Posted on 05/24/2016 12:33:44 PM PDT by EveningStar
Were the 1950s the Golden Age of Science Fiction Cinema? I think so. What do you think?
List of science fiction films of the 1950s
A list of science fiction films released in the 1950s. These films include core elements of science fiction, but can cross into other genres. They have been released to a cinema audience by the commercial film industry and are widely distributed with reviews by reputable critics.
This period is sometimes described as the 'classic' era of science fiction theater. Much of the production was in a low-budget form targeted at a teenage audience. Many were formulaic, gimmicky, comic-book style films. They drew upon political themes or public concerns of the day, including depersonalization, infiltration, or fear of nuclear weapons. Invasion was a common theme, as were various threats to humanity.
Two of the films from this decade, The War of the Worlds (1953) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) won Academy Awards, while Destination Moon (1950) and The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) won Hugo Awards.
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Forbidden Planet and It Came From Outer Space were favorites of mine from the 50’s
THEM!
70’s were good too: Alien and A Clockwork Orange.
Best. B. Movie. Ever.
Klaatu barada nikto!
Just rewatched The War of the Worlds over the weekend. One of my favorite films.
The sounds of the ants still creeps me out!
No. But that kind of belief has been holding back SF films ever since. But if you get away from the blockbusters that mostly try to emulate 50s SF there’s some pretty awesome stuff going on. Check out Monsters, or Ex Machina, way more interesting than the blockbusters or 50s movies.
‘Ex Machina’ was good if you’ve never read any literary SF in your life. It was very routine. And the ending was completely random.
1950’s was space fantasy movies, with a couple of exceptions. All of the radioactive bugs and monsters were kind of silly.
The end of the 50s and through the sixties is where things started getting good.
“People of the Earth, attention...”
When Worlds Collide (1951) with Barbara Rush. Believe the film after worlds collide was made as well, but never seen.
Giant ants, grasshoppers, Gila monsters, leaches, crabs, Humans used for snacks. And an original, The Blob starring Steve McQueen!
I watched a really interesting sci fi movie a couple of weeks ago called “Midnight Special”.
It was surprisingly good.
This Island Earth
Best 1950’s Sci-fi film ‘eva.
Spectacular, beyond belief
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hR7e3StbXoU
Forbidden Planet is still a great movie today. While This Island Earth is a bit more dated and scientifically implausible, it is also a good movie.
As for production of B movies, the 50s were unparalleled, with classics like Them and The Monolith Monsters.
And it was when the Japanese got started with Godzilla and The Mysterians.
A good decade.
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