tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1027241779371329862012-02-02T01:22:22.425-05:00A personal journey through Sci-fi movies of the 1950s, 60s and beyondNightowlnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-61094407110009752892012-01-30T20:30:00.000-05:002012-01-30T20:30:00.759-05:00

Universal cranked out yet another sequel in 1942. Ghost of Frankenstein (GoF) picks up the story where the third movie left off. The monster and Ygor somehow survived and search out a second son of Henry. This fourth movie starred Lon Cheney Jr. as the monster, and Bela Lugosi again as Ygor. Cedric Hardwicke plays Ludwig Frankenstein. Erle Kenton directs, as he would the sixth movie in the

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Universal Pictures went to the well again, releasing in 1939 a third installment in their popular Frankenstein series. Son of Frankenstein (SoF). The monster is the only character carried over from the previous film. He is played by Boris Karloff, for the last time. Basil Rathbone stars as Wolf von Frankenstein, son of Henry and Elizabeth from the previous movies. Like the second film, SoF

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Universal Pictures followed up their highly successful Frankenstien with what has to be one of the best sequels out of Hollywood. James Whale's Bride of Frankenstein (BoF) had many factors contributing to its success. For some of those, see the Notes section below. It is a bigger, richer tale. Two key cast members reprised their roles. Colin Clive again played the obsessed and tormented Henry

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Universal Studios made themselves famous for "horror" films in the 1930s. Following the success of their Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, Universal put out a variation on Mary Shelley's story that would become hugely influential for decades. Universal's Frankenstein. Much has already been written about this film, so this review will not attempt to cover everything. John Whale's Frankenstein was

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In the early 1900s, the moving pictures industry becoming a big-money market. Novelty "nickelodeon" content was giving way to full-reel stories. Thomas Edison was one of the pioneers in the industry. In 1910, his studio released many such feature films. One was an adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" -- the first film based on her novel. Edison's Frankenstein was not a huge success,

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Before delving into the sci-fi films of the 70s, it seemed like a good idea to backtrack a bit to set the stage. The first sci-fi film of 1970 was Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. It is actually one of the last of a long series of films which make up a sort of Frankenstein franchise. To help give this first film of 1970 some context, it seemed prudent to go back and have a FrankeFEST to run

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It was an interesting coincidence that this film journey was wrapping the 1960s, right around NewYears. Since it is customary to do "retrospectives" at year-end, this seemed like a good time to look back over the sci-fi films of the 1960s and pick some famous and favorites. Which ten sci-fi movies of the 1960s deserve a Golden Rocket Award? Depends on who you ask, I suppose. There were

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Okay. I have to admit that I have been avoiding this film. Released in 1964, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (SCCM) was beyond "bad." SCCM often ranks high on "worst film ever" listings. However, Christmas was coming just as the films of 1969 were wrapping up. And, starting the new series, "FrankenFEST" on Christmas, just didn't seem right. At least SCCM would be date-appropriate, so in the

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-80988636716513642592011-12-20T20:09:00.000-05:002011-12-20T20:09:00.236-05:00

A great many classic science fiction films had Cold War themes at their roots. There were also many non-sci-fi films in the same era that sprang from the same roots. Listed below is a collection of those films that voiced Atomic Angst in a more direct, less allegorical, way. Devotees of old sci-fi will be able to recognize similar plot themes and tropes.  Below is a list of AtomicAngst

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The dreams of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and countless sci-fi writers, was realized in July, 1969. The wide-eyed fascination of Destination Moon ('50) became reality. 1969 was not, however, an outstanding year for sci-fi. For the most part, it was populated with old-formula, remakes and foreign imports. The notable exception being Marooned: a bigger budget production about an Apollo mission.

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This French film of late 1969 was released in other European countries, but never in english. Hibernatus is listed as a comedy sci-fi. It is a light comedy in the Rip Van Winkle motif, mostly built around comedy star Louis de Funès. It is "lite" as far as science fiction goes, involving only a touch of cryogenics talk and a couple mentions of hibernating astronauts. Being scant on science has

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Closing out the sci-fi films of 1969, is an obscure Japanese-western production in vogue in the late 60s. Originally released in Japan in late 1968 as "Konchu Daisenso" (Insect War), the film was dubbed into english and released in America in late 1969, as either War of the Insects (hence the poster) or as Genocide. It's dark and complicated plot hinges on a mad scientist breeding killer

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This bit of digression is actually pretty apt, following Latutude Zero. Released originally as "Kaitei daisensô" in 1966, it too, features a largely western cast, mostly speaking english, but dubbed into Japanese. It also featured amazing submarines and an undersea city. When released internationally, the film had many titles, including: Water Cyborg, UX Bluthund, I Mostri Della Città

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Toho Studios tried another "international" sci-fi film starring American actors and Japanese Toho regulars. Latitude Zero (LZ) was written by an American and starred names like Joseph Cotten and Cesar Romero. It was filmed with the actors speaking English, then reverse dubbed into Japanese for the home market. Several regular Toho folk were in the production, such as director Ishiro Honda (of

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While Republic Pictures' The Red Menace (RM) is in no way a science fiction film, it is surprisingly relevant to many 1950s sci-fi films. It was filmed and released (1949) when fears of communist subterfuge was ramping up. (more on this in the Notes section). Hollywood was criticized for making films that were soft on (if not favoring) communism. Several studios created anti-communist films.

