martian blood

[mfortuna]

I have seen this movie at least 10 times and I still havn't figured out were the martian blood on the scarf came from. I always assumed it came from the remote eye which implied the martians had cyborg technology. I searched for this topic but didn't find anything.

Mike

[BrutalDeluxe]

I believe you are correct Mike, the blood did come from the camera device (although if you ask me it looks like oil). Still if they say it's blood that's obviously how they intended it which, as you say, implies that they have some sort of cyborg technology.

[Gnorn]

I think it was from the martian Clayton knocked over the head. But why Sylvia is going histerical at that moment (at any moment) is beyond me.

-Gnorn

[BrutalDeluxe]

That would certainly make more sense, but as you mention Sylvia goes mental when Clayton examines the severed camera. Maybe she is just highly strung

[Curate]

The blood splashed onto the scarf after Clayton threw the impliment at the martian. Sylvia going hysterical was a delayed reaction to their situation, the initial shock wearing off and replaced by the horror of the creature she had just seen.
I don't think the blood came from the electronic eye - biotechnology wasn't something that a 1950s movie would feature. Too soon.

[Bayne]

[glow=red,2,300]I dunno... when were the first instances of biotechnology in fiction? After all the myth of Nuadha Silverhand in ancient Ireland is pretty old.
[/glow]

[Geezer]

As to the blood as the cause of Sylvia's upset...

after severing the "Eye" using an ax, Forrester asks Sylvia for her scarf to wrap it in. Then, after dealing with the prowling Martian, and finding an escape way, Forrester decides to wrap the Eye in his jacket (probably to better protect it). He gives the scarf back to Sylvia who declares "It's wet."

Forrester looks at the scarf and observes, "It's blood!"
At this point, realizing that what was thought to be a machine has bled, and that she has touched the blood of something from another world, Sylvia understandably breaks down. The experience, after all they've been through, must have seemed even worse than being touched by the Martian being... and, the scarf was probably given to her by a friend or family member (perhaps her uncle).

It's clear to me that the script writer, Barre' Lyndon, indeed intended to portray a cyborg-type technology, but left it to the audience to discover.

I first saw "The War of the Worlds" on opening day, August 26, 1953, when I was 10 years old. Through the years I have come to feel that the character of Sylvia has been given somewhat short-shrift.

For instances, the only time she screams is when she sees her beloved uncle die before her eyes. And, after the cylinder slides into the farmhouse wall, the scene changes to an unconscious Forrester coming to, saying "How long was I out?" To which she replies, "Hours--I've been so scared!" Yet, facing death or capture alone, she didn't run away. Instead she chose to watch over him. All in all--a "pretty tough cookie" in my estimation.

-Geezer

[Gnorn]

I understand what you are saying.
But in all, it still is a typical example of 50s women in SF/horror movies, screaming, fainting and all...

I'm glad we have Ripley to counter all that :-)

-Gnorn