Dear Sci-fi Freaks,
As the imdb has lots of filmfreaks,i wonder if anyone could give us a sort of
top 10 (or top 5 ;) of the best Sci-Fi movies around the 50's.
I saw the great spider invasion,but found it bad,maybe some other but DECENT titles like Them! ?
Thanks!
As I agree with a lot of the choices listed for best '50s SciFi retro movies (i.e. Day The earth Stood Still, Them, etc.), I was very pleased to see that many lists include the film that I consider to be one of the best early giant-monster-on-the-loose movies - "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms." It was Ray Harryhausen's first solo professional project, and was actually released a couple of years BEFORE "Godzilla".
I am glad to see people with taste posting to these boards!
One Ring To Rule Them All!
it came from beneath the sea folks, it came from beneath the sea. how are you gonna pass up a movie about a giant six armed octopus which attacks the goldengate bridge? especially since it was harryhousen...
"My, where did you get that lovely spatula?"
what do we mean by Retro? what do we call sf-films made before the 50's?
them is classic sci-fi/horror plain and simple.
I can't believe no list had the 1950 "Rocketship X-M". John Emery's voice (especially thru his oxygen mask) on Mars is still chilling. Also, Osa Massen, with her swedish accent, a young Lloyd Bridges, and a somewhat downbeat ending (they were all killed) sets this apart from most 50's sci-fi films.
shareMy top eleven 50s Sci-Fi are:
1) Forbidden Planet
2) War of the Worlds
3) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
4) The Thing
5) The Day the Earth Stood Still
6) Invasion of the Body Snatchers
7) Earth Vs the Flying Saucers
8) Them!
9) The Incredible Shrinking Man
10 & 11) The Quatermass Xperiment & Quatermass II (tie)
No way could I limit my list to 10 -- especially after reading over the other's lists..
Just in random order (maybe some '60s slipped in):
Them!
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Forbidden Planet
Destination Moon
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
This Island Earth
War of the Worlds
When Worlds Collide
Fantastic Voyage
Planet of the Apes
2001
First Men In the Moon
Plan 9 From Outer Space (sorry, I couldn't resist the temptation)
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Andromeda Strain
The Time Machine
OK, I'll stop now.
My favorite were. Forbidden Planet, Them!, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The War of The Worlds, and The Thing
When in doubt kill it.
All due respect to everybody who has opined, but I just don't see how "The Day the Earth Stood Still" does not warrant being at the TOP of the list.
Shot in glorious black & white, superb direction by the genius Robert Wise, excellent performances by (appropriately "odd-looking" newcomer) Michael Rennie and Patricia O'Neal, a very young "Bud" from "Father Knows Best, Aunt Bea from "Andy Griffith," and that Bernard Hermann score prominently featuring the Theremin, it just does not get any better than this for 50's sci-fi, PERIOD!
1. Five
2. Quatermass II
3. X-The Unknown
4. Gojira
5. H-Man
6. Tarantula
7. Black Sorpion
8. Colossus of New York
9. Fiend Without a Face
10. Creature With The Atom Brain
I don't intend to offend (he said poetically), but for me THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS stands head and shoulders (and haunches) above all of the rest mentioned here. Mystery, terror, adventure, a decent love story, and certainly one of the greatest scenes in an American film from the Fifties when the Rhedosaur arises abruptly from the harbor displaying a head larger than a boxcar.
Harryhausen really hit it clear out of the park in his very first solo effort. Steve V.
It! The Terror from beyond Space! ( inspired Alien ).
The Magnetic Monster ( first of the Ivan Tors/Richard Carlson trilogy ). Great ending uses stock footage from a Weimar Germany flick ( Gold ).
My top 10 is very much like those already posted, so I thought I'd post some weird ones that I really like a lot...
Attack of the Mushroom People
Attack of the Giant Leeches
Valley of the Dragons
The Mole People
I was a teenage Frankenstein/Wolfman
The Last Man on Earth
Phantom from Outer Space
The Mysterians
The Navy vs The Night Monsters
The Earth Dies Screaming
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Drain 2-6-7 is the target area... Drain 2-6-7!
The very underrated 'The Alligator People' is my favorite so far... I just watched 'Them!' and thought it to be incredibly overrated.
In no particular order
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS
THE THING
DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
QUATERMASS 2 (aka ENEMY FROM SPACE)
THEM!
WAR OF THE WORLDS
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
FORBIDDEN PLANET
DONOVANS BRAIN
I'm not sure about the decade but....
