I too saw “Invaders From Mars” around 1953 at the Bay Theater, Panama City, Florida. I had the same reaction to Invaders that you did.
I did not see it again until the 90s and had built it up in my mind as the greatest thing I had ever seen. Of course I was disappointed and some of my memories were slightly off.
I then saw it a third time a few years later and realized it really was a good movie, I had just built it up to an impossible standard.
I’ll tell of my experiences that night my parents took us to the movies at a drive in as a child. I don’t know which show was shown first.
My dad said we were going to movies about “spooks”. All I remember was they were tall, had shiny faces, fell when shot then came back to life with lots of cave ins. It took 60 years for me to realize it was it was INVADERS FROM MARS.
The second feature was THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS.
When the beast first came on scene I was so scared I hit the floorboards of the car!
When I looked up again it was tearing up a lighthouse! Back to the floorboards!
Next it was coming ashore in NYC! I hit the floorboards!
When I looked up again, it GOBBLED UP A COP! Back to the floorboards.
Then I fell asleep, and when I looked up again, it was in a roller coaster area in lots of fire!
That is all I remembered of it. I was only 6 years old.
Never went to a si-fi movie again till they came on SHOCK Theater on TV, and even then FRANKENSTEIN scared the s***t out of me! And I do mean SCARED! I made lots of runs to the bathroom that night!
Now, I LOVE those old hokey horror movies, not the new silly superhero movies!