filmstruck:The 50s: Sci-Fi’s Greatest Decade by Greg FerraraWere there great sci-fi movies
filmstruck: The 50s: Sci-Fi’s Greatest Decade by Greg Ferrara Were there great sci-fi movies made before the 1950s? Yes, absolutely: METROPOLIS (‘27) and THINGS TO COME (‘36) immediately spring to mind, both available on FilmStruck. But it was the ‘50s that really set sci-fi in motion and laid the foundation for the great films in the genre to follow. The sci-fi of the ‘50s started off strong with such classics as DESTINATION MOON (’50) and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (’51) and a personal favorite, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (’51). THE THING was nominally directed by Christian Nyby but widely believed to have been directed by his mentor and producer on the set, Howard Hawks. Nyby himself said that was nonsense and responded to jabs that the movie was in Hawks’ style with, “Of course it was. This is a man I studied and wanted to be like. You would certainly emulate and copy the master you’re sitting under, which I did.” Makes sense that his first directorial effort would be a direct emulation of his mentor’s style since Nyby was an Academy Award-nominated editor who worked on several of Hawks’ film. What’s more important about THE THING, though, was how realistic and natural its dialogue was. There was none of the archness of THINGS TO COME (’36), none of the didacticism of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL nor the silliness of the low-budget sci-fi serials of the ‘30s and ‘40s. Here was a movie about an alien discovery on earth that took itself seriously. Not just the subject matter, the movie making itself. The movie was made with the same kind of care, attention, editing and pacing, as a tense drama contending for the year end awards. It cinematically made a statement that science fiction could be fun and good at the same time. In other words, it was time to stop writing it off as some lesser genre that only kids like. Science fiction, like horror or adventure, was just as capable of greatness as any other “legitimate” genre. But while THE THING definitely upped the game for science fiction as a place where naturalism and realism could preside, it did little for the special effects side of things. Oh, the effects are great, it’s just that aside from the electric bolts shooting around James Arness’ monster at the end, there really weren’t any special effects to speak of. The movie worked on tension and suspense. As far as special effects go, sci-fi didn’t get the kind of budget F/X spectaculars like THE HURRICANE (’37) or SAN FRANCISCO (’36) got. Until FORBIDDEN PLANET (’56), that is. FORBIDDEN PLANET was given the big budget treatment by MGM, and most, if not all, of the special effects hold up against the best special effects of today. The spaceship doesn’t wobble or hang from an obvious string but glides and lands gracefully as a beam of light guides it down. The monster attack on the ship is absolute brilliance in action. The monster, you see, is invisible but the special effects team, with cooperation with Disney animators, made the monster visible by having its form outlined in the jolts of electricity hitting from the barrier around the ship. The interiors of the laboratories of the ancient civilization are awe-inspiring matte paintings and forced perspective shots that truly dazzle. FORBIDDEN PLANET took an innovative story, riffing off of Shakespeare’s The Tempest , and combined it with great special effects to show what science fiction with a big budget and a studio that took it seriously could do. The rest of the decade is a laundry list of some of the most beloved sci-fi films ever: WAR OF THE WORLDS (’53), GODZILLA (’54), THEM! (’54) INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (’56), THE BLOB (’58), ON THE BEACH (’59) and so many more. In fact, the decade produced so many great sci-fi movies, that it truly seems like the decade that finally made science fiction a movie genre that put titles on Hollywood’s A-list and made the studios stand up and take notice. It’s hard to imagine 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY coming out in 1968 without the great science fiction that came before. So, let’s give praise where praise is due: to the 1950s, the greatest decade for sci-fi ever! -- source link