Nowadays, science fiction is far and away one of the most popular, beloved, and profitable movie genres there are. These can be highly respectable stories with endless amounts of imagination and creativity, but back in the times of Classical Hollywood, roughly between 1930 and 1960, the genre was mostly a cheap source of B-pictures for studios to pair their bigger productions with.
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As time has passed and appreciation for sci-fi movies has increased, though, many films from this era have aged remarkably well, showing that the genre was always outstanding -- even if it sometimes wasn't recognized as such at the time. From exciting creature features to groundbreaking sci-fi/horror spectacles to timeless alien invasion movies, these classic sci-fi movies have stood the test of time admirably well and remain seminal entries into the ever-expanding genre.
10 'Them!' (1954) Directed by Gordon Douglas
When it comes to great giant bug movies, Them! is the gold standard. Released at the height of the Golden Age of science fiction in the 1950s, it's a kaiju extravaganza where atomic tests in New Mexico have caused common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization. With its at-the-time groundbreaking visual effects and its delightfully self-aware sense of humor, it's become one of the most beloved sci-fi B-pictures of the era.
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The film may not be particularly scary anymore, but that doesn't detract from its cultural or entertainment value in the slightest. It's irresistibly fun from start to finish, and its commentary on nuclear paranoia makes it a great companion piece to a certain other 1954 kaiju film dealing with the same themes. It has thrilling moments, fearsome monsters, and surprisingly solid performances.
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*Availability in US Release Date June 16, 1954 Cast James Whitmore , Edmund Gwenn , Joan Weldon , James Arness , Onslow Stevens , Sean McClory Runtime 94 minutes Writers Ted Sherdeman , Russell S. Hughes , George Worthing Yates 9 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1956) Directed by Don Siegel ✕ Remove Ads
Back in the era of the Cold War, it was remarkably common for Hollywood to make allegorical films about paranoia and fear of hidden enemies. One of the best movies that came out of this obsession was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In it, a small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
The movie has everything that one could want from a classic sci-fi B-movie: memorable characters, convincing performances, endless sci-fi thrills, and an interesting concept that's exploited to its full potential. Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake of the same title is also fantastic (and no doubt helped the original's longevity), but there's no beating the 1956 classic that still serves as proof of how genuinely good B-movies could be.
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Where to Watch streamrentbuy *Availability in US Release Date February 5, 1956 Cast kevin mccarthy , Dana Wynter , Larry Gates , King Donovan , Carolyn Jones , Jean Willes , Ralphe Dumke , Virginia Christine Runtime 80 Minutes Writers Daniel Mainwaring , Jack Finney , Richard Collins ✕ Remove Ads 8 'The Thing from Another World' (1951) Directed by Christian Nyby
At the start of the best decade for sci-fi films came The Thing from Another World, whose direction is credited to Christian Nyby, though word on the street is that it was actually producer Howard Hawks who directed most of it. In it, scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote Arctic outpost.
While John Carpenter's 1982 remake The Thing is by far the most popular of the two (and, frankly, for good reason), The Thing from Another World has also aged beautifully. Some would say that it's even scarier, thanks to flawless direction by Nyby (and, apparently, Hawks), a tension-filled script, and engaging characters. Thanks to its perfect mixture of terror and just the right amount of humor, The Things from Another World is one of the '50s' most enjoyable sci-fi flicks.
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7 'Island of Lost Souls' (1932) Directed by Erle C. Kenton
It wasn't just the '50s that saw Golden Age Hollywood's most timeless sci-fi movies. Case in point: 1932's Island of Lost Souls, one of the decade's best. In this body horror noir, a mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.
Island of Lost Souls ' fascinating exploration of themes of the human versus the nonhuman gives it a timeless quality.
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A brilliant adaptation of H.G. Wells's classic sci-fi novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, Island of Lost Souls is a dark, gruesome, nightmarish, genuinely scary horror film that greatly benefits from having been released a year before the infamous Hays Code began being enforced. Charles Laughton's take on the character of Doctor Moreau is effective, to say the least, and the movie's fascinating exploration of themes of the human versus the nonhuman gives it a timeless quality that's not giving any signs of fading away soon.
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6 'Godzilla' (1954) Directed by Ishirô Honda ✕ Remove Ads
Kaiju films don't get much more timeless than the one that started it all: Ishirô Honda's Godzilla, one of the best and most impactful Japanese movies in history. Its story is now a pretty universally-known pillar of pop culture: a beast is awoken from undersea hibernation by atomic bomb testing. It proceeds to ravage Tokyo as a scientist grapples with the dilemma of whether to use his similarly dangerous weapon to try and destroy the monster.
Over half a century and three dozen movies later, the 1954 original is still remembered as the best in the Godzilla franchise. Its depiction of Japan's cultural and social psyche following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki just less than a decade prior has allowed it to age perfectly. As if that wasn't enough, there's also the visual effects (which still look fantastic), the non-stop pacing, and the compelling story and characters as the cherries on top.
