Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.


*The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective.*

"Who Were These Demons From Another World?"

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. was the second feature film based on Doctor Who. It was adapted from the television serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It starred Peter Cushing as a human scientist named "Dr. Who", and also featured Roberta Tovey reprising her role of Susan. This was also Bernard Cribbins' first Doctor Who-related role.

Although for over 40 years, fans questioned the canonicity of this and the first film, it was eventually confirmed as canon in the Doctor Who television story from 2010, The First Game.

Synopsis

Policeman Tom Campbell stumbles into Tardis on a normal day and ends up being taken to 2150 A.D. by Dr. Who. In the future, Earth seems to be deserted, but the group soon finds out that the world is controlled by the evil Daleks. The human survivors hide, lest they be turned into Robomen. The Doctor teams up with the survivors to take down the Daleks.

Plot

PC Tom Campbell is on his usual rounds when he is attacked by a man who has been sitting in his car outside a shop. After he has been beaten up he sees an explosion at a nearby jewellery shop and two men emerge with bundles of stolen goods. They run into the waiting car and escape. In a daze Tom staggers towards a police box and opens it to discover it is Dr. Who's Tardis. His injuries, combined with the shock of Tardis, cause him to faint. Dr. Who uses his scanners to see that there is a kerfuffle outside and leaves with Tom on board before anyone else makes the same mistake as he did.

When Tom awakes he is introduced to Dr. Who, Louise and Susan. He is eager to get out and report the crime, but Dr. Who tells him this is impossible, as the year is 2150 AD. Tom reacts to this news with scepticism and says that he will report Dr. Who for wasting police time. He exits Tardis to find himself in a barren and deserted area of London. Tom is initially very confused. As the travellers go off to explore, Susan accidentally loosens some debris which causes masonry to topple over, trapping Tardis in the rubble. Dr. Who and Tom go off to find something to help loosen the debris, while Louise stays behind with Susan, who has hurt her ankle. As they explore an abandoned warehouse they see a figure in amongst some boxes. They discover it is a dead man dressed in futuristic clothing and wearing a helmet with a receiver in it.

Back at Tardis Louise returns from getting water to bathe Susan's ankle to find her gone. A man grabs her and tells her that Susan has been taken to safety and that the two women should never have been out there at all. The man takes Louise with him to meet Susan.

Dr. Who and Tom go back to join the women, but discover them gone. As Louise and her mysterious friend enter an abandoned Tube station, Louise is stopped in her tracks by the sight of a spaceship looming over London which the Doctor and Tom also see.

In the tube station, Susan and Louise are reunited and the man who saved them both reveals himself to be called Wyler. He introduces them to the rest of the underground rebels who are fighting the alien species that are attacking London. A man named David goes out to look for Dr. Who and Tom on the advice of a very distressed Susan.

Back at Tardis, Dr. Who and Tom are confronted by the Robomen, who start firing guns at them. They try to run, but are trapped by the river where, much to their shock, they see a Dalek emerge. The men are captured and led away to one of the Dalek saucers. Little do they know David has been watching all this.

In the underground hideout, Susan and Louise are introduced to the leader of the underground rebels, Dortmun - a disabled weapons expert. As they are introduced they are interrupted by a radio bulletin from the Daleks urging all rebels to surrender themselves or face the wrath of the Daleks. Dortmun reveals to the women that he has constructed a bomb that will bring the Daleks to their knees. He also explains to them how the Daleks took over Earth, through a strategic bout of meteor attacks and segregation. Dortmun explains the strangest act of the Daleks is to start a mining facility in Bedfordshire staffed by human slaves. David returns to the underground network and tells the girls that their friends have been imprisoned and that the saucer is where Robomen are created. Dortmun, David and Wyler discuss how to take the Daleks down. Dortmun suggests dressing as Robomen, getting onto the saucer and then attacking from the inside.

