and Los Angeles filled with the pods, he frantically screams at the passing motorists, "They're here already! You're next! You're next!" Back at the hospital, Bennell finishes his story. Dr. Hill and the on-duty doctor step outside the room, the latter expressing his certainty that Bennell is psychotic. Just then, a truck driver is wheeled into the hall on a gurney after having been badly injured in an accident. It turns out that the man had to be dug out from under a load of giant pods coming from Santa Mira. Finally believing Bennell's story, Dr. Hill alerts the police to block the roads in and out of Santa Mira; the film ends with Bennell relieved as Hill calls the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Cast Starring Kevin McCarthy as Dr. Miles Bennell Dana Wynter as Becky Driscoll King Donovan as Jack Belicec Carolyn Jones as Theodora "Teddy" Belicec Featuring Larry Gates as Dr. Dan Kauffman Virginia Christine as Wilma Lentz Ralph Dumke as Police Chief Nick Grivett Kenneth Patterson as Stanley Driscoll Guy Way as Officer Sam Janzek Jean Willes as Nurse Sally Withers Eileen Stevens as Anne Grimaldi Beatrice Maude as Grandma Grimaldi Whit Bissell (uncredited) as Dr. Hill Richard Deacon (uncredited) as Dr. Bassett With Bobby Clark as Jimmy Grimaldi Tom Fadden as Uncle Ira Lentz Everett Glass as Dr. Ed Pursey Dabbs Greer as Mac Lomax Pat O'Malley as Baggage Man Sam Peckinpah as Charlie, the Gas Meter Reader Production Novel and screenplay Jack Finney's novel ends with the extraterrestrials, who have a life span of no more than five years, leaving Earth after they realize that humans are offering strong resistance, despite having little reasonable chance against the alien invasion. Budgeting and casting Invasion of the Body Snatchers was originally scheduled for a 24-day shoot and a budget of US$454,864. The studio later asked Wanger to cut the budget significantly. The producer proposed a shooting schedule of 20 days and a budget of $350,000. Initially, Wanger considered Gig Young, Dick Powell, Joseph Cotten, and several others for the role of Miles. For Becky, he considered casting Anne Bancroft, Donna Reed, Kim Hunter, Vera Miles, and others. With the lower budget, however, he abandoned these choices and cast Richard Kiley, who had just starred in The Phenix City Story for Allied Artists. Kiley turned the role down and Wanger cast Kevin McCarthy, an Academy Award nominee five