50's sci fi movies?

[Deafjeff]

Hello everyone! The other night I was watching an old movie called Them! on TCM(A channel I could not live without! It is my portal to a better time.) It was a very good old sci fi/horror film about giant ants attacking and I was able to admire many of the vintage suits and especially the VERY nice assortment of hats that were worn by various characters. So I thought I would post a thread for 1950s sci fi movies. If one already exists then moderators can do their thing and merge or get rid of this one but....What classic sci or thriller films do you gentlemen and ladies enjoy? Anything to say about the clothing or hats or just the characters and plots and why you appreciate these films then please do so. Take it away my friends!

 

[Heather]

"Attack of the 50 ft Woman"! I've only seen that and "Them!" I have found the old sci fi B movies to be very enjoyable so I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this thread for recommendations.

 

[katiesparkles]

Posting for later I was gonna suggest the Attack of the 50 ft Woman as well!

 

[Deafjeff]

I've heard much of Attack of the 50 ft Woman but have not had the chance to see it as of yet. I do want to see though based on these suggestions!

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Forbidden Planet - great movie based on The Tempest.


[video=youtube;8y4crGU7dkg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y4crGU7dkg[/video]

Not too shabby for 1956.

 

[Gatsby84]

I am also partial to "Forbidden Planet" and "Them!". I think they are great and certainly represent '50's B sci-fi as I think of it. I also like "War of the Worlds" from 1953. It has a lot of great apparel and vehicles in it too.

I think what I like best about "Forbidden Planet" and "War of the Worlds" are the backgrounds and landscapes. A lot of work and talent went into those matte paintings!

The "best/worst" has to be "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Horribly classic... I love it.

-Allen

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

I'm thirding (or fourthing?) Forbidden Planet. One of my very favorite DVD's. I really love the electronic score.

 

[sal]

From the Earth to the Moon is one of my fav's.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Rocket Ship X-M
2000 Leagues Under the Sea
It Came from Outerspace
There are a couple of the Abbot and Costello movies
The Invisible man with Claude Rains
there are more but those are some of mine of the top of my head

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Tarantula! And Jack Arnold movies in general. Sal already mentioned some of them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Arnold_(director)

 

[Deafjeff]

I enjoyed the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Sort of a proto Godzilla thing. Of course the original Godzilla movie is to my mind THE giant monster movie. My mother told me that when she was a kid all the old black and white films would play during Creature Double Feature and she saw most of the old scifi/giant monster/Universal horror movies that were made way back when

 

[Gatsby84]

"The Blob" was another great movie from this era.
-Allen

 

[Benzadmiral]

"Forbidden Planet" is a proto-"Star Trek," and features concepts that movies couldn't begin to touch on for 20 years: a starship that deals with deceleration from speeds well beyond that of light; a long-dead race of beings who built a cubical power complex 20 miles on a side and then vanished in a single night; and more.

The thing that gets me to this day is the oddly-shaped doors in the complex, sort of squashed pentagons. Walter Pidgeon's Dr. Morbius tells us to "consider them in light of our functionally designed human doors." We're never shown the long-dead race; we have to imagine them ourselves. (Did they look like giant crabs, wider than they were tall?) More than 60 years old, written by a guy best known for doing Tarzan movies; and yet it's still miraculous stuff.

"Them!" is also top-notch, because it has a lot of the flavor of a police procedural, a kind of SF "Dragnet." The heroes, played by Whitmore and Arness, are smart. They consult an insect expert and extrapolate from tiny ant behavior to figure out how to defeat the giant ants.

These two, plus the first "War of the Worlds," "20,000 Leagues," "Day the Earth Stood Still," and 1960's "Time Machine," are the best of that decade's SF films.

But "Forbidden Planet" still stands tallest. In the '70s and '80s, at local SF conventions, the tradition grew up that the convention would end its film program, always, with FP.

 

[DesertDan]

The Thing From Another World
When Worlds Collide
Destination: Moon
Donovan's Brain
Invaders From Mars
This Island Earth
Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers
World Without End
The Amazing Colossal Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Fly
From The Earth To The Moon
It! The Terror From Beyond Space
Journey To The Center Of The Earth

 

[Jaguar66]

Here is a complete list of 50s Science Fiction Movies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_films:_1950s


Growing up as a boy I saw most of these in the theaters. My favorite, was Forbidden Planet, followed by the The Time Machine (which was 1960), and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

"Them" was among the scariest. Many other scared me. Fiend Without a Face. The Crawling Eye, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. So many.

Interesting trivia. Leonard Nimoy was in Them. uncredited. Check IMBD

 

[jamespowers]

I second Plan 9.

 

[kyboots]

"War of the Worlds" was by far a spectacular movie with a "moral victory", but "The Day the Earth Stood Still" really got me thinking about beings from outer space coming to get me. "The 27th Day" is worth mentioning, "Creature From the Black Lagoon" scarred me and gave me nightmares. Saw these as reruns, but they sure got to me!--John

 

[John in Covina]

If you get a chance watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Kevin McCarthy version) and Target Earth both are as much psychological thillers as sci-fi. The original The Thing is top notch too. Invaders from Mars the original is fun.