As Dr. Who and Tom are led to the saucer, Dr. Who explains to Tom that he has encountered the Daleks once before at the end of their civilisation but that Tardis must have put them down much earlier on in their timeline. His story is interrupted by a prisoner trying to escape. He is soon exterminated by the Daleks, who warn the other prisoners that this will be their fate if they try anything similar. Dr. Who and Tom are locked in a cell along with a man called Craddock, but Dr. Who soon discovers that the doors are powered by magnetics and uses Tom's comb to break the magnetic attraction. As soon as they are free, the Daleks recapture him and say Dr. Who has passed the intelligence test and will now be robotised along with Tom and Craddock. The men are led away. As they are prepared for the transfer, the rebel faction aboard the ship. They are challenged at the top of the ramp, and the Dalek realises the trick. A battle ensues with many casualties on either side, however, this enables Dr. Who and Tom to escape from the transfer - although they soon get split up in the melee. However, Craddock cannot be freed in time and his robotisation is completed...

Tom hides away inside the saucer as does Louise who was part of the rebel faction. Dr. Who escapes from the ship with David, and the two are pursued through London by the Daleks. They hide in a sewer network until the Daleks lose them. The bombs prove futile and while they caused damage to some Daleks, they did not damage their saucer at all. Tom disguises himself as a Roboman and joins a pack of Robomen in order to remain inconspicuous on the saucer. Eventually, he is reunited with Louise and they hideaway on the saucer together.

Back at the underground station, Susan and Dortmun wait patiently for news of the siege. A badly injured Wyler returns to say that most of the men have been wiped out as the bomb was ineffective. When Susan asks about the Doctor, he confirms that he saw him escape with David. The trio decides to go to Watford so they can access more weaponry. Susan leaves a message for the Doctor written in chalk on the door of the station.

Dr. Who and David return to the underground station and find it deserted. Unaware of the note on the door, the Doctor and David look through Dortmun's plans and incorrectly assume that he and Susan will have gone to Bedfordshire to examine the mining colony. David and the Doctor decide to join them. As they leave the underground station they see the saucer take off, unaware that Tom and Louise are still in there.

Dortmun, Wyler and Susan come across a van which they intend to use to drive to Watford. Dortmun goes out to check if the coast is clear and sees a group of Daleks. On a whim, he starts to attack them with his bombs. Frustrated with the futile effect of them, he throws the whole bag at them which causes the building he is standing next to, to collapse and kill him. Wyler panics and starts to drive away. The disturbance has drawn a crowd of patrol Daleks who create a roadblock which Wyler drives through. One of the Daleks reports to the saucer that a patrol has been breached. The saucer redirects itself and fires a ray which blows up the van. Luckily, Wyler and Susan have jumped to safety before the explosion.

When the saucer comes to land, Louise and Tom use a waste chute to escape into the outside world. They find themselves in the mining colony and start to explore. They are set upon by a Roboman but are saved by a man named Wells who clubs the Roboman down. He finds a small shed for the pair to stay in until the trouble has died down.

Wyler and Susan are now forced to carry on with their journey on foot. They come across an old farm cottage where a woman and her mother live. The woman points a gun at the pair asking where they are going. Susan responds that they are going to Bedfordshire - much to the confusion of Wyler. Eventually, the family welcome them in. Susan explains to Wyler that she is sure that her grandfather would have seen all the Daleks in Watford and decided to go to Bedfordshire so they may as well go there too. The daughter leaves her mother to look after the guests as she has errands to do. The mother offers the travellers some soup.

Dr. Who and David have arrived at Bedfordshire. Dr. Who suspects that they are trying to mine the magnetic core out of planet Earth and David says that Dortmun was sure that they were doing so to use the Earth as a massive space ship that they could pilot around the universe. Dr. Who concurs that this is his view too. They are interrupted by a man named Brockley who threatens Dr. Who with a knife to the throat and then takes David's gun. He says he is a black marketeer who for a price will smuggle them into the camp. They wait in a cave until nightfall to make the move.

Back in the cottage, Wyler and Susan are asleep. However, when the daughter returns, Wyler wakes and hears that the daughter has betrayed them to the Daleks. As they try and escape, they come across the Daleks waiting for them outside. They are led away.

