‘DALEKS’ INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D.’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is Invasion Earth: 2150 AD! This is Invasion Earth: 2150 AD!
The second ‘Doctor Who’ film starring Peter Cushing is based on the second Dalek TV story called ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. I must say, I found this a great adaptation and an improvement over the original Dalek TV story.
I found ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ rather dull and boring when I saw it on DVD. This movie is a full-on action-packed adventure and it has stood the test of time, considering this was made in the year 1966.
Peter Cushing returns as Dr. Who with his granddaughter Roberta Tovey as Susan. They’re also joined by Jill Curzon as Louise, the Doctor’s niece. I’ve also seen Jill Curzon in an episode of ‘The Saint’ 1960s TV series.
There’s also Bernard Cribbins as policeman Tom Campbell, who walks into the TARDIS by mistake. For me, Bernard would later play Mr. Hutchinson in the ‘Fawlty Towers’ episode ‘The Hotel Inspectors’.
For many ‘Doctor Who’ fans, Bernard Cribbins would later play Wilfred Mott, Donna’s granddad in the new TV series. Bernard essentially plays the ‘Ian’ role in this movie, whilst Jill Curzon plays the ‘Barbara’ role.
The movie also features Ray Brooks as freedom fighter David, who’s brave, heroic and ‘the boy with the knack’. 😀 There’s also Andrew Kier as the rough but good-hearted Wyler, who shares an adventure with Susan.
There’s Philip Madoc (who played the U-Boat Captain in the ‘Dad’s Army’ episode ‘The Deadly Attachment’ and many ‘Doctor Who’ foes in the TV series) as black-market spiff Brockley. He’s a nasty piece of work.
I enjoyed Philip Madoc’s scenes in the movie, especially when he tricked Peter Cushing’s Doctor to be caught by the Daleks. He then finds himself being blown up inside a shed once the Daleks open fire upon it.
I’m very impressed with the Robomen in this film. They’re far superior and better than the ones in their TV counterpart. The Robomen are more like soldiers than slaves to the Daleks and they do look good in helmets. 😀
I loved the action scenes in the film when the freedom fighters attacked the Dalek saucer and when Dr. Who ordered the Robomen to attack the Daleks. The Robomen’s black suits and weaponry are truly inspirational.
I found it funny when Bernard Cribbins as Tom got dressed up as a Roboman. He had to fit in with the Robomen squad who took a break and they had something to eat. It’s a pretty amusing scene to watch.
The spectacular Dalek spaceship scenes where one flies in the sky are truly sensational. They’ve stood the test of time over the years and it feels very 1960s style whenever I’m watching this Dalek film.
Sadly, this film didn’t get as much success as the first Dalek film. Thus, the Peter Cushing era of ‘Doctor Who’ movies ended and no more films were to be made for the cinema, which is a real shame.
I would have liked to have seen more of the classic Dalek TV stories adapted into films. Imagine ‘Dr. Who and the Chase’ and what would have been done with the Mechanoids. Even ‘Dr. Who and the Zarbi’ would be welcome.
I’m sure the producers would’ve had a hard task in adapting ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ into a movie. They would need to adapt the story up into two movies, much like ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ did.
Perhaps Big Finish will one day approach this movie series and reinvent it somehow. Perhaps Roberta Tovey, Jill Curzon, Jennie Linden and Bernard Cribbins can have a reunion through the Dalek films. 😐
So, it wasn’t meant to be for the Daleks to have a long lasting list of appearances on the big screen. But the two Dalek movies are treasures to enjoy, especially for a dedicated ‘Doctor Who’ fan like me. 🙂
The DVD special features are as follows. There’s the behind-the-scenes documentary called ‘Dalekmania’, featuring cast and crew interviews. It focuses on the making of the two ‘Doctor Who’ films featuring Peter Cushing as Dr. Who. On the 2013 Blu-ray of ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 AD’; there’s ‘Restoring Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’, an interview with actor Bernard Cribbins, an interview with author Gareth Owen, a stills gallery and the film’s theatrical trailer. On the 2022 Blu-ray of ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’, as well as the ‘Dalekmania’ behind-the-scenes documentary, ‘Restoring ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’, the Bernard Cribbins interview, the Gareth Owen interview and the film’s theatrical trailer, there’s a new audio commentary with critic Kim Newman, writer Robert Shearman and actor/writer Mark Gatiss. There’s also ‘The Dalek Legacy: Invasion Earth’.
