The 10 Best 1950′s Sci-Fi Films
They may not have had the modern special effects we have these days, and yes, many times you will see the wires making the ships shoot through space and more often than not the painted backgrounds look like just that, painted backgrounds, but even with all this, there is no denying that in America, in the 1950′s, we saw the cinematic height of the science fiction film. Many of them playing on the rampant paranoia of these Cold War times, the genre lifted off (pun intended) with no less than 400 sci-fi and/or monster movies throughout the decade. This week I will take a look at this prolific decade and give to you my choices for the 10 Best 1950′s Sci-Fi Films. I would like to mention a few runners-up before we go on. These are 20 Million Miles to Earth, It! The Terror From Beyond Space, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, The Monolith Monsters, The Blob & The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
Special Mention: Destination Moon
I put this film under special mention for two reasons. The first being that I couldn’t narrow this list down to just ten and I wanted to sneak an eleventh film in here somewhere. The second, and more serious reason is that this film, made in 1950 at the start of the sci-fi genre boom,, and adapted from a Robert Heinlein short story, has no monsters or aliens of space battles of any kind. Destination Moon is just a simple story of Earth’s first manned rocket launch – more than a decade before it became an actual reality. The film, basic and slow moving but still very interesting (and even with a few quite tense moments) helped to launch (yes, pun intended again) the genre and therefore needs to be mentioned somewhere on this list. So there.
10. The Man From Planet X
Made in 1951 and directed by the great Edgar G. Ulmer (The Black Cat, Detour), this ultra low budget (even by the already quite low budget genre standard of the time) film is about a space ship that crash lands in the Scottish moors (the dark and murky setting helped to keep costs down by not needing to build many elaborate sets). The alien being aboard is an advanced scout from a dying planet that just so happens to be on a collision course for Earth. The alien communicates, or at least tries to communicate through music and this was an early influence on Steven Spielberg (as are many of these 1950′s sci-fi films) who incorporated such musical communication into his Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
9. Invaders From Mars
One of the many films that played off the inherent communist hysteria that was an unfortunate part of the culture in the Cold War, Invaders From Mars tells the story, three years before the peak of such storytelling in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (a film yet to be seen in the list), of Earthlings being taken over by the titular aliens. Paranoia runs rampant as a small boy enlists the aid of some rather easily-convinced adults in saving his parents from these invaders from Mars. Kitschy and a bit silly (especially when compared to the aforementioned Body Snatchers) but it stands out as one of the first of its ilk to be filmed in full, and quite extraordinarily vivid color. The film was remade to rather tepid results by Tobe Hooper in 1986.
8. The War of the Worlds
Obviously a big influence on a preteen Steven Spielberg (he did remake the damn thing after all), the aliens in the original War of the Worlds had no secret inclinations when they landed on Earth. No “we come in peace” posture while secretly planning on world domination. The aliens in The War of the Worlds were here for one reason and one reason only – to eradicate the human race. No ifs, ands or buts. Total domination or nothing. No “take me to your leader” – just kill kill kill. As our intrepid Earthlings run from these deadly monsters (never seen are the actual aliens, just the ships they move about in) hope gets smaller and smaller a possibility, until in the end…well, let’s not give anything away here.
7. The Incredible Shrinking Man
Directed by Jack Arnold who also directed Universal iconic creature feature, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Incredible Shrinking Man is a fascinating story of an ordinary man in extraordinary conditions. After being exposed to a strange, unearthly mist (most likely radioactive is was par the course for the genre) Robert Scott Carey begins to shrink. Eventually he is living in a doll house inside his own home and the most benign of creatures – his pet cat, an ordinary house spider (played here by an obvious tarantula) – suddenly become a living terror for this ever-shrinking man. With allusions to the fear of the times and a psychological worry over being a weak human being (who among us does not worry about being an insignificant nothing in the world?), Carey is now a man trapped inside his own deadly household jungle.
6. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
Sharing many plot points with The War of the Worlds and, to a lesser degree The Day the Earth Stood Still, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is a solid and often rousing adventure story about invading aliens and those humans trying desperately to save themselves and their planet. The film, highlighted by stop motion special effects (called “Dynavision”) by the legendary Ray Harryhausen, was not only inspired by these aforementioned previous films (including using stock footage lifted from The Day the Earth Stood Still) but was also an inspiration to future films including Ed Wood’s classic campy movie-we-love-to-hate Plan 9 from Outer Space and Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! which was done as an homage to this film.
