Category: Futurism
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Rihlah ela el-Qamar
Ismail Yassin sits on the controls of a rocket and lands on the moon where he is met by a robot, a scientist and scantily clad dancing women. If not for Yassin’s incessant shouting and mugging, Egypt’s first space film from 1959 might have been a decent SF spoof. 3/10
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The Lost Missile
As an extraterrestrial missile threatens to destroy New York, scientists and the military scramble to stop it, while civil society prepares for a disaster. This 1958 sci-fi thriller’s potential to rise above the cut is undermined by its profuse use of stock footage. 4/10
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The Colossus of New York
What happens when an altruistic scientist’s brain is placed in a monstrous metal body without a heart? The not too surprising answer is to be found in Paramount’s curious but overrated 1958 B-movie. 4/10
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The Day the Sky Exploded
As an astronaut accidentally sends a mega-meteor on a collision course with Earth, scientists frantically work to find a way to save the planet. Italy’s first serious SF talkie from 1958 is an equal collection of hits and misses. The fairly intelligent script and Mario Bava’s atmospheric direction and photography…
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Teenage Caveman
Robert Vaughn stars in Roger Corman’s 1958 post-apocalyptic caveman film as the rebel who dares to find out what lies beyond the boundaries of his tribe. The idea is neat, even novel, but the script treads water and is beyond silly, and production values nonexistent. 3/10
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Frankenstein 1970
Boris Karloff stars as Dr. Frankenstein in this 1958 low-budget production about a TV crew getting killed off in an old castle. Despite the title, there is nothing futuristic about this tedious but mildly entertaining adaptation. 4/10
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The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy
Archaeologists recap their previous adventures with the resurrected Aztec mummy and battle a villain and his killer cyborg. The third instalment in the Mexican Aztec Mummy trilogy from 1958 uses up two thirds of the picture on stock footage from the two previous ones. 2/10
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Invention for Destruction
Submarines, Bond villain bases and superweapons all play into the plot of Karel Zeman’s 1958 cult classic, based on Jules Verne. But it is the spectacular blend of animation, artful sets, mattes and live action that makes this whimsical and funny fairy-tale so enjoyable. 8/10
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Escapement
Ex-Nazis operate a brainwashing dream machine in a psychiatric clinic in this 1958 UK mystery melodrama. Released in the US as The Electronic Monster, it squanders a good idea in a programmatic cloak-and-dagger plot. 3/10
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The Strange World of Planet X
Scientists accidentally blow a hole in the ionosphere, resulting in visiting aliens and giant bugs. This 1958 UK low-budget production has some good ideas, but is hampered by equally bad ones. 4/10
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The Monolith Monsters
Meteor fragments that start growing into the size of skyscrapers and topple over threaten a small Southwest US town. Universal’s 1957 effort is one of the better late 50s B SF movies. 6/10
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The Mysterians
Aliens land in Japan, and demand to mate with Earth women. The united military might of Earth engage in battle with the aliens. Ishiro Honda’s 1957 epic is a visual feast, but unfortunately thin on plot. 6/10
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The 27th Day
An alien tests humanity by giving five people the means of killing all humans on Earth. The intriguing premise of Columbia’s 1957 film quickly regresses into red scare histrionics. 4/10
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The Night the World Exploded
Scientists battle a novel element which theatens to blow the Earth to pieces in this 1957 Columbia cheapo. Dryly acted and clunkily written, but with an original enough idea to keep it going. 4/10
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Kronos
A giant alien machine descends to Earth and proceeds to drain the planet of energy in this 1957 Fox B-movie. The script is creaky, but this is a fairly original and well designed low-budget effort from the mind of Irving Block. 6/10
Scifist. 