The two Peter Cushing movies of ‘Doctor Who’ are a joy to watch. It’s rather sad that Cushing’s Doctor doesn’t get mentioned a lot in ‘Doctor Who’ terms. Even Roberta Tovey is disheartened by it in the ‘Dr. Who and the Daleks’ DVD audio commentary. But I’ve enjoyed the films he’s appeared in.
‘Dr. Who and the Daleks’ and ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’ are great fun and it’s nice to know there were a couple of ‘Doctor Who’ movies at the cinema. I enjoyed the first film more than the second. It’d be intriguing if another original ‘Doctor Who’ movie was made for cinema with the Daleks or not.
‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’ rating – 9/10
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Bradley's Basement 
I’ve an interesting dynamic with the Peter Cushing films and this incarnation of the Doctor, in particular.
Cushing’s incarnation of the Doctor is very worthy. He could sit comfortably among his televised peers without ever feeling short-changed. However, the Amicus films themselves… They’re an interesting tug-of-war in storytelling styles. Very much an exercise in style over substance. There’s an undeniable element of grandeur to Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Unmatched on television for obvious budgetary reasons. However, the trade-off is that we don’t get the same depth of characterisation as their original tales.
The misery of an occupied Earth is far more compellingly portrayed on television. It lacks bombast, but Nation never shies away from realities inspired by the Second World War. Cruel black marketeers, fatalistic collaborators, and uncomfortably pointless acts of rebellion. All significant because occupation under an authoritarian power is cruel, fatalistic and uncomfortable. The Dalek Invasion of Earth is dystopian fiction. An adaptation of it shouldn’t make light of people’s suffering — disease, starvation, environmental collapse, systematic extermination, etc. — to provide tongue-in-cheek entertainment. The comedy, for me, comes across as being somewhat… unpalatable, as a result. Perhaps why it wasn’t as successful as Dr Who and the Daleks. A different story, say, an adaptation of The Chase, might have been better suited for such an approach.
That’s something that I really appreciate about Obverse Books’s range of Dr Who novellas. They take the theme of family from these first two tales and explore, in depth, what that would mean to someone like the Doctor. We learn about the Cushing Doctor’s wife and his close friend’s part in her death. We fret over Suzie when she’s abducted by the Autons. We feel absolute terror as the Cybermen march on Antarctic base. We cheer at Louise’s self-conscious Christmas broadcast to protect people from Axos’s influence. And in all this, we get to see this tremendous found family form around Dr Who.
This was an excellent Doctor, but I’d say his best adventures are in prose, rather than on the screen.
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Hi Wolfie,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Peter Cushing’s Doctor and on ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’.
I agree, the character development in ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.’ isn’t as in-depth compared to what we’ve seen in the first two Dalek stories in the classic TV series and arguably in ‘Dr. Who and the Daleks’, the first ‘Doctor Who’ film with Peter Cushing. The film may look spectacular and action-driven more than its TV counterpart, but quite a lot of the emotional moments are absent. You get more emotion from watching Susan’s journey in the original TV story where she’s about to leave her grandfather compared to how Susan is portrayed in the film version.
Yes, the humour featured in the film doesn’t reflect the harsh realities of war, as I’m sure is what was being addressed in the TV counterpart. I agree, having ‘The Chase’ being adapted as the second ‘Doctor Who’ film with Peter Cushing instead of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ would have worked better and could have saved this particular film series. Speaking personally, I enjoyed ‘The Chase’ more than ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, even though I appreciate the harsh reality of occupation and war presented in the second Dalek TV story.
I’ve yet to check out the Obverse Books’ range of novellas featuring Peter Cushing’s Doctor. They sound fascinating from the way you’ve described what they’re about, particuarly with including Autons and Axons. I’ll have to find out what they’re like and add them to the timelines for these movie characters. Thanks for sharing.
Many thanks for your comments, Wolfie.
Best wishes,
Tim 🙂
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