Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

[Kepler]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

Nope-Fess Parker is the supposed mental patient. Nimoy is in a military uniform and has only a couple of words as he passes a report to someone. Watch carefully next time-it is a very short cameo.

Huh. Totally missed it, I will definitely watch for it next time.

BTW, I second Pio's (I think?) nomination of it as simply a well made movie. Despite the monsters it's really a suspense / psychological thriller, and I have always maintained it has one of the best slow burn build ups ever done.

[Kepler]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

I'm repeating my post from the other thread. Why? Are you kidding?!

Not only have I never seen "The Crawling Eye," I've never heard of it. I blame my parents.

You may have heard of it as "The Trollenberg Terror." I think that's what it was called in the theaters, while TCE was what it was called in Drive-Ins.

I agree with the Doctor -- the build-up is better than the pay off. That's true of a lot of the Brit B&W scary movies.

For the young-ins, here are the ladies mentioned in the posts below:

Yvette Vickers:

*****http://www.hotgossip.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Yvette-Vickers.jpg******

Joan Weldon

*****http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--lItIZsZn08/T16g8opUHTI/AAAAAAAAMCQ/1t2hlEbcvJo/s400/Joan%2BWeldon%2B%2526%2BJames%2BArness%2Bin%2BThem %2528bang%2529%2B%25281954%2529.jpg******

Margaret Sheridan (looks much mousier and IMHO cuter in "The Thing," but I couldn't find a good photo)

*****http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Margaret_Sheridan.jpg******

Joan Taylor (yes, I would say the Doctor has a type...)

*****http://content7.flixster.com/photo/92/45/24/9245241_ori.jpg******

Martine Beswick

*****http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8H0aQPKFvOw/Rufl0z1NgqI/AAAAAAAABic/tLsMpE2ZkGA/s320/Martine+Beswick+Thunderball+28.JPG******

And my personal favorite,

Venetia Stevenson

*****http://images.tvrage.com/people/3/7293.jpg******

Sheridan in particular in addition to her beauty was also a legitimately good actress.

This has been another episode of, When Women Were Women. (No silicone was expended during the making of this picture.)

[Kepler]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

A few more lovely ladies of 50's sci fi:

Anne Francis from "Forbidden Planet" (she's the one on the right):

*****http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lco0lsHn6i1qz86d0o1_400.png******

Dana Wynter from "Body Snatchers":

*****http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_lightbox/hash/20/ce/20ceb08efc819157ad57c0a51777545c.jpg******

Mala Powers from "The Colossus of New York":

*****http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OQmEa5OKyOI/RuqxNbc-dLI/AAAAAAAAAF0/YsbXP4a8KcI/s400/MalaPowers06.jpg******

Kathleen Hughes being checked out by Barbara Rush in "It Came from Outer Space":

*****http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4uwevts8b1qc8b0ao1_500.jpg******

[Old Pio]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

Another sci-fi babe was Faith Domergue, who starred in something called "The Cult of the Cobra." I don't have a picture of her and couldn't post it if I did, since I don't know how. All I recall was she would occasionally transform herself into a Cobra and slither off into the sunset.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

Yvette Vickers:

*****http://www.hotgossip.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Yvette-Vickers.jpg******

Anne Francis from "Forbidden Planet" (she's the one on the right):

*****http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lco0lsHn6i1qz86d0o1_400.png******

Martine Beswick

*****http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8H0aQPKFvOw/Rufl0z1NgqI/AAAAAAAABic/tLsMpE2ZkGA/s320/Martine+Beswick+Thunderball+28.JPG******

And my personal favorite,

Venetia Stevenson

*****http://images.tvrage.com/people/3/7293.jpg******

Sheridan in particular in addition to her beauty was also a legitimately good actress.

This has been another episode of, When Women Were Women. (No silicone was expended during the making of this picture.)

Mmmm...

Aside: How about The Blob for old school B-movie cheese?

[The Rube]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

The original Godzilla (1954) has to be near the top of my list. They even somehow got Raymond Burr to appear in the 1956 US version (Godzilla, King of the Monsters, which, in IMDB, appears to have the same cast as the original except for him). That's the prototype for all the "nuclear accident transforms benign creature into terrible monster" genre.

At the very top of the list, so good that it's even on my list for one of the best movies of all time, open competition, is The Day the Earth Stood Still. The combination of realism and idealism is deftly handled, and the special effects are almost non-existent yet the story is so compelling, and the titular event is so masterfully staged. I still remember "Gort: Klaatu barada nicto" quite vividly (having watched it several times). It's a bare-bones archetypal story, if you've never seen it, you definitely should.

DrD already mentioned Creature from the Black Lagoon. If no one yet has mentioned Them (with an appearance by James Arness) that definitely deserves to be on the list.

and who can forget The Blob, with Steve McQueen no less!



Forbidden Planet received raves in some quarters, being based on The Tempest and all, but I never could get much into it, it was a bit, um, plodding, for my taste (if you've seen the movie you know I'm making a pun here )

Gojira. Awesome.

