A meteor strike in southern California turns out to contain a deadly alien war machine that wipes out anything in its path. This machine is only the vanguard of a mass invasion of aliens from Mars, who are intent on wiping out the human race and claiming Earth for themselves. Sci-fi drama, updating HG Wells' novel to a 20th-century setting, starring Gene Barry, Ann Robinson and Les Tremayne.

The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.