In the morning, Dr. Who and Tom are smuggled into the camp and by chance are led to the same shed where Louise and Tom are hiding out. They are soon joined by Conway who is paying for food that the black marketeer has smuggled in. The Doctor sets about using the shed as his HQ. Conway informs Dr. Who that the final stage of the Dalek's plan will take effect tonight. They are dropping a bomb to the very centre of the Earth that will ensure that they will be able to implement their technology at the centre of the Earth and pilot it at their whim. Brockley says that he will be able to get a plan of the workings of the mine to help the Doctor take the Daleks down. When Dr. Who gets the plans, he realises that the bomb could be deflected which would mean that the explosion would trigger the polarities of the magnetic poles and cause a massive magnetic surge pinpointed at the mine shaft. He asks Tom to see if he can deflect the bomb in the shaft at all. He sends the others to hide elsewhere whilst he fine-tunes his plans. Soon Brockley returns, saying that he has something to show Dr. Who. Dr. Who goes outside to find that he has been betrayed and the Daleks surround him. Brockley apologises, but Dr. Who says that his betrayal was part of his plan. As Dr. Who is led away, Brockley is killed anyway.

Tom and Conway have accessed the mine. Suddenly Tom sees Craddock in the shadows and calls to him, not realising he has now been robotised. Craddock attacks them, and during the struggle, Conway and Craddock fall to their deaths down a mine shaft.

Tom slowly climbs to the very top where the Daleks' control centre lies. As he nears the top, the Daleks prepare the bomb. However, they are interrupted by Dr. Who who has been reunited with Susan and Wyler who have also been taken to the ship. Dr. Who is led into the main control panel of the theatre as the Daleks think him the leader of the rebels. He tells the Daleks that he knows their weakness and simultaneously tells Tom, who he sees down the shaft, at what angle to place the wooden slats he has found in order to deflect the bomb in just the right way to trigger the strong magnetic force he desires. To further disrupt the Dalek operation as well as give Tom more time, Dr. Who utilises the microphone with which the Daleks control the Robomen and orders them to attack the Daleks. This rebellion is soon crushed by the Daleks and the countdown for the bomb is started. The bomb is launched, by which time Tom has created the diversion. The bomb goes off, which causes the magnetic surge. The slave workers flee the mine, while the Daleks are all pulled into the mine shaft or crushed against walls or caves. The Daleks try to escape in their saucer but the magnetic force forces the ship to crash. Dr. Who informs Wyler that the Daleks will never return to this planet as this was their warning.

Back on Tardis, Tom asks to be taken back to a few minutes before the robbery took place. He waves goodbye to Dr. Who before he goes to the car of the getaway driver and knocks him out and takes his place at the driver's seat. When the criminals rush out the shop, they find not their driver but a policeman waiting for them who knocks them both out. Tom drives them to the police station anticipating his promotion, waving to Dr. Who, Susan and Louise who are standing outside Tardis. They wave back.

Cast

Crew

Doctor Who Created by Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson and C.E. Webber
Executive Producers - Joe Vegoda

Director - Gordon Flemyng
Producer - Milton Subotsky & Max J. Rosenberg
Screenplay by Milton Subotsky
- Based upon a story by Terry Nation

Conducted by - Bill McGuffie
Additional Material by David Whitaker

Daleks created by Terry Nation

Memorable Quotes

"Surrender now and you will live. Resist and you will be exterminated. Show yourselves in the streets immediately and obey the orders of your masters, the Daleks!"

- The Daleks, broadcasting a warning over the radio.

"Your bomb is designed to slide down this shaft, strike a fracture in the Earth's inner surface, and so release the magnetic core of our planet. But the fracture is near the meeting point of the magnetic influence of the North and South poles. One mistake, one deviation in the aiming of your bomb and enough magnetic energy will be released to destroy you."
"There will be no mistake! These prisoners are to be exterminated!"
"One moment. You must listen to me. If you spare us, I can help you. I can show you how to neutralize this magnetism so that your plan can be carried out with no danger to yourselves."
"Speak quickly!"
"But I, I'll show you. Attention all Robomen! Attack the Daleks!"

- Dr. Who and the Daleks final confrontation.

