1950s Science Fiction Hidden Gems Part One

1950s science fiction was fun. Ray guns, monsters, technological innovations and killer robots. Science Fiction used to take itself a lot more lightly than it does now.

The movies are:

Gog (1954)
Kronos (1957)
The Man In The White Suit (1951)
The Rocket Man (1954)
The Trollenberg Terror a.k.a. The Crawling Eye (1956)

The podcasts are at:

[chereecargill]

That one with Forest Tucker was also called "The Crawling Eye." I remember seeing that as a kid back in the 60s. I love 1950s sci-fi movies. Sometimes I think I saw nearly all of them growing up.

[craigwall]

The Man in the White Suit is far more than a Sci-Fi flick. It's been held up as relevant commentary on many subjects and I absolutely agree that it's a true treasure on MANY levels. I saw a reference to it just last week in a major Social discussion venue. It hasn't been forgotten but it surely needs to be discovered by more people

[stevekeithley]

One of my favorites is "Earth vs. The Flying Saucers". Great picture that makes it look like Washington D.C. is really attacked. Conquest of Space and Flight to Mars are also quite good. I also have in my video collection - Kronos & The Crawling Eye(The Trollenberg Terror) you mention. Which I watch each year.

[billsinkins]

I grew up in Canada, where Ealing movies were frequently shown on TV. The Man In The White Suit was one of them, it's a classic!

[bunkie]

Great choices. I had never considered The Man in the White Suit as science fiction, thanks for showing a new way to look at it. And I agree, it’s a better SF film than the other one!

[NoName-zmks]

Earth vs The Flying Saucers a treat! The saucers animation really spectacular! “People of Earth, attention!” People of Earth, attention!”

[nathanokun]

The eyeball tentacled monsters in the mountain's frozen cloud is a GREAT movie!! There are scenes where you really believe that the actors are really, really upset by what they slowly figure out is going on. Creepy, too.

[GGE]

One I liked was "The Blob" starring Steve McQueen. When I saw it, I recognized him from the western TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive". It was McQueen's very first movie.

[stevo]

Thanks for sharing these gems, I remember watching The Man In The White Suit on late night tv as a kid, I remember feeling sad at the end as Sidney was shunned by everyone. Loved Forbidden Planet and The Day The Earth Stood Still. I also remember Michael Rennie appearing on Lost In Space as The Keeper, but I'm getting ahead of myself, that's from 1966.

[blackplatypus]

The Man In The White Suit has been one of my favorite Ealing comedies ever since I first saw it nearly 50 yrs ago and never until now had I thought of it as a sci fi film.

[dennisanderson]

All of the cited are gems! The 50s saw a number of films which laid the groundwork for further projects. Consider, "The Blob": some complain of the "clichés, " w/o realizing that this film invented what often became overused tropes! Yay for the 50s sci-fi!

[drakeilt]

Kronos: I learned about the method to destroy Kronos in my high school physics class BEFORE I saw the movie so I knew it would work (no spoilers here). One of the few times real hard science was used in these movies.

[georgejones]

“The Crawling Eye” (Trollenberg Terror) had quite an effect on me when I first saw it. I was four when it came out. It’s still one of my favorites, along with “Attack of the Crab Monsters”.

[cowboyfrankspersonalvideos]

Thank you. I've been trying to remember the name of the film Kronos for over 20 years now. I saw it on TV as a teenager but have never been able to find the name. Found it on YouTube now and will be watching it again tomorrow.

[charlesmento]

Almost none of these movies are forgotten but classics!

[MrBendybruce]

Honestly, I don't "think about 1950's science fiction movies" *at all* -so on that basis, they are all hidden gems. Thanks for the list! 👍

[joelstein]

I've always loved "The Trollenberg Terror". Released as "The Crawling Eye" in the states I thought it was a highly underrated film. The acting's great and the writing matches.

[followerofjulian]

I remember first seeing Kronos in the late 1960s on UHF TV -- kind of an MST3K experience! I fell in love with this delightfully quirky movie. I still watch it on DVD from time to time. Thanks for including it!

[nortoncomando]

The Helicopter used in Gog is worth the entire film. Very interesting machine
Also the enemy spy jet doing electronic surveillance is interesting given the time frame

[SuperShecky]

Kronos has a particular quality that I've always found to be compelling: an alien that was faceless, without much explanation. A giant robotic box reveals almost nothing. We get a brief glimpse of the machinations within, but again, the viewer's left to wonder who made it and why.

My favorite 1950s sci fi is probably Earth Vs the Flying Saucers. The optimistic, can-do scientism of post-war humanity in the face of alien invasion evokes a period that's hard to imagine depicting in a movie today. With the real star of the movie being Ray Harryhausen's animated flying saucers, waging destruction on the US capitol. Rather than the bored right-wing cos player invasion we got in real life.