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THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1950 and 1959 stands as a turning point in the history of cinema. While Hollywood continued to churn out a multitude of movies in every genre, this was the decade when science fiction took center stage. Whereas the 1940s gave birth to the film noir detectives and femme fatales that defined that decade, the 1950s spawned atomic nightmares and invaders from space that were fanciful (if not tame) stand-ins for the Cold War, nuclear bombs and Communist witch hunts that pervaded real life. Though considered quaint by today's standards, some of the films of this decade hold their own very well, both as social commentary and as entertainment.

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Run your cursor over any of the images to access info about that movie and the year it was made.

 Radar Men From the Moon 1952 Earth vs the Flying Saucers 1956 Earth vs the Flying Saucers 1956 Earth vs the Flying Saucers 1956 Queen of Outer Space 1958 Queen of Outer Space 1958 The Thing 1951 Destination Moon 1950 The Beast From 20000 Fathoms Twenty Million Miles to Earth 1957 Monster That Challenged the World 1957 Monster That Challenged the World 1957 Monster That Challenged the World 1957 The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 Forbidden Planet 1956 The Giant Behemoth 1959 20000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954 War of the Worlds 1953 It Conquered the World 1956 This Island Earth 1955 This Island Earth 1955 Plan 9 from Outer Space 1958 Plan 9 from Outer Space 1958 Creature From the Black Lagoon 1954

The images here represent only a small selection of the dozens of films released in this decade.


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-Mutants, monsters and martians-

The importance of the sci-fi films of the fifties - a personal view

Movies, like any good art form, are a reflection of their time. While a movie can be said to be "timeless", this I feel refers more to the fact that audiences throughout the years have found the film not only something they enjoy, but also something they can relate to, even if the subject matter is not particularly relevent to them. For instance, westerns as a genre continue to excite filmgoers although we, as a nation, stopped packing six-shooters long ago (West Virginia, notwithstanding). In my mind, no genre of film has ever exemplified this better than the science fiction film. While the concepts may be (if you'll pardon the pun) alien to us, the best science fiction films still reflect the attitudes and culture of the times they were made. The "sci-fi" thrillers of the 1950s are some of the most interesting, fun and downright strange examples of films that reflected their time.

Why? Well, anyone who grew up in the fifties could tell you that the order of the day was paranoia. This was the decade which gave us the Red Scare, "Duck and Cover" and Joe McCarthy. It was A-Bombs for breakfast, fallout for lunch and radiation for dinner. It was at this time that Roswell, New Mexico may, or may not have been the site of our first official contact with extraterrestrials. Sputnik circled over our heads, spewing evil Commie Death-Rays (or so some would have you believe!)

And it was in this atmosphere in America that we saw some of the most terrifying (OK, for their time, it was terrifying), thrilling, thought-provoking, and weird films ever to fill the drive-ins and movie houses. Whether the giant bugs and mutant lizards were an escape from the real life threat of nuclear war or merely a fun night out with your girl, these films fill an important role in the history of cinema. I feel that no decade or genre of film has ever made the impression on us that these films did during their heyday. You can argue that their have been better films made than some of these (OK, the fifties also gave us Ed Wood) but collectively, these films may be long remembered by you and your children than all the Oscar winners in the world. After all, do I remember who the English Patient was? No, but I remember who comes from the Black Lagoon!


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