The Day Of The Triffids: A 1963 Apocalypse of Blindness and Man-Eating Plants

Forty years before Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead) and Jim (28 Days Later) stumbled out of hospital beds and into nightmarishly transformed worlds, Bill Masen left his hospital bed to discover humanity rendered blind and prey to giant walking plants. This was the 1963 movie classic, The Day of the Triffids, and it was my introduction to post-apocalyptic cinema.

A Visionary Of Disaster

The Day of the Triffids was written by English author John Wyndham and published in 1951. The book explored the collapse of civilization and humanity’s adaptability when confronted by twin disasters; a meteor shower which blinded everyone who witnessed it, and triffids, walking, meat-eating plants. Wyndham also wrote The Midwich Cuckoos (1957), later adapted into the sci-fi movie classic The Village of the Damned (1963).

I find Wyndham’s telling of world-altering events ahead of their time, and recommend them to readers interested in seeing humanity pushed to the brink. Though not an adaptation, Frank Schatzing’s epic 2004 novel, The Swarm, reminded me of Wyndham’s 1953 novel, The Kraken Wakes, in which humanity faced devastation from an intelligence beneath the seas. I recommend both novels.

The Story On Screen

Bill Masen (Howard Keel) is a hospitalized sailor recovering from eye surgery. His doctor explains he cannot remove the bandages early so Masen misses the historic meteor shower. Masen wakes the next morning to find the hospital silent. He cuts off his bandages, and finds his doctor, blind and stumbling in the hallway. The doctor explains everyone is blind. He asks Masen to take him to his office, where he leaps out the window to his death.

Masen wanders around London, looking for a way back to his ship. In a train station, he rescues young Susan (Janina Faye) from a blind mob wanting to use her as a guide. Susan spent the night in a luggage car, so she can also see. Together, they locate an abandoned car and head out of the city.

The movie transitions between Masen and Susan, and Tom (Kleron Moore) and Karen (Janette Scott) Goodwin. Tom Goodwin is a marine biologist, living in a lighthouse with his wife. His area of study is not clear, but going bad enough that Karen is concerned about his drinking. The troubled couple did not watch the meteor shower. Things change for Tom when he kills a triffid with a harpoon. Studying the carcass for a weakness gives Tom a renewed sense of purpose and motivation.

Masen and Susan’s search for safe haven continues after discovering Masen’s ship abandoned. They encounter other survivors, including Nicole Maurey (Christine Durrant), who manages a home for the blind. The short-lived sanctuary falls to a gang of convicts and a mass triffid attack. Nicole escapes with Masen and Susan. A British submarine crew eventually rescues them.

Tom and Karen fight for their lives when triffids storm the lighthouse. With nowhere else to run, they ascend the stairs, throwing down anything they can to slow the unrelenting plants. Tom turns a fire hose on the triffids, thrilled to discover the plants dissolve under the corrosive salt water.

The movie ends with Masen, Susan, and Nicole entering a church with other survivors to give thanks.

Altered Origin But Still Deadly

The Day of The Triffids movie adaptation maintained the blinding meteor shower, but altered the triffids origin. In the movie, the triffids came to earth on meteorite fragments. In the novel, the triffids were bio-engineered and accidentally released into the world. They were carnivorous but removing their whiplike proboscis rendered them harmless vanity plants for the garden. A character in the novel suggested humanities only advantage over triffids was sight: We could see them coming. The meteor shower removed that advantage.

A Few More Differences

Masen was not a sailor in the novel but a “triffidologist”; one who studies and cares for triffids. His eye injury was due to a triffid sting, which was blunted by protective head gear.

The lighthouse with Tom and Karen Goodman were not in the novel. The scenes were added to increase the movie’s run time. Regardless, I believe their inclusion added depth to the story by highlighting different survivors, trapped in a confined space, forced to confront the triffids head on.

Making oceanic salt water an effect weapon makes sense, considering its high toxicity to most plants. While using salt water may help coastal communities defend themselves, I do not believe it possible to transport enough to secure inland regions. This lines the movie up with the novel, in which triffids continue to thrive and humanity has to adapt to living with them.

Masen’s travel partner, and eventual wife, in the novel is a young author named Josella Playton. They do encounter Susan on their travels and she becomes part of their family, as Susan does in the movie with Masen and Nicole.

The Production

The Day of the Triffids cost an estimated $9.5 million adjusted USD, and grossed $21.5 million adjusted USD. Its popularity as a cult classic grew during the 1970s and 80s, thanks to television syndication (I never missed it when it was the 4:30 Movie on WWOR in New York).

The film was directed by Steve Sekely, who primarily focused on European productions. The screenplay was written by Bernard Gordon. Gordon was a writer on the classic Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956) and a producer on the Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing horror team-up, Horror Express (1972).

Wally Veevers was the Special Effects Supervisor. Veevers career in effects included The Guns of Navarone (1961), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1969), and Superman (1978).

Mick Dillon played the active triffid in the movie. He was also the man in the suit on Gorgo! (1961) and a dalek in Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965). His stunt work included doubling for Buster Keaton in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966), and for Ringo Starr in HELP! (1965).

Though uncredited, Hugh Skillen built the triffids. The only other credit I could find for Skillen was for The Dragon of Pendragon Castle (1950).

The Cast

Howard Keel (Bill Masen) – While playing an action hero in The Day of the Triffids, Keel was a star of Hollywood musicals, including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Show Boat (1951). He transitioned to television with appearances on Dallas (1981-91) and Murder, She Wrote (1991).

Janina Faye (Susan) – A child actor through the 1950s, Faye’s varied roles included Horror of Dracula (1958) and The Dance of Death (1969).

Christine Durrant (Nicole) – A notable French actress of the 40s and 50s, Durrant’s Hollywood appearances included High Times (1960) with Bing Crosby, and Secret of the Incas (1954) with Charlton Heston.

Kleron Moore (Tom Goodwin) – Moore was an Irish actor who appeared in Crack in the World (1956) and Doctor Blood’s Coffin (1961).

Janette Scott (Karen Goodwin) – Scott’s movie roles included Crack in the World (1956) and No Highway in the Sky (1951). She is probably best known for her inclusion in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) theme song, Science Fiction Double Feature: “And I really got hot / When I saw Janette Scott / Fight a triffid that spits poison and kills.”

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