Continue to the 5 Best 1950′s Sci-Fi Films >>
Pages: 1 2
![Watch: Creepy Trailer for Slasher Pic ‘Maniac’ [NSFW]](http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/wp-content/themes/yamidoo_pro/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://www.anomalousmaterial.com/movies/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/elijah-wood-maniac-tb.jpg&w=50&h=50&zc=1)
38 Comments
No Fiend Without a Face? Well, it’s not that good anyway.
Love your top 3, those would be my top 3 for sure.
Need to catch up with some of the other titles on this list. Haven’t watched a lot of sci-fi that predates the ’70s.
I have never seen Fiend w/o a Face.
Kevyn,Criterion has a great DVD set of “Fiend Without a Face” here in the US. I saw this film when I was 6 years old, and it scared the bejeezus out of me!
A great guilty pleasure, and actually quite gory for it’s time. Definitely worth a watch- would be on the bottom of my top tten from the 50′s.
Great list! I agree on the number one spot since it,s one of my favorite films! I’ll have to catch up because there’s a lot I haven’t seen in this great list!
Where’s Plan 9 From Outer Space?
Somewhere else.
Nice list, especially the top five. Do 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth qualify as sf? I have a soft spot for the Verne tales, or then again, maybe I just like them because of James Mason.
When I was in college I wrote a paper on images of science and scientists in 1950s popular culture with a focus on film. It was especially interesting to look at depictions of atomic power as a force for good vs as a force for destruction. As you would expect the latter predominated, but there were also times when the atom saved the day (usually after causing the problem in the first place!).
I had contemplated Journey to the Center of the Earth, but in the end I just liked these more.
Fantastic list. I’ll second Helen’s nomination for Journey to the Center of the Earth–that’s a really fun film, and while it’s maybe a touch more fantasy than science fiction, it’s a worth addition.
I’ve seen four of the first five (I’m missing the original ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’) and whole-heartedly agree with those as the top of the list. Though I’m honestly not much of a resource, here- I haven’t seen a lot from this particular genre.
I think it’s a neat little sociology experiment that these films were so popular in the 1950′s. Mankind was on the verge of space travel and sure enough, it was reflected in the horror choices that film studios made. Art imitates life and such.
Kevyn, does ‘Destination Moon’ still hold up today in your opinion? I’ve never seen that one.
It of course looks very dated — even by the early sixties this would have seemed dated — but it is a very interesting look at what we thought could happen in 1950.
THEM! A childhood favorite! It;s genuinely suspenseful for the first 20 minutes before the Sci-Fi even starts. It! The Terror from Beyond Space is a pretty important one, too. And Where’s Godzilla?? When Worlds Collide is a fun one, too.
I like both Godzilla (the original Japanese version) and When Worlds Collide — just not as much as the ones that made the list.
And yes, Them! is great. I just did a piece on it for a 50′s monster movie blogathon.
http://themostbeautifulfraudintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/07/them-them-them-or-how-i-learned-to-stop.html
I have only seen Them! and Invasion of the Body Snatchers but the Top 3 came to my mind too when I saw the list title. As for the rest, I know very little about them. Nice work!
I have seen zero of those movies (weeps)
Don’t worry Castor, I’m in the same boat. I’ve seen maybe four of them but I was young and don’t remember a thing about them..haha THEM, get it?
Definitely start out watching the top 4-5. Invasion is compulsory viewing especially as it deals in a socio-political context. In that regard so many of these films have that informing their production.
Oh man, the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers is really creepy. Good call on including Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still.
I have to say I definitely agree with your number 1 choice and with most of the others.
One thing not mentioned about Destination Moon is that it went to great expense and tribulation to present the moon flight and landing in as scientifically accurate (for the time) as was possible. When written, the vision/plan for a moon landing was still being based largely on von Braun’s program. If viewed with a “what might have been” eye, it remains a very enjoyable and effective film.
If I had to pick my top three from the era, it would be The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet and Destination Moon. With The Man From Planet X as the special mention. And, as a special mention about TMFPX; you will note that it is unique in having an alien invader who has not come here for conquest, which is perhaps one of the reasons why it is so overlooked.
Yes, Destination Moon was almost documentary (though perhaps not accurate in the long range scheme of things) in the way it presented its Moon mission.
As for The Man From Planet X (at first, your abbreviated TMFPX made me think we were suddenly talking about MST3K) you are so right about that. The only real bad guy is an Earthling. Great film though — even w/o the typical intergalactic confrontation.
Hey Kevyn -
What a great list, and I’m proud to say that I’ve seen every one of them. I don’t know if I’d be able to compile a list rating my top 5 or top 10 because every film has kind of a “special moment” or a certain scene that makes it stand out … Usually my favorite will be whatever I’m watching at the time …
Dave
It’s a great list, and I’m proud to say that I’ve seen most of them. My own Harryhausen pick would have been BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, which is amongst his best work (his Beast has a great personality). I would also add IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, not only for its iconic title but for its Ray Bradbury script and its idea of our perception of the Other, and THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT, because it poses an interesting question on how far science should go (and Donlevy’s performance as Quatermass is terrific and frightening at the same time).