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This is one of those benchmark years in sci-fi. While not a rigid boundary, 1968 marks a sort of watershed in style. In some ways, it marks the end of the Golden Era of 50s sci-fi. Stanley Kubrik's 2001 would change and influence the nature of sci-fi for nearly a decade, until the next big benchmark: Star Wars. 1968 would also be the beginning of the long-running Planet of the Apes series. But,

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"Hard" science fiction was not common, but Marooned proved it was still a viable sub-genre. Given the then-current advances in manned space flight, the story seems less fictional. it is certainly less "fantastic" than stories with aliens or monsters. Marooned was a big-budget "A" production by Columbia. It starred A-level talent such as Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, James

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Producer Harold Goldman started out the mid 60s in sci-fi titles, but shifted into crime dramas. Panic in the City (PIC) is firmly a euro-spy / FBI agent story, but with atomic angst at its core. The title is a bit off, as no one (let alone the city) ever panics. It deals with a secret communist plot to assemble nuclear bombs in major American cities. Howard Duff stars as the federal agent.

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Gerry and Sylvia Anderson created a sci-fi without marionettes in 1969. Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (JFSS), known in the UK as "Doppelganger", was the Anderson's first foray into live actors for a film. The movie used some of the techniques and style the Andersons had refined in their earlier "Supermarionation" productions. The story is of the Twilight Zone, paranormal mindset. The

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The comparatively stable (if anxious) mood of the 50s and early 60s was morphing into the turbulent 60s. The Vietnam War was heating up, as were protests against it. The middle east was a hot bed, with the pivotal '67 War. It was a hippy high point, the "Summer of Love". NASA launched probes to the moon and Venus as well as Apollo 4 -- an unmanned test of the whole Saturn V and Command Module

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Second City Productions put out The Monitors (M), a dark comedy somewhat satirizing the Cold War culture. In this, M is like America's answer to the recently released British dark comedy satire, The Bed Sitting Room. M was filmed in and around Chicago, naturally. It featured several contemporary comedy actors and cameo appearances by people only notable in the late 60s. The story is one of a

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Paramount Studios put out a Cold War thriller very early in the Cold War era. Despite the name, The Atomic City (TAC), things atomic were background. There are no radiation special effects or explosions beyond a stock footage blast in the opening narration. At its heart, TAC is a spy-crime thriller with nuclear bomb secrets as the MacGuffin. Yet, through all that, atomic anxiety and fear of

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A bizarre member of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre, The Bed-Sitting Room (BSR) is a comedy portrayal of Britain, three (or four) years after a nuclear World War III. The humor is very British, which often doesn't translate well to other cultures. The structure of BSR is very "free form", consisting of strings of vignettes, skits and sight gags. The various characters attempt to carry on some

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Occasionally, readers of this blog will write in, looking for help identifying a movie they remember, but not well enough. Sometimes, their Lost Movie can be identified from their clues. Other times, it remains a mystery. Note to people seeking a Lost Movie: Try to include all the details you can remember, even if they don't seem crucial to the scene you remember. Black and White or Color?

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This 1954 film is a curious sibling to the doom genre film The Bedford Incident ('65). Both feature Richard Widmark commanding a vessel. There's a submarine. Both plots involve searching for some communists with nukes. Both end with a mushroom cloud. Hell and High Water (HHW) is a lesser sibling in some ways, but an early member of the atomic angst genre nonetheless. HHW was a big-scale 20th

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Warner Brothers / Seven Arts produced an A-grade film that defies easy categorization. The Valley of Gwangi (TVG) proved that cowboys are a versatile story component. You can mix them almost anything: dinosaurs, aliens, whatever. The stop-motion animation of the various critters, great and small, was done by the great Ray Harryhausen. While not his last animation, it was his last go at

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Columbia pictures put out yet another atomic doom film in 1965 that fits in well with its two '64 films: Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe. While more tightly focused, The Bedford Incident (TBI) follows the same Atomic Angst. Tensions build between nuclear-armed rivals. A mistake occurs that touches off disaster. In several ways, TBI is a blend of the prior films' elements. Everyone dies. Richard

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MGM produced this odd Japanese-American-Italian hybrid film in 1968. It played in Japan in 1968, America in 1969. The Green Slime was shot in Japan, using western actors speaking english (though often still dubbed). The story was written by one of the writers of the Italian Gamma One quadrilogy. One of the screenwriters was from the Batman TV series.The extensive models and miniatures work was

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A dark companion to the Doom genre, which almost didn't see the light of day, is Peter Watkins' 1965 film, The War Game (TWG). It is a story about a fictional nuclear attack on Britain, particularly focused on communities and citizens in the Kent area. Instead of being told in a more conventional fiction style, like Fail Safe, or The Last War, etc., Watkins created a pseudo-documentary form.

