Dreadful, cowardly adaptation of a pretty good novel.
"Cowardly"? Yup. In the book, the hero meets and starts a new life with a grown woman called Josella Playton, all without benefit of clergy. But that was probably too risqué for 1962 so Josella's gone, replaced by an annoying child.
The book takes a lot of trouble to point out that, in the face of a world catastrophe, it might be essential to find new social mores and redefine morality. And this is a point that the film misses completely. The book finishes in a tone of guarded optimism where, perhaps, one day, humans might take back the planet. In the film, the solution to the triffid problem is ridiculously simple, inventing a happy ending out of nowhere.
Absolutely hideous film, growing up I used to shudder whenever people who had never read the book told me the film was pretty good. Fortunately, time has relegated this turkey to obscurity.
"Cowardly"? Yup. In the book, the hero meets and starts a new life with a grown woman called Josella Playton, all without benefit of clergy. But that was probably too risqué for 1962 so Josella's gone, replaced by an annoying child.
The book takes a lot of trouble to point out that, in the face of a world catastrophe, it might be essential to find new social mores and redefine morality. And this is a point that the film misses completely. The book finishes in a tone of guarded optimism where, perhaps, one day, humans might take back the planet. In the film, the solution to the triffid problem is ridiculously simple, inventing a happy ending out of nowhere.
Absolutely hideous film, growing up I used to shudder whenever people who had never read the book told me the film was pretty good. Fortunately, time has relegated this turkey to obscurity.
Tell Your Friends