I got out one of my cool TCM collections over the cold weekend and watched all 4 films by the end of it. The set was TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Sci-Fi Adventures and it included 4 classics from the 50s.I used to love these back in the day when we only had a few channels and I'd spend Saturdays at my Grandparent's house. I can remember laying in the floor so close to the TV that every time Grandma walked through she'd tell me to back up. I would of course. For a few seconds.
But anyway, some great memories among these films.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Based on a Ray Bradbury story, it's really the best film of the bunch. The monster is awakened by a nuclear blast and decides to start snacking on ships, lighthouses and people. The legend Ray Harryhausen animated the monster and it looks pretty cool really as it channels King Kong and goes on a car stomping, people chomping spree in New York. The name of the film is a bit baffling as a fathom is 6 feet, so 20,000 fathoms is actually over 3 times deeper than the ocean at any point. No wonder he's so pissed off. The only people you might recognize are Lee Van Cleef and the guy who went on to play Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard TV show.
Them! (1954)
This one is for sure a classic on my list. I can actually remember being scared while watching this somehow. More nuclear weapons being blamed for the deadly GIANT ANTS! Yes, "them" are ants. Of course they munch people (and sacks of sugar) and make loud funny ant sounds. The ants look hilarious, but the plot is actually pretty fun and James Arness and James Whitmore make a pretty formidable duo with acting chops. Lots of fun and it actually builds up some good tension at the beginning before the big pinchy guys show up and open a can of ant-whoop-ass. It also took a real lack of any creativity at all to come up with the name for this one. A little girl snaps out of a coma and starts yelling "them!" and I've never really been sure why she didn't just start yelling "ants!" or something a bit more descriptive, but whatareyagonnado?
World Without End (1956)
4 astronauts returning from a mission to Mars wind up on earth 600 years in the future. And, you guessed it... atomic war has made the earth a wacky place full of men in bad costumes and horny women in pointy bras. The "civilized" men are all sissy boys so our modern day dudes (well, 1956 modern at least) have to show them how to build weapons and slaughter each other again. Best part? The awesome hats the future dudes wear. No wonder the women want the new men. There's a great scene at the beginning where they fight a couple of giant spiders that's just awesomely hilarious. This one really reminded me a lot of a lost episode of Star Trek or something. I always thought it was so lucky of these guys to crash land on a planet the size of earth and just happen to be right where the guys who run the show live, instead of maybe Boise, or even the 2/3 of the planet that's water.. such luck! They should buy future lottery tickets. Another fun film.
Satellite in the Sky (1956)
A rocket crew carries a powerful new type of bomb into space for a test (Here we go again with the bombs! Just how paranoid were people in the 50s?). However, the morons don't plan correctly and the bomb becomes attached to the ship's hull somehow, in a really head-scratcher. Screwed in space, they try to figure out what to do. This one is a bit too talky and dull and I thought it was the worst of the 4 films. The effects are fun for the time, but you can even see the string on the toy rocket during some scenes. Awesome.
So what did I learn from all these? Well, obviously atomic bombs cause a lot of mutations. Also, monsters hate lighthouses (and who can blame them really?). Oh, ants are also very noisy and enjoy human flesh as much as they do sugar. They pass on the bones though. And if you ever happen to land your ship on what you think is an alien planet, the best way to test to see if the atmosphere can sustain human life it to take your space helmet off and sample the air. Lastly, sci-fi movies in the 50s kicked ass and could be made for your allowance.