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Tigon Pictures sought to produce a more general-audience film than its usual exploitation and horror fare. The Body Snatchers (TBS) was certainly a milder project, though perhaps too mild. Patterned, in part, along the traditional sci-fi trope of alien abductions and substitutions, that plot line itself is abducted by low-budget James-Bond-esque elements. An uneasy alliance of government,

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It would be easy to dismiss Rocket Attack U.S.A. (RA) as one of those worst-movie-ever films, but that would be too hasty. RA is part of the same Doom genre as Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe, and a product of its time. It was produced, directed and probably written by Barry Mahon. One-man-show productions usually suffer for lack of review, and RA is no exception. Mahon may have aspired to be a

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Tigon Productions seems to have been striving to play in Hammer Studios' market of monster-horror films, but on a shoestring budget. Blood Beast Terror (BBT) is the British title. It was marketed in America as Vampire-Beast Craves Blood. There is a scant amount of sci-fi to the plot, but for the most part BBT is classic (cliche) a horror-monster-crime hybrid. Peter Cushing stars as Inspector

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Curiously, Columbia Pictures ended up with two Brink-Of-War films in 1964. Fail Save (FS) came out 10 months after Columbia's Dr. Strangelove. They're bookends. FS was well directed and well filmed. It had big name actors, such as Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau. It even had some "free" pre-release publicity. Yet, FS did not do well. Unlike the satire, Dr. Strangelove, FS was a serious drama on

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Stanley Kubrick created a masterpiece of Cold War satire in 1964 with Dr. Strangelove (Dr.S). The full title includes the line "…or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb." It stars some big-name actors who live up to their reputations. Peter Sellers, especially, plays three important roles as Colonel Mandrake, President Muffley and Dr. Strangelove. George C. Scott plays General

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1969's sci-fi season started off with a film adaptation of Ray Bradury's 1951 book The Illustrated Man (TIM). The book was more of a collection of short stories with vaguely common theme. Warner Brothers' movie used just three of the stories. The three chosen and developed by writer Harold Kreitsek have a dystopic air in common, which fits neatly into the psyche of many 50s and 60s sci-fi.

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In 1961, the same year as Beast of Yucca Flats,Toho Studios put out a blatantly preachy anti-nuke film titled Sekai daisensô. It was their rendition of On The Beach but with the anti-nukes message unencumbered by subtlety or allegory as in Gorath. Toho Studios president M. Shimisa said, "We of the Toho Company are employing every vestige of our technical skill to present as realistically and

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This is another movie which is often called "the worst movie ever," and perhaps not unrightfully so. The Beast of Yucca Flats (BYF) was Coleman Francis's first screenplay, and his first attempt at directing. The result is too odd to be dismissed as mere amateurish errors. Francis may have tried too hard to put too much "art" into his first film, but lacked the filmmaking experience to succeed.

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This German-Italian co-production was originally released with the title 4...3...2...1...Morte! in Italy and Germany in late '67 . The English-dubbed version played in American as Mission Stardust (MS) in November of '68. Based loosely on the Perry Rhodan stories popular in Europe, MS shares the fate of most books (or TV shows) turned into movies. They're too different for hard-core fans to love,

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Dino De Laurentis' adaptation of Jean-Claude Forest's comic book heroine, Barbarella, makes for bizarre and conflicted sci-fi movie. The film is not especially funny for a comedy, and takes itself too seriously as camp or parody. As a sci-fi, yes, there are space ships, a distant planet and some ray guns. But, as in the original graphic novels, they are mere trappings to what is essentially a

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American International Pictures was not famous for great movies, but Panic In The Year Zero (PYZ) was a pretty good movie. It was highly topical, given that it was released at the frightening height of the Cold War. It starred, and was directed by Ray Milland -- an actor past his peak, but still solid. Frankie Avalon -- before becoming mired in the whole beach party genre, plays his son Rick.

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Classic sci-fi was getting more rare in the late 60s, but it was not dead yet. The Bamboo Saucer (TBS) is solid 50s B sci-fi in many ways. It has a flying saucer, dashing hero, beautiful lady scientist, stock footage of military jets and even a close-call with a meteorite in space. The first half (after the saucer buzzing), amounts to an average spy story with the mysterious saucer as MacGuffin.

