1965, Directed by Gordon Flemyng

“Men of steel”? They’re obviously not men, are they? Tch.

A strange off-shoot and ‘re-imagining’ of the terrifyingly long-running TV series Doctor Who, this was made to cash in on the ‘Dalekmania’ of the time. Which was a bit like Beatlemania, only it involved less music and more extermination and steam.

The TV Doctor character was ditched for a human inventor played by Peter Cushing, apparently as he was more well known to the American market. Veteran trumpeter and all-round nice guy Roy Castle appears as… well… himself, and a couple of kids tag along too to add a human element. The Daleks themselves seem to come in every imaginable colour and flavour, and seemingly explode at the drop of a hat.

This did well enough to spawn a sequel (Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.) where the steam-shooting pepperpots lay waste to a future Earth, although from what I remember their vision of London in 2150 was exactly like London actually was in 1950.

Favourite bit: At the start when Peter Cushing is speaking and the camera cuts to Roy Castle looking shifty, despite the way he’s obviously looking shocked and apologetic immediately before. And after.

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