Best/Most Important SF Films of the ’50s

I was asked by a friend (yes, a real one, not just a Facebook one) what the Best ‘50s—early ‘60s science fiction films were. I asked if we were talking “best” or “most important” and he said “Why not both?” As I’ve just finished a panel at Dragon Con on the subject, and making that distinction, it is a pair of easy lists for me.

Explaining what makes each of the best, “the best” would take complete reviews, so I’ll link my previous reviews to the titles for the ones I’ve reviewed, and for the rest, you’ll just have to believe me (and you should). For most important, I’ll give the briefest of reasons. And these are sorted by date.

 

The BEST ‘50s—early ‘60s SF films

• The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
• The Man in the White Suit (1951)
• The War of the Worlds (1953)
• Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
• Gojira (1954)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• On the Beach (1959)
• The Time Machine (1960)
• Village of the Damned (1960)
• The Day of the Triffids (1962)

 

The MOST IMPORTANT ‘50s—early ‘60s SF films

• Destination Moon (1950) — Restarted American studio SF after the failure of Just Imagine (1930).
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) — Cultural milestone. The liberal statement to counter the far more prevalent conservative SF statement.
• The Thing from Another World (1951) — The right-wing statement, but one with good dialog. It gutted an important short story, but it did bring an important story to the screen.
• The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms (1953) — The first atomic monster film. The mother of the many Western ones to follow as well as the entire Daikaiju sub-genre. And another step in Ray Harryhausen’s career.
• The War of the Worlds (1953) — Cultural milestone that brought money, spectacle, and color to film SF.
• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) — The last of the Universal monsters.
• Forbidden Planet (1956) — Ended the age of cheap B&W SF and ushered in a time of smarter, literate SF film.
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) — Combo anti-Soviet rant and examination of isolationism; it was incredibly effective at both. Has been copied many times.
• On the Beach (1959) — Brought post-apocalyptic films to the masses. Made it clear that SF is best not as adventure, but as political or philosophical message-holders.
• The Day of the Triffids (1962) — The precursor to the modern zombie film.