young Wife (uncredited) | ||
| Virginia Hall | Girl (uncredited) | ||
| Ted Hecht | KGEB Reporter (uncredited) | ||
| Douglas Henderson | Staff Sergeant (uncredited) | ||
| William Hoehne Jr. | Blond Haired looter (uncredited) | ||
| Gertrude Hoffman | Elderly News Vendor (uncredited) | ||
| Tex Holden | Man in Church (uncredited) | ||
| Jimmie Horan | Party Guest (uncredited) | ||
| Patricia Iannone | Girl (uncredited) | ||
| Jerry James | Reporter (uncredited) | ||
| Michael Jeffers | Woker Listening to Radio (uncredited) | ||
| Dick Johnstone | Man in Church (uncredited) | ||
| Carolyn Jones | Blonde Party Guest (uncredited) | ||
| Don Kohler | Colonel (uncredited) | ||
| Frank Kreig | Fiddler Hawkins (uncredited) | ||
| Ivan Lebedeff | Dr. Gratzman (uncredited) | ||
| Freeman Lusk | Secretary of Defense (uncredited) | ||
| Herbert Lytton | Chief of Staff (uncredited) | ||
| George Magrill | Traffic Cop (uncredited) | ||
| Mike Mahoney | Young Man (uncredited) | ||
| John Mansfield | Man (uncredited) | ||
| Joel Marston | MP in Jeep (uncredited) | ||
| Sydney Mason | Fire Chief, Crew #3 (uncredited) | ||
| John Maxwell | Doctor (uncredited) | ||
| Mathew McCue | Man in Church (uncredited) | ||
| David McMahon | Minister, First Church (uncredited) | ||
| William Meader | P.E. Official (uncredited) | ||
| Lee Miller | Reporter (uncredited) | ||
| Ralph Montgomery | Los Angeles Red Cross Official (uncredited) | ||
| Alvy Moore | Zippy (uncredited) | ||
| Bob Morgan | Injured Civil Defense Worker (uncredited) | ||
| Charles Morton | Worker Listening to Radio (uncredited) | ||
| George Nardelli | Military Officer (uncredited) | ||
| Stanley Orr | Marine Major (uncredited) | ||
| George Pal | Bum #1 Listening to Radio (uncredited) | ||
| Walter Richards | Reporter (uncredited) | ||
| Robert Rockwell | Forest Ranger at Crash Site (uncredited) | ||
| Walter Sande | Sheriff Bogany (uncredited) | ||
| James Seay | Air Force Bomber Pilot (uncredited) | ||
| Cora Shannon | Old Woman (uncredited) | ||
| David Sharpe | Looter (uncredited) | ||
| Teru Shimada | Japanese Diplomat (uncredited) | ||
| Reginald Lal Singh | Military Officer (uncredited) | ||
| Bobby Somers | Deputy at Crash Site (uncredited) | ||
| Bert Stevens | Man in Church (uncredited) | ||
| Charles Stewart | Marine Captain (uncredited) | ||
| Jack Stoney | Looter (uncredited) | ||
| Gus Taillon | Elderly Man (uncredited) | ||
| Morton C. Thompson | Reporter (uncredited) | ||
| Arthur Tovey | Party Guest (uncredited) | ||
| Dale Van Sickel | Looter (uncredited) | ||
| Dorothy Vernon | Elderly Woman (uncredited) | ||
| Edward Wahrman | Cameraman (uncredited) | ||
| Anthony Warde | Military Police Driver (uncredited) | ||
| Bob Whitney | Military Officer (uncredited) | ||
| Chalky Williams | Worker Listening to Radio (uncredited) | ||
| Waldon Williams | Boy (uncredited) | ||
| Bud Wolfe | Rescuing Civil Defense Worker (uncredited) | ||
| Fred Zendar | Marine Lieutenant (uncredited) | ||
Produced by
| Frank Freeman Jr. | ... | associate producer |
| George Pal | ... | producer |
| Cecil B. DeMille | ... | executive producer (uncredited) |
Music by
| Leith Stevens | ... | (music score) |
Cinematography by
| George Barnes | ... | director of photography |
Film Editing by
| Everett Douglas | ||
Art Direction by
| Albert Nozaki | ||
| Hal Pereira | ||
Set Decoration by
| Sam Comer | ||
| Emile Kuri | ||
Costume Design by
| Edith Head | ... | (costumes) |
Makeup Department
| Wally Westmore | ... | makeup supervisor |
Production Management
| Frank Caffey | ... | production manager (uncredited) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Michael D. Moore | ... | assistant director |
Art Department
| Chesley Bonestell | ... | astronomical art |
| Romaine Birkmeyer | ... | props (uncredited) |
| Ivyl Burks | ... | props (uncredited) |
| Gordon Cole | ... | property master (uncredited) |
| Charles Davies | ... | props (uncredited) |
| Gene Lauritzen | ... | construction coordinator (uncredited) |
| Milt Olson | ... | props (uncredited) |
| Lee Vasque | ... | props (uncredited) |
Sound Department
| Gene Garvin | ... | sound recording |
| Harry Lindgren | ... | sound recording |
| William M. Andrews | ... | sound editor (uncredited) |
| Howard Beals | ... | sound effects (uncredited) |
| Dan Johnson | ... | sound effects (uncredited) |
| Tommy Middleton | ... | sound effects (uncredited) |
| Lovell Norman | ... | sound editor (uncredited) |
| Walter Oberst | ... | sound effects (uncredited) |
| Loren L. Ryder | ... | sound director (uncredited) |
Special Effects by
| Chester Pate | ... | special effects (uncredited) |
| Bob Springfield | ... | special effects (uncredited) |
| A. Edward Sutherland | ... | special effects (uncredited) |
| Barney Wolff | ... | special effects (uncredited) |
Visual Effects by
| Ivyl Burks | ... | special photographic effects |
| Jan Domela | ... | special photographic effects |
| Gordon Jennings | ... | special photographic effects |
| W. Wallace Kelley | ... | special photographic effects (as Wallace Kelley) |
| Paul K. Lerpae | ... | special photographic effects (as Paul Lerpae) |
| Irmin Roberts | ... | special photographic effects |
| Jack Caldwell | ... | special optical effects (uncredited) |
| Marcel Delgado | ... | miniatures (uncredited) |
| Jan Domela | ... | matte artist (uncredited) |
| Farciot Edouart | ... | process photography (uncredited) |
| Walter Hoffman | ... | special visual effects: a-bomb sequence (uncredited) |
| Aubrey Law | ... | special optical effects (uncredited) |
| Cliff Shirpser | ... | visual effects camera operator: Technicolor (uncredited) |
Stunts
| Mushy Callahan | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Jimmie Dundee | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Fred Graham | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Joe Gray | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| George Magrill | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Bob Morgan | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| David Sharpe | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Bobby Somers | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Jack Stoney | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Dale Van Sickel | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Bud Wolfe | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
| Fred Zendar | ... | stunts (uncredited) |
Camera and Electrical Department
| Soldier Graham | ... | chief gaffer (uncredited) |
| Murray Young | ... | key grip (uncredited) |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
| Charles Gemora | ... | costume maker: Martian costumes (uncredited) |
| Diana Gemora | ... | costume maker: Martian costume (uncredited) |
Music Department
| George Parrish | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
Other crew
| Monroe W. Burbank | ... | Technicolor color consultant |
| Chesley Bonestell | ... | technical advisor (uncredited) |
| Gae Griffith | ... | assistant to producer (uncredited) |
| Robert S. Richardson | ... | technical advisor (uncredited |