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*Availability in US Release Date November 3, 1954 Cast Takashi Shimura , Akihiko Hirata , Akira Takarada , Momoko Kôchi Runtime 96 minutes Writers Takeo Murata , Ishirô Honda , Shigeru Kayama , Tomoyuki Tanaka ✕ Remove Ads 5 'Forbidden Planet' (1956) Directed by Fred M. Wilcox
One of the '50s best B-movies, the beloved classic Forbidden Planet has aged like a fine wine. It follows a 23rd-century starship crew investigating the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization. A sci-fi twist on William Shakespeare's The Tempest is just the thing that cinephiles never knew they needed.
Campy, eye-popping, exquisitely colorful, and with an influence and legacy that's clearly visible in how the sci-fi genre evolved in the years following its release, Forbidden Planet is more than just a silly Shakespeare adaptation. Everything about it is surprisingly high-quality for a sci-fi B-movie: the performances, the writing, the funny yet dark tone, and the engaging themes. Forbidden Planet is more than a cult classic: it's a landmark of the genre whose influence in modern sci-fi will endure for decades.
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*Availability in US Release Date March 15, 1956 Cast Walter Pidgeon , Anne Francis , Leslie Nielsen Runtime 98 Minutes Writers Cyril Hume 4 'Frankenstein' (1931) Directed by James Whale
Based on Mary Shelley's quintessential classic of the same title, James Whale's Frankenstein was one of the first hits of Universal's wave of classic monster movies. In it, a mad scientist obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses succeeds. However, his creation is looked upon as a monster by the town's locals, leading them to try and destroy it.
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Even nearly a century later, Frankenstein is still one of the most thrilling classics one can find. Boris Karloff's performance as the monster is legendary, and the humanistic story and tone achieved by Whale have allowed Frankenstein to stand the test of time as one of the most revolutionary and unique horror movies ever made. Even if its fear factor isn't all that strong now, everything else that it does right makes Frankenstein a worthy genre staple.
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*Availability in US Release Date November 21, 1931 Cast Colin Clive , Mae Clarke , Boris Karloff , John Boles , Edward Van Sloan , Frederick Kerr , Dwight Frye , Lionel Belmore Runtime 70 Minutes Writers John L. Balderston , Mary Shelley , Peggy Webling , Garrett Fort , Francis Edward Faragoh , Richard Schayer 3 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' (1951) Directed by Robert Wise ✕ Remove Ads
One of the best alien invasion movies ever made, The Day the Earth Stood Still is about an alien that lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets. Simple though the film's moral may be, it's a universally compelling and all-too-timely message, which makes The Day the Earth Stood Still as relevant today as it was back in the '50s, if not more.
Much subtler in its messaging than most other sci-fi pictures of its time but every bit as stylish and entertaining as the best of them, this is as timeless as sci-fi classics get. The Day the Earth Stood Still does show its age in plenty of areas, but that adds a lot to its charm rather than detract from it. It's a real delight to see how much science fiction storytelling has evolved since the early '50s, and it's just as delightful to see how well this widely adored sci-fi gem holds up.
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Where to Watch streamrentbuy *Availability in US Release Date September 28, 1951 Runtime 92 minutes Writers Edmund H. North ✕ Remove Ads 2 'Bride of Frankenstein' (1935) Directed by James Whale
Bigger, better, and more self-assured than its predecessor, James Whale's second Frankenstein picture, Bride of Frankenstein, has aged even better -- and that's definitely saying something. In it, Baron Henry Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive after the events of the first film. Frankenstein has to help an even madder scientist create a mate for his creation while the creature struggles to understand its existence.
This is one of the best not-so-scary horror movies ever made, with a goofier tone and more humor than the original; yet, Bride of Frankenstein keeps the dark tone and serious themes, exploring them with more depth. Vibrant, technically flawless, and with a perfect mixture between macabre pathos and queer undertones (Whale himself was openly gay), Bride of Frankenstein has aged gorgeously as both a beloved cult film and an all-around horror classic in its own right.
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Where to Watch streamrentbuy *Availability in US Release Date April 22, 1935 Cast Boris Karloff , Elsa Lanchester Runtime 75minutes Writers David Koepp 1 'The Invisible Man' (1933) Directed by James Whale
Perhaps the best of the classic Universal monster movies, The Invisible Man is a perfect adaptation of H.G. Wells's fantastic novel. It's about a scientist (one of the horror movie villains with the most kills) who finds a way of becoming invisible; in doing so, he loses his mind and goes on a killing spree. Scary, fun, and with special effects that look stunning even nearly a century later, The Invisible Man is an impressive masterpiece that only gets better with age.
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With its hard-hitting portrayal of the titular villain and its suspense-filled story, this beloved sci-fi is one of the scariest classic horror movies of the era. Everything about it, from the terrifyingly good performances to Whale's fantastic direction to the sharp special effects to the silly and much-welcome sense of humor, has aged perfectly. For people looking to get into classic sci-fi, The Invisible Man is the way to go.
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Where to Watch streamrentbuy *Availability in US Release Date October 1, 1933 Cast Claude Rains , Gloria Stuart , William Harrigan , Henry Travers Runtime 71 minutes Writers H.G. Wells , R.C. Sherriff , Preston Sturges
NEXT:The Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, Ranked