1. Them
2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
3. Invaders from Mars
4. Fiend without a face
5. The Time Machine
6. Journey to the Center of the Earth
7. When Worlds Collide
8. 20,000,000 Miles to earth
9. The Blob
10. The Day the earth stood still
11. War of the worlds
12. The Indestructible man
13. The Crawling Eye
14. Godzilla
15. n
"Only a numbskull thinks he knows things about things he knows nothing about."
OK... top standings so far (11 points or better):
108 Them!
92 The Day the Earth Stood Still
77 Forbidden Planet
74 The Thing From Another World
72 War of the Worlds
55 Invasion of the Body Snatchers
38 The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
36 Incredible Shrinking Man
31 Tarantula
26 Godzilla King of the Monsters
21 Invaders from Mars
19 The Blob
16 The Creature From the Black Lagoon
16 It Came from Outer Space
15 Quatermass II
14 The Fly
14 Fiend Without a Face
13 X the Unknown
13 Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
12 This Island Earth
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Of all the movies mentioned, I've only seen these (which I have ranked):
1. It! The Terror From Beyond Space
2. Them!
3. Forbidden Planet
4. The Thing From Another World
5. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
6. When Worlds Collide
7. Journey to the Center of the Earth
8. The Trollenberg Terror (saw in in a MST3K episode)
But, if The Time Machine (1960) counts, it's by far my No.1!
My top sci-fi movies of the 50's in no particluar order
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Them
War of the Worlds
Forbidden Planet
The Blob
Godzilla
The Thing from Another World
Invasion of the Bodysnatchers
Creature from the Black lagoon
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Earth vs. The Flying Sauchers
Fiend Without a face
The Fly
And too many more ot count and remember
For your consideration, here are my favorite Sci-Fi/horror films from the glorious 1950's!
1-Them!
2-The Thing From Another World
3-The Fly
4-Fiend Without A Face
5-War of the Worlds
6-The Day The Earth Stood Still
7-It Came From Beneath The Sea
8-Godzilla, The King of Monsters
9-The Creature From The Black Lagoon
10-Invasion of the Body Snatchers
11-The Blob
12-The Forbidden Planet
13-Invaders From Mars
14-Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers
15-The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
16-When Worlds Cillide
17-This Island Earth
My Top Ten 50's Sci Fi Movies:
1) QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT
2) QUATERMASS II
3) ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN
4) TARANTULA
5) WAR OF THE WORLDS
6) THIS ISLAND EARTH
7) IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
8) INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
9) CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON
10) THEM! (Why not?)
I can't list just 10. Sorry. (Please note the order is random.)
01. The Crawling Eye a.k.a. The Trollenberg Terror
02. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
03. The Thing From Another World
04. This Island Earth
05. Forbidden Planet
06. War of the Worlds
07. When Worlds Collide
08. Them!
09. Tarantula
10. The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas
11. Invaders from Mars
12. The Blob
13. The Mole People
14. The Gamma People
15. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
16. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
17. The Brain from Planet Arous
18. The Amazing Colossal Man
19. The Incredible Shrinking Man
20. Creature from the Black Lagoon
21. Godzilla
22. Rodan
23. It Came from Beneath the Sea
24. The Fly
25. Revenge of the Creature
26. The Colossus of New York
27. The Day the Earth Stood Still
28. 20 Million Miles to Earth
29. Kronos
30. The Monolith Monsters
31. Fiend Without a Face
32. The Monster that Challenged the World
33. Invisible Invaders
34. It Conquered the World
35. From Hell it Came
36. It Came from Outer Space
37. Quartermass
38. Quartermass II
39. It! The Terror from Beyond Space
40. I Married a Monster from Outer Space
41. The Invisible Boy
42. Monster on the Campus
43. The Deadly Mantis
44. Beginning of the End
45. The Spider
46. The Giant Behemoth
47. X the Unknown
48. Invasion of the Saucer Men
49. Journey to the Center of the Earth
50. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
I am glad someone mentioned The Monolith Monsters. One of the best, but rarely remembered, for some reason.
share
1) QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT
2) QUATERMASS II
3) ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN
4) IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
5) TARANTULA
6) INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
7) IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
8) TARGET EARTH
9) X THE UNKNOWN
10) WAR OF THE WORLDS
11) THIS ISLAND EARTH
"It's a personal favorite" Michael Madsen from 'Reservoir Dogs'
OOPS! FORGOT THAT I PREVIOUSLY POSTED.
SO, IT'S "BACK BY UNPOPULAR DEMAND"!