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Harold Goldman produced a string of low-budget B sci-fi in the mid 60s. The Destructors (TD) has only a very weak connection to sci-fi, in that In essence, TD is spy/crime story with something sci-fi-ish is the MacGuffin. In this case, a super laser which could be "the ultimate weapon." Such a plot structure had been common in B sci-fi for decades. From the two-color posters, it would seem that

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This movie might seem like a non-sequitur for the present study, but it's not. Bombs Over London (BOL) was as British film, released in 1937 ('39 in USA) which was essentially a spy intrigue film with a sci-fi element as the MacGuffin. This formula was getting more common in the sci-fi of the mid and later 1960s. (see Notes section for more on this). The two 1968 films coming up next in this

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This is a low-budget independent film with a message. The Flight That Disappeared (FTD) amounts to a anti-nuclear moralizing turned into a movie. The writers, Ralph and Judith Hart, and Orville Hampton had a message they wanted to deliver, so they wrapped it in a Twilight Zone style package. FTD is a low-budget film, intended as socio-political preaching more than drive-in fodder. Yet, it is a

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A small production company's effort at science fiction, Mission Mars (MM) is an anachronism. It is a late 50s movie in almost every way, yet shot in 1967, released in the summer of '68. If it weren't for being shot in color, and the groovy electronic keyboard score, MM would be totally at home as a B-movie from the late 50s. The existence of posters tell of at least a limited theatrical release,

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The second of Roger Corman's "Puerto Rico Trilogy," Last Woman On Earth (LWOE) turned out to be the most memorable of the three. It is a member of the "last-man" post-apocalypse sub-genre. It followed, hard on the heels of On The Beach ('59) and The World, The Flesh and The Devil ('59). In some ways, LWOE seems like a writer's variation on the latter. LWOE is sometimes classified as sci-fi, but

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-2895229471653470802011-06-24T21:09:00.001-04:002011-06-24T21:14:46.578-04:00

Around the margins of mid-60s sci-fi was the British TV series, Thunderbirds. The series only ran two seasons, but spawned two feature films, both of which eventually played in America in 1968. While the TV series was popular in the UK, the films did not do well in America. The first film, Thunderbirds Are Go (reviewed in brief in the Notes section) played like an hour-long episode seriously

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-89205754206023460792011-06-20T21:04:00.002-04:002011-06-20T21:10:39.444-04:00

Released the same year (1959) as the grim apocalyptic movie On The Beach, Ranald MacDougall's The World, The Flesh and The Devil (WFD) is also grimly apocalyptic, but not so totally pessimistic. It is also far less remembered. With a cast of just three (Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrer) the story is effectively about loneliness. WFD is sometimes classified as a sci-fi movie. There

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-26794986260098255052011-06-15T20:37:00.001-04:002011-06-15T20:37:00.892-04:00

Billy Wilder's less-famous brother W. Lee, brought us some solid B-grade sci-fi in the 50s. The Omegans was his last project. The lack of a theater poster suggests this film was shot for television. Since W. Lee Wilder gave us some memorable sci-fi in the 50s, The Omegans is included in this collection. Additionally, the film shows up on some lists as a sci-fi, but the connection is tenuous. It

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-32995208242545177352011-06-10T21:49:00.004-04:002011-06-10T21:56:38.938-04:00

Produced just before the Cuban Missile Crisis, This Is Not A Test (TINAT) was spot-on for the angst of its day. It is a mixed bag as a Nuclear Armageddon story. Some genre lists include TINAT as a sci-fi, though there is really no science in the fiction. It does, though, share with many 50s sci-fi, the topic of nuclear disaster. TINAT is an independent film with a strong film noir flavor. It was

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-8503858947598594872011-06-06T20:22:00.002-04:002011-06-06T21:21:33.899-04:00

There weren't many "Hard" science fiction movies, but the genre was still viable, even in the late 60s with all the real space program action. Countdown was Roger Altman's first feature film as director an starred some A-level actors, such as Robert Duvall and James Caan. Warner Brothers put some A-level effort into Countdown, yet it isn't particularly well known. Told in a semi-drama,

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-35849655666896054362011-05-29T22:02:00.004-04:002011-05-29T22:12:11.787-04:00

Doom by atomic bomb lent itself to genre beyond science fiction. Split Second (SS) is a good example of atomic angst set into film noir. It might not be classic noir, but this is tough to define anyhow. As with much film noir, there is a strong crime theme, humanity in its less-than-noble, and a cheapness to life. Three criminals take some random strangers hostage and hide out in a nuclear test

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-63536993757228676902011-05-25T20:38:00.000-04:002011-05-25T20:38:00.119-04:00

Producer George Pal and director Bryon Haskins brought out a different sort of sci-fi story in 1968. The Power strays from traditional concepts of science fiction, venturing more into the paranormal. Yet, it is still listed as a sci-fi. Haskins does tell a complex crime thriller with John Gay's screenplay. The big name cast includes Michael Rennie, George Hamilton, Suzanne Pleshette, Yvonne De

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-38050495973822464082011-05-21T19:48:00.001-04:002011-05-21T19:48:00.028-04:00

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of On The Beach (OTB) as a voice of the Cold War era. Nevill Shute's '57 novel, and Stanley Kramer's '59 film dared to speak the unspeakable lurking in the backs of everyone's minds -- that ever-present gnawing fear that nuclear war could wipe out all of mankind. OTB feature some big name actors: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-46840381164280812822011-05-18T20:30:00.000-04:002011-05-18T20:30:01.102-04:00

A curiosity, as a derivative work of prior derivative works, Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (VPPW) is yet another story cobbled out of cuttings from two earlier films, themselves created out of prior Russian films. Details on that in the Notes section. Added to all the recycled footage was new footage of Mamie van Doren and a bevy of young beauties, playing the women of Venus.This

