Dr. Who and the Daleks

"Now on the Big Screen in COLOUR!"

1965 1h 22m EN

😐

5.7

MID

🥫

48%

ROTTEN

⭐

5.6

IMDB

★5.7TMDB · 130🥫48%Rotten Tomatoes★5.6IMDB · 5,577

AdventureFamilyScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Scientist Doctor Who accidentally activates his new invention, the Tardis, a time machine disguised as a police telephone box. Who, his two granddaughters Barbara and Susan, and Barbara's boyfriend Ian are transported through time and space to the planet Skaro, where a peaceful race of Thals are under threat of nuclear attack from the planet's other inhabitants: the robotic mutant Daleks.

“Now on the Big Screen in COLOUR!”

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Cast

Peter Cushing
Doctor Who
Roy Castle
Ian Chesterton
Jennie Linden
Barbara
Roberta Tovey
Susan
Barrie Ingham
Alydon
Michael Coles
Ganatus
Geoffrey Toone
Temmosus
Yvonne Antrobus
Dyoni

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gordon Flemyng
Writers: Milton Subotsky, Terry Nation
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

61 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Doctor Who (Peter Cushing) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gordon Flemyng, shot by John Wilcox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Malcolm Lockyer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Oswald Hafenrichter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter Cushing and Roy Castle and Jennie Linden carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gordon Flemyng directs. John Wilcox behind the camera. Malcolm Lockyer scores. Oswald Hafenrichter cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
361 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "Doctor Who (Peter Cushing) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Gordon Flemyng, shot by John Wilcox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Malcolm Lockyer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Oswald Hafenrichter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Peter Cushing and Roy Castle and Jennie Linden carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Now on the Big Screen in COLOUR!".
10IMDB entry: tt0059126 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Wilcox
Original score: Malcolm Lockyer
Editing: Oswald Hafenrichter
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $500,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
Rotten Tomatoes: 48% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 5.6/10 · 5,577 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Part of

Doctor Who (Peter Cushing) Collection

Dr. Who is a character based on the BBC science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Although based on the Doctor who appears in the TV series, the film version of the character is fundamentally different. The character, portrayed by the actor Peter Cushing, appeared in two films made by AARU Productions: Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), which was based on the televised serial The Daleks (1963), and Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966), based on The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). Plans for a third film, to be based on the serial The Chase (1965), were abandoned following the poor box office reception of the second film.

Also by

Gordon Flemyng

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-11
★ 6/10
Though this is quite a watchable feature based on the BBC serial, the production is just a bit too basic. Roy Castle ("Ian") comes courting "Barbara" (Jennie Linden) but is diverted by her grandfather (Peter Cushing) and "Susan" (Roberta Tovey) and shown his rather curious invention - TARDIS - a machine that can travel though time. Of course he doesn't believe them, but next thing we know we are on the irradiated planet "Skaro" which is occupied by the primitive "Thals" and their much more menacing mechanical neighbours - the "Daleks". Lured to their city, our intrepid explorers must try to thwart a cunning plan to detonate a nuclear device that will eliminate the "Thals" once and for all. Cushing holds this together quite well, and the "Daleks" were always my favourite "Dr. Who" baddies, but this story just has too many holes in it; the visual effects are particularly rudimentary - the "Daleks" appear to want to steam their opponents to death (and their aim isn't up to much, either), and Roy Castle seems to be trying to do his best Norman Wisdom just bit too enthusiastically throughout. It is a fun watch, but sadly it lacked the budget or the scope to really work properly. Enjoyable, nonetheless, especially on a big screen.

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