Martian Dopplegangers

The Martian Dopplegangers are the primary antagonists of the obscure but well-liked 1962 feature film, The Day Mars Invaded The Earth. Slowly, by creating duplicates of Earth humans in key positions and locations, they are enabling the true Martians (never seen or shown) to take over the planet almost without firing a shot. The story focuses on the family of one scientist, a man capable of understanding and perhaps turning back the invasion. But from the start, his own brother is compromised, and it seems that even he had been replaced prior to this, his new replacement having full knowledge of the invasion, which the deep cover original duplicate did not, unwittingly gathering information the invaders could use. Despite cleverness and fierce resistance, the Martian planners and their pawns have done too good a job in setting everything up. In the movie's then-shocking ending, the scientist, his wife, their teenaged daughter and two young sons all end up replaced. The Martian dopplegangers leave no room for error; once a Human is duplicated and the original confronted with their doppleganger, they are promptly burned to ashes, leaving only a smoking precise outline like that left by an atom bomb.

(TBC....)