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-39523442989118881362011-05-14T17:57:00.002-04:002011-05-14T18:01:50.027-04:00

Following the success of Seven Days to Noon Roy Boulting wrote and directed a sequel, of sorts. High Treason (HT) is another of London-in-danger. This time it s non-nuclear sabotage from within. Boulting reprised the role of Superintendent Folland (played by Andre Morell) from the first movie, but he was the only returning character. In HT, he plays second fiddle to Commander Brennan (Liam

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-70292679338736693682011-05-09T20:41:00.001-04:002011-05-09T20:41:00.126-04:00

American International released this curious social-commentary film in May of 1968. Wild in the Streets (WS) has nothing traditionally sci-fi to it. It is included here, because it shows up on some lists as a sci-fi film. WS is a speculative fiction, and paints a dystopic picture of the future. That may be the connection. Watch for Hal Holbrook as Senator Fergus, Shelley Winters as Max's mom and

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-43746703113106319892011-05-05T20:45:00.001-04:002011-05-05T20:45:00.729-04:00

In May of 1954, The Motorola Television Hour presented an episode entitled Atomic Attack (AA) as the last episode of its season. It was a dramatization of a suburban family coping in the aftermath of a nuclear attack on the United States. The teleplay tried to walk a fine line between frightening audiences with the horrors of nuclear war AND reassuring them that they'd be okay if they follow

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-5392499100798227102011-05-01T20:30:00.000-04:002011-05-01T20:30:00.381-04:00

Ted. V. Mikels was a prodigious maker of low-budget films that catered to a lowbrow audience. His Astro Zombies (AZ) is a prime example of that product. It headlined actor Wendell Corey, in what would be his last movie role, and John Caridine. If Kubrik's2001: A Space Odyssey was the high point of 60s sci-fi, AZ is sample of the other end of the curve. The low level camp of 50s and 60s drive-in

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-36787228659096270392011-04-27T20:23:00.002-04:002011-04-27T20:23:00.575-04:00

Sustained fear can lead to paranoia. The Soviets had The Bomb too. Senator McCarthy burst on the scene in 1950, waving his piece of paper purported to have the names of 200 State Department employees who were members of the communist party. In addition to worries about incoming bombers, America began to fear enemy agents inside the country. Many 50s sci-fi films were expressions of this "enemy

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-66078587124116067592011-04-23T20:50:00.001-04:002011-04-23T20:50:00.262-04:00

Like the other big movie of 1968 (Planet of the Apes), vast quantities have already been written about Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. As such, this review will not cover everything. 2001 is a huge milestone in sci-fi. It has a few genuflections to its 50s ancestry, but it is the first of the modern sci-fi epics. In it, you can see the foundations of Star Wars and beyond. Yet, 2001 is as

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-20475814610941902792011-04-19T20:32:00.003-04:002011-04-19T20:32:00.838-04:00

After the autumn of 1949, when the Soviet Union had "The Bomb" too, anxiety grew in the American public. Hometown America was in danger like never before. New York, San Francisco or Chicago, all could become Nagasaki. Mostly to quell the rising public anxiety, the federal government commissioned a series of educational films intended to show the public that there was something they could do.

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-36864478963731546482011-04-15T21:28:00.001-04:002011-04-15T21:28:00.146-04:00

This is, perhaps, the second biggest movie of 60s sci-fi. The biggest is 2001: A Space Odyssey, which set the benchmark for future cinema sci-fi. Planet of the Apes (PoA) would provide sequel fodder for the 70s and beyond, but was, in its first iteration, an A-level grand culmination of 50s sci-fi. PoA had big names: written (mostly) by Rod Serling, and starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall,

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-46458533364635165102011-04-11T20:42:00.002-04:002011-04-11T20:42:00.873-04:00

America (and the West) had a few years of peaceful basking in the victory of WWII. That came to and end in the August of 1949 when the Soviet Union detonated their first A-Bomb. Now, the specter of Hiroshima could come to Western cities. So, it was no coincidence that 1950 was the start of Atomic Angst movies and the start of sci-fi's Golden Era, in which Cold War worries found so many metaphors

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-70979948018754825782011-04-07T20:38:00.001-04:002011-04-07T20:38:00.391-04:00

Nigel Kneale's original story (Quatermass and the Pit) ran as a serialized TV drama in 1959. Hammer Films produced a feature film version of the same story (and the same title) in the UK in 1967. 20th Century Fox marketed the movie in America a year later with the title Five Million Years to Earth (FMYE). This is the third in the Quatermass series. Even though it is a sort of sequel, FMYE is an

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-50041498012072053962011-04-03T20:22:00.003-04:002011-04-03T20:22:00.147-04:00

Having thus far watched over 250 sci-fi movies made from 1950 to 1967, it's clear that Cold War themes did animate a majority of the sci-fi of the 50s and 60s. These themes fall into a few shared categories: armageddon imagined, invasion fear, radiation dangers and spy worries. Science fiction movies certainly gave an artistic expression to these fears, but they were not the only movies doing

