Today I’ll continue to talk about one of my personal passions – Old Sci Fi Movies. I started this series here. And yes, I already know what a nerd I am!
Let’s get started:
The Thing From Another World
OK, put this one on late at night in a darkened room! It may be over 70 years old but it’s still scary! And it is one of my favorites.
The movie is from 1951 and in black and white. It begins with a call from an arctic research station for help investigating a downed aircraft. The Air Force responds and discovers a flying saucer buried under the ice. They then proceed to try and uncover it using some kind of thermite and manage to blow up the craft.
They then find a huge alien humanoid frozen in the ice and bring it back to the base contained in a huge block of ice. A guard manages to unfreeze the alien by accidentally leaving an electric blanket on the ice block. What follows are some scary scenes after the alien escapes and the discovery that the alien is actually plant based.
The climax is the alien attacking the isolated base and our heroes killing the alien. I’ll let you watch this scary one and see how they do it!
An interesting fact is that when the film was released it actually made more money than “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “When Worlds Collide,” two of my other favorites. The year was a good one for science fiction fans!
The Beast from 20 Thousand Fathoms
This one came out a couple years later in 1953. It is probably the first popular monster movie based on results of nuclear bomb testing.
The basic plot is of a prehistoric dinosaur released as a result of an atomic test in the arctic. The monster is spotted by a witness, but nobody believes him. He sticks to his belief and eventually becomes a hero of the story.
The monster makes its way down the east coast. Along the way he destroys some fishing boats, demolishes a lighthouse and gobbles up a famous old scientist. Eventually it ends up in New York where it causes general mayhem and destruction. An interesting side effect is it releases a deadly bacteria or virus that had long been dormant before being released from the ice.
The climax happens in an amusement park where our hero saves the day. Special effects were by Ray Harryhausen, who was the genius behind many films. They hold up fairly well.
Them
Them is another sci fi monster film, this time with giant ants! It was released in 1954. Again the giant ants were a result of atomic testing, this time in the New Mexico desert.
I love the initial setting for this movie. It takes place in a remote desert area and some parts are made spookier by a howling wind storm.
The queen ants can fly and they eventually make their way to Los Angeles, where they take up residence in the city’s river drainage system. The climax involves a hero rescuing two young boys trapped by the ants, and the ants being destroyed by the army.
Like many movies from the fifties I enjoy the scenes of life from the time. This includes things like old cars and clean city infrastructure. It represents a simpler time, if only in movies!
I hope you enjoy this series. There is much more to come.
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