50's the Atomic decade
Films from the 50's characterized by an uneasy innocence and cold war paranoia, a decade of sprawling theatrical films and extravagant productions, as well as lots and lots of science fiction. Sci fi films of the decade tapped into the atomic fear (and wonder) on people's minds.
The MPAA censorship code was still in full force, leading directors to weave subversive story elements into the plot by way of metaphor. The code would wear off by the end of the decade, and disappear entirely by the 60's.
The MPAA censorship code was still in full force, leading directors to weave subversive story elements into the plot by way of metaphor. The code would wear off by the end of the decade, and disappear entirely by the 60's.
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- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartKim NovakBarbara Bel GeddesA former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien 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.
- DirectorAleksandr PtushkoStarsUrho SomersalmiAnna OrochkoIvan VoronovThe evil witch Louhi kidnaps Lemminkäinen's sister to build for her a Sampo, a device that creates salt, grain, and gold. When Lemminkäinen fails to recover the Sampo, Louhi steals the sun, plunging the world into frozen darkness.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes TremayneA small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsRichard CarlsonJulie AdamsRichard DenningA strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartDoris DayBrenda de BanzieAn American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien 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.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantGrace KellyJessie Royce LandisA retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJames MasonBarbara RushWalter MatthauA seriously-ill schoolteacher becomes dependent on a "miracle" drug that begins to affect his sanity.
- DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsWalter PidgeonAnne FrancisLeslie NielsenA starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate 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.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsHugh MarloweJoan TaylorDonald CurtisExtraterrestrials traveling in high-tech flying saucers contact a scientist as part of a plan to enslave the inhabitants of Earth.
- DirectorChristian NybyHoward HawksStarsKenneth TobeyMargaret SheridanJames ArnessScientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames WhitmoreEdmund GwennJoan WeldonThe earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsRichard DerrBarbara RushPeter HansenAs a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsKirk DouglasJames MasonPaul LukasA ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFarley GrangerRobert WalkerRuth RomanA psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsGregory WalcottTom KeeneMona McKinnonEvil aliens attack Earth and set their terrible "Plan 9" into action. As the aliens resurrect the dead of the Earth, the lives of the living are in danger.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsBela LugosiTor JohnsonTony McCoyA mad doctor attempts to create atomic supermen.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry GatesA small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsGrant WilliamsRandy StuartApril KentAfter Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsHelena CarterArthur FranzJimmy HuntA young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsJohn ArcherWarner AndersonTom Powers"Destination Moon", tells the tale of when Doctor Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer approach Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation construction firms to help build a rocket that will take them to the moon.
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsPaul HubschmidPaula RaymondCecil KellawayA ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.
- DirectorRobert GordonStarsKenneth TobeyFaith DomergueDonald CurtisA giant, radioactive octopus rises from the Philippine Trench to terrorize the North American Pacific Coast.