Battle of the Sci-Fi Flicks: the 50s

Karen: The 1950s gave birth to a ton of science fiction films, and some of these are among the finest ever made. Most of the films, good or bad, reflect the concerns of that era: fear of "the Bomb", paranoia over communism, and wonder at new scientific and technological achievements. But the best of them takes these concepts and make something special out of them.

I'd like to name my contenders for the cream of the crop from the 50s. This is in no particular order:

The Thing From Another World (1951): Howard Hawks produced (and some say directed) this suspenseful film about military men and scientists dealing with an alien invader at an Arctic base. What could have been a run of the mill monster movie is turned into an outstanding one by the excellent cast -I love the way they talk all over each other, just like real people do -and intelligent writing. The shot of the flying saucer frozen below the ice and the men forming a circle above it is still inspired. The blood bags hanging up, feeding the alien plants/fetuses, and their cries (even though unheard) always make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Keep watching the skies!



The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951): How can you not love a movie with a gleaming UFO and a giant robot equipped with a disintegration ray ? But that's really just the superficial part of this film; the beauty of it lies in the character of Klaatu, the undercover alien played wonderfully by Michael Rennie, and his relationships with the different humans he meets. Klaatu allows us to ourselves from a new point of view, and with that we see both the best and worst of our natures. Yes, the Christ-like overtones may sometimes be less than subtle; still, I find myself riveted to this film whenever it is on. Am I the only one who thinks that the Destroyer of Thor fame looks something like Gort?



Them! (1954): Yes, it's a giant bug picture, but it's the best giant bug picture ever made. Just like the Thing, it has a great cast and a solid story which elevates it above standard monster fare. The movie actually feels very much like a police procedural, with a policeman (James Whitmore) and an FBI agent (James Arness, who also played The Thing) investigating a series of mysterious disappearances and break-ins. We soon find out it's all due to ants who have been mutated to gigantic size thanks to atomic testing in the desert. Edmund O'Brien is delightful as an ant expert, and his daughter, played by Joan Weldon, is presented as beautiful but brainy too. Sure, the ants themselves may look a bit hokey today, but they were effective. I can still hear that strange high pitched racket they made!



Forbidden Planet (1956): One of the few color sci fi films of the era, Forbidden Planet has a lush design and is wonderful eye candy. Like Day the Earth Stood Still, we get an impressive spacecraft and an amazing robot. But that's where the similarities end. Set on the planet Altair IV, whose sole surviving occupants are Dr. Edward Morbius and his lovely daughter, Altaira, this movie is much more of a psychological drama. It's a bit odd seeing Leslie Nielson in a serious role, after so many years of Airplane and Naked Gun movies, but he does a good job as the square-jawed ship's captain. Beware the monsters from the Id!


War of the Worlds (1953): Another color-rich extravaganza, with super-cool Martian death ships, atom bombs, and the Flying Wing! We've also got Gene Barry as one of the roughest, toughest scientist-heroes ever, Dr. Clayton Forester. The design of the Martian ship is one of the most unique in all of science fiction films, with the sleek, curvy main body and cobra-like neck extension. The utter destruction wreaked in this movie must be seen to be believed. No landmark is left standing! The ending is a bit hokey but all in all a classic.

So that's my choice for the best of the 50s. Some obvious films left off the list: This Island Earth, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I like them but I just don't think they quite make the top tier. One of my personal favorites is It! Terror from Beyond Space, but I can't honestly argue that it is one of the best films of the decade -I just like it a lot.

OK, batter up: what are your contenders for best sci fi films of the 50s?

5 Monsters to Love

Seeing as how we are approaching Halloween, it seems only fitting that we take a look at five great monsters. Back in the day (whenever that was) monsters had a certain style. Not like today, with all these serial-killer inspired mad slashers like 'Jason' and "Freddy' running around. If you ask me, those guys come a little too close to reality. No, when I was growing up, monsters were distinctly cool and fun, and sometimes, scary. There's a lot of great monsters to choose from - the whole Universal Studios pantheon has to be in the top echelon - but for today I'll focus on five of my personal "monsters to love".

1. Frankenstein's Monster (as portrayed by Boris Karloff). I guess this is the monster every kid wished was his best friend. Despite his appearance - and occasional murderous fits - we could tell that he was a tortured soul, loved by none, misunderstood by all. Karloff imbued the Monster with real emotions; watch the scene in Frankenstein where he accidentally drowns the little girl. The Monster is absolutely horrified at what has happened. Later (after Karloff had stopped playing the Monster) in movies like Ghost of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, The Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman, and House of Dracula , he came across as almost a robot, displaying little expression. But Karloff's classic version certainly inspired such later creations as the Hulk. The Frankenstein Monster was the original 'misunderstood' anti-hero.






2. King Kong (1933). After many years of seeing this classic film in a badly cut version on TV, I got to see the original cut a few years ago on the latest DVD release. It was a shocker: I had never known how incredibly vicious and brutal Kong was! TV censors had cut out many scenes of 'bad behavior' by the giant ape. I had no idea, for example, that he actually ate some people! My view of Kong changed quite a bit - I still felt sorry for the beast, but he really did need to be put down!Regardless of my change in attitude, seeing Kong still sends a shiver of excitement down my spine.







3. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (three films from 1954 to 1955 ). The Gill Man - aquatic missing link! The last of the Universal Horror stars. The Creature just has such a great look - I'm still amazed that such a complicated suit could have been built back in the 50s! Not only that, but it works just fine underwater too. The primary appeal of the Creature for me is visual - I just can't take my eyes off of him when I see him. The fact that the gills on the side of his head moved was awful cool too! I never felt like he had much of a personality, although the idea that he was the last of his species did make me feel some pity for the poor thing. But honestly, all I really wanted was to see him throwing guys around and beating the crap out of them! And that was one thing the Creature did very well.












4. The Thing from Another World (1951). A marauding alien plant-man vs. heroic American joes! This is a great sci fi film, probably one of the very best produced in the 1950s. Although we see very little of the actual "Thing", his presence looms over the film in every scene. The sense of fear and paranoia builds with every minute. Our heroes are confined to their arctic base, trapped with the Thing. One of the most disturbing scenes involves the discovery of seedlings in the greenhouse. Again, the Thing is not directly seen but his menace is felt. When we finally get a real look at the alien, he himself is not so horrific, but by then the fear has grown so strong it makes him seem more frightening. I like the John Carpenter remake too, but the monster in the original has a lot more personality.

A very similar film from 1958 was It! The Terror from Beyond Space, which featured a spaceship crew threatened by a stowaway alien monster. Although an entertaining film, The Thing is definitely the better made of the two. It! is now best remembered by many as being one of the influences on the 1979 film, Alien.





5.Count Orlok from Nosferatu (1922). An odd choice I suppose, but this silent-era vampire really scared the heck out of me! I recall seeing this movie -which for some reason, was being shown on the local PBS station! - at a sleep-over at my friend Pam's house. Why two 10 year olds would think it was a good thing to spend the day looking at the Time-Life Encyclopedia of the Unexplained, and then stay up late and watch a silent vampire movie is beyond me. But we did, and when creepy Count Orlok started rising from his coffin, every sound outside became a 19th century european ghoul about to get us! The name of the actor who played Orlok was supposedly Max Schreck -"schreck" in German means "fear". I can say unequivocally that he earned that name. Certainly the most frightening vampire I ever saw.