Dr. Who and the Daleks (theatrical film)

Dr. Who and the Daleks, based on TV: The Daleks, was the first theatrical film based on Doctor Who. It stars Peter Cushing as a human scientist named Dr. Who who invents Tardis and takes his companions on a journey to the planet Skaro, where they help the peace-loving Thals battle the evil Daleks.

Synopsis
Accidentally thrown together, Dr. Who (Peter Cushing), his granddaughters, and their friend Ian cross the universe in Who's new invention, the space and time machine known as "Tardis". When they land on the planet Skaro, the travellers meet the kind and placid Thals, who live in fear of the dreaded Daleks. Somehow, Who and his party must find a way to help the Thals overcome the deadly mutants who live inside impenetrable metal casings.

Plot
Ian and Barbara are unnerved by the jungle and demand to return to London but Dr. Who, eager to investigate the city, fakes a leak in one of the vital Tardis fluid links to keep them on Skaro. The group decide to search the city for the mercury needed to refill the link but stumble across a case of Thal drug vials as they leave. In the city Dr. Who, on reading a Geiger counter, realises that the planet is radioactive and in view of the fact that they are feeling unwell, deduces that they are developing radiation sickness. Suddenly, the Daleks appear and capture the travellers, confining them to a cell and seizing Dr. Who's fluid link for inspection.

The Daleks know of the Thal drug and want to reproduce it in large quantities so that they can leave the city and exterminate the Thals. They offer to let the humans use some of the drug to cure their sickness if the vials left outside Tardis are brought to the city. Whilst carrying out the task Susan encounters Alydon, the Thal leader who left the vials. Alydon gives Susan a secondary drug supply to use in case the Daleks deviate from their promise and also lends her his plastic cape.

The Daleks discover Susan's secret drug supply, but allow the humans to treat themselves with it. They then summon Susan to write a letter to the Thals, informing them that they wish to end post-war hostilities and will leave food in their control room as an act of friendship. The adventurers discover that when the Thals arrive, however, they will be ambushed and exterminated.

When a Dalek comes to the cell to deliver food and water, Dr. Who and his companions immobilise it by forcing it onto Susan's cape, thus insulating it from the charged metal floor. Ian takes the place of the creature inside the casing and notifies another Dalek that he is taking Dr. Who, Barbara and Susan to the control room for questioning. Now free, the travellers shout a warning to the Thals who are entering the city and escape with them into the jungle, but not before an elderly man, Temmosus, is killed by the Daleks.

Later the Daleks test the Thal drug on a number of themselves but find that it causes disastrous side effects. With no way of leaving the city, they decide to detonate a neutron bomb to increase the radiation on Skaro to a point at which not even the Thals can survive.

At the Thal camp, Dr. Who urges Alydon to fight the Daleks to secure a safe future for his species. Alydon insists that the Thals are pacifist, but Dr. Who tests this claim by ordering Ian to take Dyoni, Alydon's love, to the Daleks in exchange for the confiscated fluid link. Alydon punches Ian to the ground, proving that Thals will fight for some things. Alydon, Susan and Dr. Who lead the tribe to the front entrance of the city, where they attempt to confuse the enemy's scanners by reflecting light off small mirrors to give the impression of greater numbers. The plan fails when the Daleks appear and the Thals scatter, however, and Susan and Dr. Who are captured.

Meanwhile, Ian and Barbara, guided by the Thals Ganatus, Antodus and Elyon, set out to infiltrate the city from the rear. While navigating a swamp, Elyon is killed by a marsh-dwelling mutation and the party is eventually forced to jump a chasm to proceed any further. Antodus falls short and plunges into the void, but manages to cling to the uneven rock face and is pulled up by the others.

In the city control room, the Daleks ignore Dr. Who's appeals as they start the bomb countdown. Ian, Barbara, Ganatus and Antodus penetrate the city and join Alydon and the rest of the Thals, who have returned determined to rescue Susan and Dr. Who. The Thals and humans enter the control room and struggle with the Daleks while Dr. Who yells for someone to stop the bomb detonation. Ian calls out his presence and dives for cover as the Daleks fire towards him in unison. The aliens inadvertently destroy their own control panel, disabling themselves as well as freezing the countdown. Dr. Who then retrieves the Tardis fluid link.

In the jungle, the Thals bid farewell to Dr. Who and his companions and express their gratitude with special gifts. When the travellers depart in Tardis they materialise not in London, however, but on an ancient battlefield in front of an advancing Roman army.

Cast

 * Dr. Who - Peter Cushing
 * Ian Chesterton - Roy Castle
 * Barbara - Jennie Linden
 * Susan - Roberta Tovey
 * Alydon - Barrie Ingham
 * Ganatus - Michael Coles
 * Temmosus - Geoffrey Toone
 * Elyon - Mark Petersen
 * Antodus - John Bown
 * Dyoni - Yvonne Antrobus
 * Dalek Operators - Bruno Castagnoli, Michael Dillon, Brian Hands, Robert Jewell, Kevin Manser, Eric McKay, Len Saunders, Gerald Taylor

Story notes

 * Several of the Dalek props were purchased by the BBC and appear in TV: The Chase. As it was broadcast before the release of this film, the Dalek movie props were seen on TV before they were seen in the cinemas.
 * The Daleks were proposed to have flame throwers, but this was vetoed. The effect used for the Daleks' weapons on television could not be achieved on film negatives.
 * According to Gordon Flemyng "We used that (the fire extinguisher) because we couldn't afford to add a ray to the film and it wouldn't have been good enough to just have people fall down. We wanted something that could be seen."
 * Another reason was given by Milton Subotsky "We were going to have them shooting out flames, but John Trevelyn, the censor, thought children would be frightened of flames. So we went to the other extreme and armed them with fire extinguishers."