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-84843483556865550462011-03-30T20:45:00.001-04:002011-03-30T20:45:05.163-04:00

Mash-ups, imports, remakes and adaptations from (or to) television dominate the sci-fi movies of 1966. Fantastic Voyage is the stand-out big movie of the year. For influence of television increases, both as source material (e.g. Dr. Who movies) and a market for 50s remakes (the many A.I.P./Buchanan movies). Here are the year's movies, in roughly chronological order.Queen of Blood -- Recycled

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-23110691238140767802011-03-26T20:36:00.003-04:002011-03-26T20:36:00.108-04:00

The mid 60s saw many spy movie spoofs. The Ambushers (TA) was Columbia Picturers' contribution. TA was the third in their series of four Matt Helm films, starring Dean Martin. All four were based (very loosely) on novels by Donald Hamilton. TA only barely qualifies as a sci-fi movie, and even then, only because it features a flying saucer as the MacGuffin. As a Bond parody, the Matt Helm movies

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-26438473195349249542011-03-22T20:25:00.001-04:002011-03-22T20:25:00.757-04:00

This low-budget indie production was probably aimed at the television market rather than the usual theatrical release. Television programming is normally outside the scope of this study, but since Night Fright (NF) starred John Agar -- a familiar name in 50s B movie-land -- and since NF follows the 50s idiom for monster-horror-scifi stories, it has earned a spot here. In fact, if the cars had

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-27197974308723315792011-03-18T20:51:00.001-04:002011-03-18T20:51:00.127-04:00

Yet another British import of 1967 was another Gold Star Production, written and directed by Herbert J. Leder (of "It!" fame). The Frozen Dead (TFD), avoids some of the pitfalls of one-man-band projects, but not all. Star Dana Andrews lifts TFD from the sea of B-movie obscurity, though not too high above the waves. The story is a horror / sci-fi hybrid, in the Frankenstein mode, made up from a

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-75470190694167919052011-03-14T20:30:00.001-04:002011-03-14T20:30:00.952-04:00

Even though, It! is listed in some places as a sci-fi, there is really no sci-fi in it. Perhaps the science of archeology is the rationale, but there is little of this. Instead, this low-budget British film is a horror or monster story. Copyright 1966, It! showed in America in '67. Herbert J. Leder is the one-man-band of writer, producer, director. Roddy McDowell stars as the imbalanced assistant

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-58626308396155956362011-03-10T20:25:00.001-05:002011-03-10T20:25:00.307-05:00

Estudios Americas, produced a sort of sequel to Planetary Giants, in 1966. La Planeta de las Mujeres Invasoras, (Planet of the Invading Women) (PIW), is more of a "continuing adventures" than a true sequel. It opened in Mexico in 1966, in the United States in 1967. PIW stars the same four stars from the prior film, playing the same characters: Professor Daniel Wolff, rocket scientist, Sylvia, his

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-75114771561281117332011-03-06T20:16:00.002-05:002011-03-06T20:16:00.287-05:00

This Mexican production is said to have played in the US in 1967. An english-dubbed version of Gigantes planetarios doesn't seem to exist, so perhaps it played in primarily spanish-speaking markets. Planetary Giants (PG) is the first of two sibling films by Director Alfredo B. Crevenna. Apparently patterned after tastes in populist Mexican television, the film's fabric is a mix of serious sci-fi

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-72417524213290926012011-03-02T20:24:00.003-05:002011-03-02T20:24:00.262-05:00

Yet another British import for 1967, was Rocket to the Moon (R2M). While not a big studio production, (Jules Verne Productions did only this one film) R2M is a bigger budget production. It seems patterned after the successful star-sudded, retro-Victorian comedy epics of the mid-60s:: 20th Century Fox's Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines ('65) and Warner Bros.' The Great Race ('65).

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-60610420750295166612011-02-26T20:55:00.002-05:002011-02-26T20:55:00.084-05:00

Embassy Pictures brought American viewers another Amicus sci-fi film from Britain. They Came From Beyond Space (TCBS) was a modest budget film -- not ultra-cheap, but not lavish either. It is yet another installment in the alien-takeover sub-genre. It does carry a distinctly British flavor to its paranoia.Quick Plot SynopsisA "V" shaped formation of meteorites lands in a farm field in Cornwall,

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-68595408601294906032011-02-22T20:40:00.001-05:002011-02-22T20:40:00.534-05:00

Larry Buchanan produced modern remakes of three of American International Pictures' 50s B sci-fi films for A.I. Television. (Hence the VHS cover art in lieu of a theatrical poster.) The third of these remakes, In the year 2889 (2889), is a very close copy of Roger Corman's 1955 cheapy, Day the World Ended. TV movies are out-of-scope, but since it is a remake of a 50s sci-fi, it's worth including.