Background Information

Development

To be added.

Pre-Production

Despite a large number of Daleks, Robert Jewell is the only credited Dalek actor on the film.
Sugar Puffs contributed to the budget of this film, and as a result there is product placement throughout the movie.
André Morell was offered the role of Wyler, but could not accept because he had signed to star in the four-part story The Massacre with William Hartnell, which clashed with the filming dates.

Production

Like the previous film, this film was shot at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England.

Post-Production

To be added.

Reaction

To be added.

Story Notes

This film has at least two different spellings of its title — Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. which is used in the actual film's title sequence, and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., which was used in the original film's trailer.
The film's original trailer had no direct references to Dr. Who, Tardis or Daleks.
During the course of the movie the Daleks are heard using rels as a time measurement, which would later be used in the comics and TV series.
Philip Madoc later appeared in four television stories: The Krotons, The War Games, The Brain of Morbius and The Power of Kroll.
Though uncredited, Peter Hawkins and David Graham voiced the Daleks.
Eddie Powell was later a stuntman on The Deadly Assassin.
Roger Avon previously appeared as Saladin in The Crusade and Daxtar in The Daleks' Master Plan.
Geoffrey Cheshire also appeared as the Viking leader in The Time Meddler, Garge in The Daleks' Master Plan and Tracy in The Invasion.
Steve Peters also appeared as an extra in The Romans, an Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death, a Pirate Guard in The Space Pirates and a double role as an Alien Astronaut and Joe Lefee in The Ambassadors of Death.
Eileen Way also appeared as the Old Mother in An Unearthly Child and Madam Karela in The Creature from the Pit.

Deviations from television serial

Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are replaced by Tom Campbell and Louise.
As in the first film, the Daleks exterminate their enemies using some sort of gas rather than a directed-energy weapon.
Some Daleks have a claw manipulator arm instead of their regular plunger arm.
The Daleks are using solar panels instead of the parabolic discs in order to travel.
Dr. Who breaks out of the cell in the Daleks' saucer using a comb rather than the First Doctor's more advanced form of intelligence test.
In the siege of the Dalek saucer, far more Daleks are killed.
Dr. Who, Tom, Louise and Susan journey to the mine in different ways. Dr. Who goes with David, Susan travels with Dortmun, and Tom Campbell and Louise use a Dalek ship. In the TV version, the Doctor and Susan go with David Campbell, Barbara travels with Dortmun and Ian uses the Dalek ship.
In the TV version, David and Susan use the sewers to avoid the Daleks - the only time that a sewer is featured in the film is when Dr. Who and David briefly hide from the pursuing Daleks in one. They escape and emerge from a different manhole. There are no scenes of the inside of the sewers, nor any crocodiles.
In The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the Daleks had begun levelling the city. There is no sign of that in the movie.
In the TV version, the black marketeer endeavours to smuggle Ian out of the camp; the same character in the film is smuggling Dr. Who and David into the camp.
The film does not feature the Slyther, so there is no fight as there was in the TV version.
In Bedfordshire, the Daleks in the film seem to have some kind of building as their HQ rather than using the saucer as was the case in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
In the TV version, the Robomen rebellion is initiated by the Doctor, Ian, and Barbara impersonating a Dalek and ordering the Robomen to "destroy the Daleks". The film's version of the rebellion is initiated by Dr. Who alone shouting, "Attention all Robomen: attack the Daleks!", into the microphone without altering his voice.
The Roboman rebellion is not the undoing of the Daleks in the film version. In fact, it is dealt with rather swiftly by the Daleks.
The plot's resolution is slightly different: in the TV version, the bomb is diverted to the Daleks's ship to destroy them, but in the film it is the Earth's magnetic properties that drag the Daleks to the Earth's core and destroy the flying saucer in a totally non-scientifical process.
In The Dalek Invasion of Earth, robotising a human was an irreversible process; however, in the film, Robomen are seen fleeing from the mine as their regular human selves.
Since Susan is depicted as a child in the film, the original subplot of the character's romance with David and being left behind by the Doctor is eliminated.

Continuity

To be added.

Home Video Releases

To be added.