 * In the film, Tardis is referenced as such without the definite article "the", unlike the TV series which always used the phrase "the TARDIS" when referring to the ship.
 * The interior of Tardis is completely different from the TV version, with the outside windows of the ship visible, and it appears there is only a single room, the console room. The 2005 revival's version of the TARDIS interior actually borrows a few of these elements: the exterior police box door (with windows) is visible from inside, and usually only a single room is visible (though others are mentioned).
 * In Spain this movie was entitled; Dr. Who Y Los Daleks.
 * The alien-esque look of the jungles was achieved by filming all those scenes without the anamorphic lens (wide-screen lens) on the camera, giving them a strange unearthly quality.

Crew notes

 * Barry Gray, best known as Gerry Anderson's staff composer for his numerous Supermarionation and SF TV series, composed the musical score for the film. As a result, this film — and its sequel — are to date the only officially authorised productions based upon Doctor Who to use theme music other than the original Ron Grainer/Delia Derbyshire theme. Several reference books, including The Complete Encyclopaedia of Television Programme 1947-1979, erroneously credit Gray with composing the music for the TV series, too.

Filming Locations

 * Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

Plot Holes, Errors and Mistakes

 * There is a staircase next to the Daleks water supply pipe, as they can't use stairs this a production design error.
 * The Daleks' lights flash indiscriminately and do not match the voice. They also flash when they are not speaking. Director Gordon Flemyng being unfamiliar with the Daleks, didn't realise the lights on the Dalek were there to distinguish which Dalek was speaking and so they flash randomly. This caused problems when the dialogue for the Daleks was being dubbed: some of the Dalek dialogue is rather laborious as the voice artists tried to match the dialogue to the random light flashes.

Continuity

 * The film ends with a visual gag of the ship appearing in front of a group of Roman soldiers. PROSE: The House on Oldark Moor picks up on this point and reveals that Ian had become a gladiator. This is a reference to the events of the television story TV: The Romans in which the same thing happened to the canonical Ian Chesterton.

Timeline

 * This story occurs before PROSE: The House on Oldark Moor

Super 8 Releases

 * Released in UK on Super 8 film (8 reels colour/sound) by Walton Sound and Film Services in 1977.
 * Released on UK on Super 8 film Part 1: (one reel colour/sound and one reel black and white/silent) by Walton Sound and Film Services in 1977.
 * Released on UK on Super 8 film Part 2: (one reel colour/sound and one reel black and white/silent) by Walton Sound and Film Services in 1977.

Video Releases

 * Released in the UK on VHS and Beta in 1982 by Thorn EMI.
 * Released in the US on VHS in 1985 by Thorn EMI.
 * Re-released in UK on VHS in 1988 by Warner Home Video.
 * Re-released in US on VHS in 1989 by GoodTimes Home Video.
 * Released in Australia in 1990 by Universal.
 * Re-released in US in 1994 by Lumiere.
 * Re-released in UK in 1996 by Warner Home Video.

DVD Releases

 * Released in Australia in 2001 by Universal / Studio Canal as a double release with Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. and 1995 Dalekmania documentary in the 'Doctor Who and the Daleks..'. boxset. Note: the print of Dr Who and the Daleks on this Disc set features a different edit, from the generally accepted print, during the battle scene at the end of the movie and is a zoomed version of the VHS master. Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD is a correct anamorphic print but has a sound glitch about 10 seconds in and has the prologue and opening titles switched around.
 * Released in US in 2001 by Anchor Bay as a single disc and with Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD and 1995 Dalekmania documentary in 'The Doctor Who Movie Collection' boxset.
 * Released in UK in 2002 by Studio Canal/Warner as a double release with Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.. and 1995 Dalekmania documentary in 'The Dr Who movie collection' boxset and the 'Dr Who - The Motion Pictures' (Gold Edition) boxset. Note:The first pressing of the 'Dr Who and the Daleks' disc in this set had a sound problem which caused all music and effects to sound glassy and "echoed" and so it was re-pressed by Warner, this also had a problem as the disc now froze on chapter 16, this was corrected for the 3rd pressing, this version and the Gold Edition boxset version have no problems.
 * Released in the UK in 2006 by Studio Canal/Optimum as a double release with Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD and 1995 Dalekmania documentary in the 'Doctor Who:The Dalek Collection' boxset.

Novelisations
No novelisation based upon the film script was ever published, however the original teleplay, The Daleks, was adapted as Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks by David Whitaker, published by Frederick Muller in late 1964. Later, when the book was republished by Target Books, it was retitled Doctor Who and the Daleks.



Comic book adaptation
Dr. Who and the Daleks was adapted as an American comic book by Dell Publishing in 1966 (the year the film was released in the US). The comic book featured artwork by Dick Giordano and was the first US comic book appearance of anything connected to the Doctor Who franchise. It was reprinted in the UK by Marvel Comics UK in the 1993, in Doctor Who Classic Comics issue 9.