Lagoon and The Day are great, also.

[joecct]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

Cape Canaveral Monsters. A teenage horror flick.

[DrDemento]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

Huh. Totally missed it, I will definitely watch for it next time.

BTW, I second Pio's (I think?) nomination of it as simply a well made movie. Despite the monsters it's really a suspense / psychological thriller, and I have always maintained it has one of the best slow burn build ups ever done.

It is always great when you are not introduced to the monster too early. And the scene when they put a little formaldehyde under the little girl's nose and her reaction to it just is frightening.

[DrDemento]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

A few more lovely ladies of 50's sci fi:

Anne Francis from "Forbidden Planet" (she's the one on the right):

*****http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lco0lsHn6i1qz86d0o1_400.png******


Dana Wynter from "Body Snatchers":

*****http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_lightbox/hash/20/ce/20ceb08efc819157ad57c0a51777545c.jpg******

Mala Powers from "The Colossus of New York":

*****http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OQmEa5OKyOI/RuqxNbc-dLI/AAAAAAAAAF0/YsbXP4a8KcI/s400/MalaPowers06.jpg******

Kathleen Hughes being checked out by Barbara Rush in "It Came from Outer Space":

*****http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4uwevts8b1qc8b0ao1_500.jpg******

Again many thanks-Dana Wynter has the distinction of being in another of my all time favorite movies (not sci fi though). She plays a hot number who is taken as a prisoner by Burt Lancaster early in "The Crimson Pirate". The scene in Body Snatchers where Kevin McCarthy kisses her after she had unintentionally fallen asleep in the cave and he realizes that she is now one of the alien pod replicants-oh baby is that spooky!!
The others wer not on my hottie list-although I really should have reconsidered Anne francis when she was older and played Honey West on TV.

[Kepler]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

Another sci-fi babe was Faith Domergue, who starred in something called "The Cult of the Cobra." I don't have a picture of her and couldn't post it if I did, since I don't know how. All I recall was she would occasionally transform herself into a Cobra and slither off into the sunset.

The lovely Faith Domergue, from "This Island Earth."

*****http://www.bing.com/th?id=AHt5qZ7VMbw5h6w306x408&bn=SANGAM&pid=13.1******

[FreshFish]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

There's a movie so awful it's inadvertantly funny. Can't quite recall the title. Some lady with a disembodied head on a table is angry about her state and wants to destroy the man and lab who made her that way. There's nothing below the head that can power air through her vocal cords but that doesn't stop her, she talks just fine anyway. Somehow through her talking she is able to convince someone else to do stuff she wants done, and he destroys the lab, final scene is the head laughing maniacally as the building burns around her.

[Kepler]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

There's a movie so awful it's inadvertantly funny. Can't quite recall the title. Some lady with a disembodied head on a table is angry about her state and wants to destroy the man and lab who made her that way. There's nothing below the head that can power air through her vocal cords but that doesn't stop her, she talks just fine anyway. Somehow through her talking she is able to convince someone else to do stuff she wants done, and he destroys the lab, final scene is the head laughing maniacally as the building burns around her.

There are several "disembodied head" movies just like this, but the one you mean is

The Brain that Wouldn't Die:

*****http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_giVVXK6p2Zo/TPMNR9HTLzI/AAAAAAAAAFA/UJOxWhJqoHU/s1600/braindie_shot2l.jpg******

Also great is:

The Man without a Body:

*****http://www.coulouris.net/gc_archive/stills/ManwithoutaBody-pp.JPG******

There are also a bunch of "head in a box" movies from the 50's. The usual rule is if the head is male it's evil and trying to take over the world, and if the head is female then it's the mad scientist's girlfriend and he's trying to find a hot young body to attach it to (which is a good excuse for scenes of picking up floozies at the local bar).

[FreshFish]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

the one you mean is

The Brain that Wouldn't Die:

*****http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_giVVXK6p2Zo/TPMNR9HTLzI/AAAAAAAAAFA/UJOxWhJqoHU/s1600/braindie_shot2l.jpg******

Yes, that is the one. When they pan back you can see that the head is on a wheeled cart with nothing underneath that could pump air through vocal cords to allow her to speak.

[Kepler]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

Another very similar concept is the Curt Siodmak story "Donovan's Brain," which has been done either as a radio play, a teleplay, or a movie about a million times. It's a great story; one of the foundational science fiction books.

"He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts."

[joecct]

Re: Favorite 1950's SciFi movies

There's a movie so awful it's inadvertantly funny. Can't quite recall the title. Some lady with a disembodied head on a table is angry about her state and wants to destroy the man and lab who made her that way. There's nothing below the head that can power air through her vocal cords but that doesn't stop her, she talks just fine anyway. Somehow through her talking she is able to convince someone else to do stuff she wants done, and he destroys the lab, final scene is the head laughing maniacally as the building burns around her.

I thought you meant this one:



But I think Kepler nailed it.