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-88286073957947555972011-02-18T21:48:00.003-05:002011-02-18T21:56:21.584-05:00

David L.Hewitt produced and directed this low low budget remix of the usual time travel ideas. That this film, Journey to the Center of Time, (JCT) bears more than a passing resemblance to The Time Travelers ('64) is no coincidence. Hewitt co-wrote the latter and directed the former. There is more on the parallels in the Notes section. Production values are low, as JCT tells yet another tale of

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-30440717363644588052011-02-13T20:58:00.001-05:002011-02-13T20:58:00.454-05:00

This study looks at sci-fi movies which had a theatrical release, even if very small. It seems that Mars Needs Women (MNW) was made for television only. It's included here, "granfathered" in, on the coat tails of Larry Buchanan's work remaking 50s B sci-fi for television. Where his other projects were 50s sci-fi remade for the 60s, MNW was NOT a remake, but a new product by Buchanan himself. He

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-49854969352681442612011-02-10T20:52:00.000-05:002011-02-10T20:52:00.061-05:00

Universal produced several comedies starring Don Knotts, who wanted film work beyond his famous role as Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show.TV series. The Reluctant Astronaut (RA) isn't the stronger of Knott's films. Given the progress of NASA's Gemini program by the mid-60s, men traveling into space was no longer fiction. RA is only barely a science fiction story -- though often categorized as

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-10923644313537758622011-02-06T20:19:00.002-05:002011-02-06T20:19:00.101-05:00

This movie may only barely qualify for this study. Imdb lists it as having shown in New York in late 1965. Alphaville" une etrange aventure de Lemmy Caution is the original French title, but is sometimes called Dick Tracy on Mars, though probably never released as that. Written (sort of) and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, Alphaville is said to be a parody of many genre -- sci-fi, detective stories,

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-69145771172277403022011-02-02T21:34:00.002-05:002011-02-02T21:34:00.388-05:00

This indie production was a joint, American, Canadian and British project. The Vulture was written, directed and produced by the same man, Lawrence Huntington. Normally, this one-man-band-ism spells doom for a film, but Huntington was an experienced producer, directed many films before The Vulture and written several of those too. His movie played second-feature to The Deadly Bees. They gist of

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Continuing 1967's trend towards British imports, Embassy Pictures released Amicus Productions' The Terrornauts in America. Amicus also gave us the two Daleks movies the year before. This low-budget film "stars" actors little known in the US. It has mid-60s B production values (better than 50s B films), but carries many traditional 50s themes. The story starts with an early SETI project, but

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-33083836000708371922011-01-25T21:14:00.004-05:002011-01-25T21:14:00.164-05:00

A second film by Planet Productions, Night of the Big Heat (NBH) is the sister film to Planet's previous release, Island of Terror. NBH ran in the US as the lower half of a double bill with Godzilla's Revenge.. Directed by Terrence Fisher and staring names like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, it wasn't the usual fluffy B feature. Based on a 1959 sci-fi novel by John Lymington, the whole of NBH

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-8196209660928675262011-01-21T20:01:00.001-05:002011-01-21T20:01:00.317-05:00

MGM released the fourth in the Gamma One quadrilogy in early 1967. Snow Devils (SD) is considered the weakest of the four, but perhaps not by much. SD may have gone direct to TV without a theatrical release. Hence the Italian poster. This fourth installment of the Gamma One series re-used some of the characters from the prior films, but was not a sequel in the usual sense. Its plot about alien

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-73668461104602566472011-01-17T21:30:00.001-05:002011-01-17T21:30:00.113-05:00

The lesser half of a double bill, The Projected Man (TPM) is a small studio British production. It ran with Island of Terror. The screenplay is mostly a variant retelling of the basic The Fly story with a few other older movies' tropes woven in too. (More on that in the Notes section)Quick Plot SynopsisPaul Steiner is trying to perfect his matter transporter device, but his live experiments (

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-71320054280204759812011-01-13T21:57:00.005-05:002011-01-13T22:09:03.613-05:00

Released in its native Britain in 1966, Island of Terror (IOT) made its American debut in early 1967 as half of a double bill with The Projected Man. The theater poster (below, left) suggests that IOT was the "B" feature, but based on the production quality and some personal recollections, IOT was the lead film. Though an independent production (by Planet Productions), IOT has a Hammer Films feel

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-59093934919655483672011-01-07T22:31:00.002-05:002011-08-28T18:00:18.051-04:00

The tide of sci-fi offerings continued to rise in the midpoint of the decade. While most were low-budget efforts (very much in the 50s idiom), there were many re-releases of foreign sci-fi. Audiences were eager for more sci-fi. The previous market driver, (the Drive-In theater) was losing steam, but television stepping up. The Human Duplicators Richard "Jaws" Kiel stars as Kolos, an alien sent

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-37430073092463686252011-01-05T21:57:00.000-05:002011-01-05T21:57:00.871-05:00

Arch Oboler, who gave us Five ('51) and The Twonky ('53) had been away from the big screen for many years. He returned in force, with The Bubble (aka, The Zoo, Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth). Oboler wrote, produced and directed this sci-fi story mostly (it would seem) as a promotional vehicle for "Space-Vision" -- a new, cheaper, method of making 3D movies. The story itself is rather scant.