I have not seen The Quartermass Experiment so that is why that particular one did not make my list.
Certainly the top five is pretty close to the top 5 that I would imagine, but I remember Earth vs. the Flying Saucers bing total schlock beyond the Harryhausen effects. on my list I’d make room for This Island Earth and Angry Red Planet.
Oh it is total schlock — but that is part of its charm (at least inside this quite odd head of mine).
As for This Island Earth — it probably should be in my runners-up.
I enjoyed reading the list. No real quarrels with the choices overall. And I especially enjoyed your introduction re the 50s being the genre’s greatest decade. Indeed they were very resourceful and artful with available effects, and much more impressive even on that level than stuff with state of the art technology of today.
The one missing for me is “The Fly”–maybe you consider this more straight
horror than science fiction but to me it’s part of the sci-fi/horror cycle
as much as other films on the list. A film with a real sense of tragedy, and if you saw it when you were young as I did, it was very scary too. I would also prefer “It Came from Outer Space” and “This Island Earth” to some of the films you chose, but those are simply personal favorites of mine and I’m guessing you considered them.
The top three of the decade to me are definitely “The Incredible Shrinking Man” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Fly” but just revisited “Forbidden Planet” again recently and that would be very close.
But I will say and have said for publication before that for me “The Incredible Shrinking Man” is the greatest science-fiction film ever made and always will be. It takes the genre, with seemingly effortless grace, into a spiritual realm in a way no other sci-fi film has ever done.
I am the author of the piece “U-I Sci-Fi: Studio Aesthetics and 1950s Metaphysics”
in THE SCIENCE-FICTION FILM READER, which is a substantial study of that studio’s contributions, and also wrote a brief entry on “The Incredible Shrinking Man” in DEFINING MOMENTS IN MOVIES.
Thanx.
I would love to read that aforementioned Science-Fiction Film Reader.
And yes, I contemplated the Fly but left it off as horror more than sci-fi (plus I really wanted to make room for the Man From Planet X somewhere on here).
Terrific list. You got all the great ones. I would include THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS and perhaps IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA or even RIDERS TO THE STARS.
Very sturdy list. Nice to see “Man from Planet X” make the cut. And your Honorable Mentions are dead on–I’ve been hankering for “The Monolith Monsters” for a while.
And it’s at this point that I’m always fond of “bragging” that, although I’m too young to have seen these in the ’50s, our local mall in NJ (in Cherry Hill) ran a Saturday matinee in the early ’60s–when I was 8-12 yrs. old–that ran ’50s SF/horror. So you can well imagine that my feelings for these pictures run pretty deep.
p.s. I’d add “The Fly,” at least to the Honorable Mention list. One of the best SF-Gothic combos of the decade.
THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT. Possibly ON THE BEACH might nudge ahead of one or two of these for me. (Have yet to see #10.)
I have not seen the Man in the White Suit. Perhaps I will check that out soon.
As many others before me have mentioned – The Fly deserves a nod.
I would also add I Married a Monster “for your consideration”; it looks like it was on your shortlist but did not make the cut – possibly would do so for me.
I have Donovan’s Brain starring Lew Ayers in my DVR queue I started to watch it but had to leave the house before it concluded. Can’t wait!
All I can say is THANK GOD FOR CGI!!!
Good list.
I think that the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers from the 70s is genuinely a superior film in every way than the original, but the original does capture that 50s Mccarthyism paranoia.
I agree with your number 1 pick. The rest of the list is great, but any top ten should include “When worlds collide.” I also like “Rocket Ship XM.” And I think “It Came from outer space” is top ten. Problem is, what do you take off to make room for these classics? Anyway, love the ones that made the cut!
I remember a black and white science fiction movie from either the 50′s or 60′s in which zombies were ultimately killed by a sonic gun developed by scientists. One zombie was trapped when the scientists dug a huge hole in the ground and filled it with liquid cement. The zombie stepped into the covered hole and fell into the cement. He was then brought into the scientists’ lab (which was in some fortified structure or cave), and subjected to tests. The scientists stumbled on the fact that the zombie was driven to pain and death by a screeching sound. The scientists then created a gun to aim at the zombies outside and to kill them with this sound. Does anyone remember a plot like this? I can’t find it anywhere on the internet.
I believe you’re describing Invisible Invaders (1959). You can buy it on DVD from Amazon.
Trackbacks