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1950s SciFi Movies


The 1950s was post WWII, when America was growing and succeeding, buying homes and cars and the youth were driving their own automobiles and gaining independence. Movie theaters were the great getaway, including drive-in's, and the boom in science from the discovery of splitting the atom, made people excited about the "magic" of science and also the horrors or "radiation." It was an ideal setting for over-the-top science fiction movies for couples to gasp and clutch each other and the movie industry to amp it up with 3D glasses.

*Descriptions from IMDB.

The Thing From Another World
1951
Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.



The Creature From the Black Lagoon
1954
A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.

Them!
1954
The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.


When Worlds Collide
1951
As a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.





The Day the Earth Stood Still
1951
An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.

The War of the Worlds
1953
The film adaptation of the H.G.Wells story told on radio of the invasion of Earth by Martians.

Invaders From Mars
1953
A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.





The Incredible Shrinking Man
1957
When Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.

Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
1953
A ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and ultimately New York City.

It Came From Outer Space
1953
A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert, and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strange.




Donovan's Brain
1953
Yet another version of Curt Siodmak's novel about an honest scientist who keeps the brain of a ruthless dead millionaire (Donovan) alive in a tank. Donovan manages to impose his powerful will on the scientist, and uses him to murder his enemies.

This Island Earth
1955
Aliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1956
Aliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.





Godzilla
1954
American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.

Forbidden Planet
1956
A starship crew goes to investigate the silence of a planet's colony only to find two survivors and a deadly secret that one of them has.

The Fly
1958
A scientist has a horrific accident when he tries to use his newly invented teleportation device.




Sure, there were a lot of great 50s SciFi classic movies, but there were also some amazing b-movies of the genre that were so bad, they were good - a real cult following.  Here's some - 

Plan 9 From Outer Space 
1959
Aliens resurrect dead humans as zombies and vampires to stop humanity from creating the Solaranite (a sort of sun-driven bomb).


Attack of the Crab Monsters
1957
People are trapped on a shrinking island with intelligent, brain-eating giant crabs. Roger Corman directs.



The Crawling Eye
1958
A series of decapitations on a Swiss mountainside appear to be connected to a mysterious radioactive cloud.




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