As the early 60s were morphing into the mid 60s, sci-fi offerings were no more numerous. '63 was a mix of low-budget quirkiness and better fare. Some of the old tropes get a retread and the Nazis make a surprising come-back.
Reptilicus -- Another Danish-American production, essentially Danish Tourism Board's version of Godzilla.
Day of the Triffids -- A British version of the classic apocalyptic invasion story, but with iconic walking man-eating plants.
Mantango: Attack of the Mushroom People -- Ishiro Honda's thoughtful tale of seven castaways who one-by-one start turning into giant mushrooms. Only one of them escapes.
The Slime People -- Low-budget invasion tale in which creatures from within the earth take over Los Angeles. Trapped within the invisible dome is a plucky band of survivors.
The Day Mars Invaded Earth -- Low-budget mix of Angry Red Planet and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Energy beings from Mars replace a scientist and his family.
X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes -- One of Roger Corman's best films. A doctor invents a drug that lets him see through objects. He goes too far and sees and is terrified at what he sees.
Madmen of Mandoras -- Quirky low-budget story of nazis hiding in a tiny South American country who have kept Hitler's head alive since 1945, and plan to take over the world.
The Yesterday Machine -- Another low-low-budgtet story about nazis. This time, a nazi scientist has invented a time machine so the Nazis can win WWII.
4 comments:
Love your blog. By the way, there's a show that still runs today that started in 1963 called Doctor Who.
I'd really recommend the British comedy "The Mouse on the Moon" for consideration for review. In addition to its steampunk science look, it's an interesting contrast with the other Verne trips to the moon style movies. Really kind of mildly amusing, but plenty of Cold War nonsense. Peter Sellers refused to do this remake, but it really works for me.
I've been searching for years for an early classic sci-fi where men land on a planet and find that everything is like a small town on earth (beautiful trees, parks, 50's era) and each one of the men sees their own home but no one is around until the aliens reveal everything. If you know this film, email me at "therayman1@gmail.com"
Sounds like an episode in The Martian Chronicles television series (1980), from a Ray Bradbury short story.
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