Video countdown to the highest rated science fiction movies of the 1950s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgduDNbuZf0
My top 5:
1. The Fly (1958) 10/10
2. The Thing from Another World (1951) 9/10
3. Forbidden Planet (1956) 9/10
4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 8.5/10
5. Tarantula (1955) 8.5/10
Need to see more sci-fi films of the 1950's.
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http://67.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm56tvJqLq1qb9pa3o1_500.gif
They are some of my favorites too. Good to see another fan of Tarantula, I prefer it to that other giant insect movie - Them!
shareSteve
Bravo!
Probably your best so far.
What I noticed here is what great posters. They really are fun to look through. My favorite is Tarantula. The girl in her nightgown writhing in the fangs of the spider. Great image even if it is not in the movie.
On Billing. On these posters, with one exception, everyone is billed below the title and the title is below the monster and the action or what have you. The one exception I noticed is Brian Donlevy getting billed above the title in Quartermass II. Sometimes the stars are not even named. On most they are down at the bottom, sometimes in print so small I needed a magnifying glass to make them out. Just compare these posters, let's say, to Lana Turner's posters and note how the image and/or name of the stars on hers dominate the poster, usually above the title.
Basically I agree with your list, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't quibble. I would put Forbidden Planet in the top spot, and drop The Day the Earth Stood Still to second place. I also would rate Destination Moon quite a bit higher. I was surprised at how much I like its low-kay, realistic take on space travel way back in 1950.
One thing about The Day the Earth Stood Still. A fine movie, but I've become troubled by its elitism. It seems its answer to war and turmoil is turning over power to an elite. But I think elites are usually behind the wars and aggressions. In the movie, of course, the elite is supermen from outer space. But us Earthlings really don't have that option.
Hi John thanks for the comment. Glad you liked the video. As a huge sci-fi fan I had a lot of fun putting this together. I can't decide which 50s SF movie I like the most, some days it's Day the Earth Stood Still, others it's Forbidden Planet, The Thing or George Pal's War of the Worlds.
Yeah I remember way back on my movie forum we used to discuss Klaatu's mission and smirked at how the 'peaceful galactic planets' were threatening Earth with 'total obliteration' if humans didn't conform.
I see Bob's billing mania still has a hold on you. It is a fascinating subject. :)
Fantastic list. Love them all. These movies were so atmospheric. They really took you to another place. Something sorely missing from most of today's modern movies.
shareThis is, of course, a compilation of various ratings (which is probably the only fair way to do such things).
There's a number of stinkers (The Mysterians *). On the other hand, Not of This Earth and I Married a Monster from Outer Space are genuinely original films, and deserve a higher position. Good ideas generally work, even when your budget is next to nothing.
* Someone made a joke about the giant alien robot being the result of Big Bird having been struck by a mysterious ray.