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-65697274020051481032011-01-01T21:41:00.001-05:002011-01-01T21:41:00.259-05:00

Universal released a big budget adaptation of Ray Bradury's novel in late 1966. Farhenheit 451 (F451) is a reasonable adaptation of Bradury's 1953 novel. Oskar Werner plays the protagonist, Guy Montag. Julie Christie plays both Clarisse and Linda Montag. Director Fancois Truffaut provides a very visual film with some artistic input of his own into the story.Quick Plot SynopsisIn an undefined

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-58549736992066161942010-12-28T21:48:00.000-05:002010-12-28T21:48:00.084-05:00

Just to keep sci-fi from being too serious, 20th Century Fox released, Way...Way Out (WWO) in late 1966 as a spoof on the space program and the Cold War. It stars Jerry Lewis as the reluctant astronaut, Peter Mattamore. He and Connie Stevens are sent to the moon as a hastily arranged married couple to staff America's lunar weather base. Anita Ekberg and Dick Shawn play the Russians. Quick Plot

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-33181196372580784202010-12-24T20:36:00.001-05:002010-12-24T20:36:00.103-05:00

American International commissioned Larry Buchanan to remake several of their older movies as part of a TV movie package. The first was The Eye Creatures ('65) which was a remake of Invasion of the Saucer Men ('57). Zontar: The Thing from Venus was a similarly close remade of It Conquered the World ('56). As a purely TV movies (no theatrical posters), it would fall outside the scope of this

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-53187582743323272892010-12-20T20:06:00.001-05:002010-12-20T20:06:00.301-05:00

Harold Goldman and his United Pictures team put out a third low-budget film in 1966. Destination Inner Space (DIS) was more sci-fi than Dimension 5, but not much as Cyborg 2087. Arthur C. Pierce again wrote the screenplay, but this time with more quick recycling than originality. DIS may have had a modest theatrical release, based on the poster, but has all the hallmarks of a made-for-TV

Nightowlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102724177937132986.post-57796343675489670032010-12-16T21:16:00.001-05:002010-12-16T21:16:00.493-05:00

The team that brought you Cyborg 2087 produced another time travel story. Dimension 5 (D5) is only marginally a sci-fi film. It amounts to a commie plot spy thriller with a time-shifting belt as one of his gadgets. Jeffrey Hunter stars as the agent with the almost-prescient name of Justin Power. Other recognizable second-teir actors include Harold Sakata ("Odd Job" in Goldfinger), Robert Ito (

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There were a burst of time travel stories in the mid-60s. Cyborg 2087 added to the trope of an agent from the future traveling to the past to prevent some event which causes mayhem in the future. Michael Renne (Klaatu in Day the Earth Stood Still) plays the cyborg named Garth. Wendell Corey, who played the inarticulate admiral in Women of the Prehistoric Planet, plays the inarticulate sheriff

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The style of cheap 50s B sci-fi was gone yet. 1966 saw the release of The Navy vs. The Night Monsters (NvNM). Essentially, NvNM a recasting of the popular people-trapped-with-a-monster trope. Instead of an arctic base, such as The Thing ('51) or in a rocket It! Terror From Beyond Space ('58), NvNM is set on a tropical island. Mamie Van Doren stars, but not in her usual way. Anthony Eisley plays

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Fairly rare in its class, Fantastic Voyage (FV) is a big-budget, A-grade sci-fi film shot by a major studio, that was not an adaptation of an old classic. 20th Century Fox produced a modern, forward-looking story in the also-rare biology category. Fox used upper-teir actors such as Stephen Boyd, Edmond O'Brien and the soon-to-be-phenom, Rachel Welch. The trope of shrinking people was not new in

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Following up on the success of the first Dr. Who feature film. AARU productions put out a second. Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 (DIE) was, like the first movie, a big screen remake of six episodes from the small screen's second season. Peter Cushion again plays the Doctor, but this time with a bit more zeal. Roberta Tovey plays young Susan again. The rest of the cast are new. In several ways, this

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The "small screen"' once again provided material for the "big screen". Dr. Who and the Daleks (DWD) was a feature film recreation of a series of Dr. Who episodes airing in late 1963 and early 1964. The film brought the British Dr. Who phenomenon to America, though without the pre-existing viewer fan base. Peter Cushing has marquee power.Quick Plot SynopsisDr. Who and his two granddaughters, Susan

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The third film in the Gamma One quadrilogy was titled Il pianeta errante (The Errant Planet) in its original Italian. The english dubbed release in America was retitled War Between the Planets (WBP). Director Magheriti's economizing continued. Sets, costumes and props were reused from the first two movies, but the cast was different. WBP is yet another rouge-planet film, though not a strong one.

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MGM gave the second installment in the Gamma One Quadrilogy the rather incongruous english title of War of the Planets (WotP) and re-using the Italian poster from the first movie, Wild Wild Planet. The Italian title of the second installment was, I Diafanoidi Vengono da Marte, at least mentions the hostile aliens: the Diaphinoids. There really isn't a war of planets. It's the humans against the

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