I'm now 80; I grew up watching these films on Saturdays at the local theaters... Thanks for the clips ! "GORT, KLATU BARADA NICTO"

The forbidden planet holds concepts that are unsurpassed even to this very day. The best pure sci fi ever made, period.

Saw Forbidden Planet at the theater when I was six. Nightmares galore. Lucky me - I had a TV in my room because my Dad repaired them and someone just gave it to us. A 12" round screen in a cabinet with two or three knobs in front and tubes in the back. Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, and Marx Brothers movies on Sunday. Sky King, Roy Rogers, and those westerns! Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bronco Lane, Tombstone Territory, and on and on.

Excellent selection that I agree with. I remember the first time I saw "The Blob" in color (on the late show, once we had a color TV), I was so surprised that the blob was red! And the two stars went on to bigger fame---Steve McQueen became a cinema superstar and his girlfriend Aneta Corsaut became Andy's love interest Helen Crump on "The Andy Griffith Show." "Journey to the Center of the Earth" was a big budget production with major stars that is still one of my favorites today.

The 50s was such an incredible decade for such movies, you could easily have picked 20 instead of just 10.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is my #1 from this list. The complexity of the plot and quality of the acting put on top. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers scared the pants off me as a kid.

What I loved about these old Sci-Fi movies is that one could really exercise ones imagination. As a child it was thrilling!

Earth vs. The Flying Saucers ought to have made it onto the list; it's one of the best 50's sci-fi movies, imho.

I agree The Day the Earth Stood Still is the best ever not just the 50s

Nicely done. THIS ISLAND EARTH should have deserved at least a brief mention, though.

What a fantastic list! Being born in 1952 I remember my parents taking us to the all night drive-in theater shows (4 movies in one night!) and watching these great movies. Then the sixties started with Gorgo, Angry Red Planet, Village of the Damned, and on and on. Then Star Trek started on TV. I was in Heaven. What a great time to live!!! That with the space race just made my childhood exceptional.

I know each and every one of those movies and I have them all on VHS in my personal collection!!!!!! What a fantastic decade of sci fi movies!!!!!!!

I'am old enough to remember ALL these movies. Thank you for the memories!! I think THEM and THE THING are tied for first place!!

Thank you for this, 50s sci/fi movies are how I grew up.

From the age of 7 or so, I read almost everything Science -Fiction and Fantasy, WE had a TV in the late forties and I devoured Captain Video, SF Theater and more. These movies and the runners up were my childhood. War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, The Time Machine, the list is much longer, will forever be in my memory!. Thanks you, Frederick "Rik" Spector

Some of my all time favourites that weren't mentioned are The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Monster That Challenged The World (1957), The Monolith Monsters (1957), Kronos (1957), Rodan (1956), The Mysterians (1957), The Black Scorpion (1957) and Fiend Without a Face (1958). These ones aren't 50s movies but Gorgo (1961) and The Day of the Triffids (1962) are two of my favourite movies of all time and don't get enough recognition

What does it say about me that I have seen all of these back in the day… AND LOVED THEM ALL!!! Back when there were only three channels these were played on a Saturday afternoon.

Honorable mention for "The Incredible Shrinking Man". And if there's a 1960s list coming up, then "Village of the Damned" should definitely be on it.

Only one. “ The Day The Earth Stood Still” Still the best today

While I agree with most of your picks, I feel “War of the Worlds” should be number one. I’m biased because it’s my all time favorite sci-fi film. Thank you for this content!!

The 1950s Journey to the Centre of the Earth is far more fun than the three modern ones from 2000 forwards.

Perhaps This Island Earth deserves a spot on this list"

The Creature from the Black Lagoon played a huge part in my life as a kid in the 60’s

When I was in 3rd grade, a friend and I went to see Them. The movie scared his pansy ass and we had to leave, so I didn't know how it ended. Decades later, it was shown on late Saturday night TV and I was able to finish the movie. Well worth the wait! Day of the Triffids (1962) will get my vote if you do a 1960,'s sci-fi movies follow-up. Excellent bring back the memories production! Thank you!

I am old, in my 70's now but saw all of these as a kid as our family owned all the movie theatres in town. I cannot dispute any on your list, as I loved every one, and certainly "Forbidden Planet" deserves the number one spot as it was innovative in so many ways, not the least of which was the electronic music score, listed as "Electronic Tonalities" by Louis and Beebe Barron. One film I would add is "It! The Terror From Beyond Space", often overlooked because of its low-budget origins. We all know the big-dollar later film "Alien" (1979) ripped off the plot shamelessly but "It!" had a (mostly) wonderful cast of character actor pros, good suspense build-up by not clearly showing the monster until about 1/3 way into the movie and a suspensful claustrophobic setting by the different floors or levels of the rocket ship separated by thick, metal lockable hatches. Paul Blaisdell did the monster costume, one of his best efforts IMHO. And despite a running time of barely over an hour, there are at least a half-dozen truly memorable set-pieces in the film. Greatly enjoyed your presentation. Keep up the good work.

“The Thing” (1951) was actually titled “The Thing from Another World”.

One thing almost all these movies have in common is that, unlike contemporary remakes and other scifi, they know how to build suspense and character around a meaningful idea. The fact that their special effects were limited makes them concentrate on the elements of story that make these works last, unlike the violent, mindless stuff today.

"Creature from the Black Lagoon" another favorite.

This was a well Done Compilation! Subscribed. My Ultimate Favourite is WAR OF THE WORLDS... The "scariest and Smartest" of them all! A tip of the Hat to THEM which as a toddler scared me to death!

The Day The Earth Stood Still. Best SF movie ever made. It is a parody of The Greatest Story Ever Told.

To this day, I am still waiting for the sequel to "When Worlds Collide", "AFTER Worlds Collide". Great Book.....could be a great movie!

Wow, thank you for this. So many great memories.

In my opinion, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is more of a fantasy movie. Movies I miss "Tarantula", "It came from Outer Space" and "The Beast from 20000 Fathoms"

As I recall: War of the Worlds was an 1898 HG Wells novel; Journey to the Center of the Earth was an 1864 Jules Verne novel; Invasion of the Body Snatchers was a 1954 Jack Finney novel "The Body Snatchers"; The Thing was a 1938 John W Campbell Jr Novella "Who goes There?"; The Day The Earth Stood Still was a 1940 Harry Bates short story "Farewell to the Master"; When Worlds Collide was a 1933 novel written by Edwin Balmer and Phillip Wylie who also published a sequel After Worlds Collide. Just saying.

Nice list! Fun facts: Forbidden Planet is based on Shakespeare’s “ The Tempest,” and Gene Barry from War of the Worlds has a small cameo at the end of Spielberg’s 2005 remake.

In a Part 2... 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms', 'Fiend Without a Face', 'Creature from the Black Lagoon', 'It Came from Outer Space', 'It Came from Beneath the Sea', 'The Deadly Mantis', 'The Giant Behemoth', (and there's one with Martians that inject alcohol into teenagers, but I can't recall its title). Another teen-age/Rock n' Roll/ Monster movie was 'The Giant Gila Monster'. ...these are what comprised my Saturday afternoons spent at the movies in the Fifties. Pretzel sticks and a mos'ly seltzer drink from the soda machine. These movies and MAD magazine made me the unbalanced 75-year-old I am today.

My two all time favorites as a young teen: "When Worlds Collide" and "The thing". Great movies for their time.

I'm a fan of sci-fi films of the 50s and 60s, and this is one of the best "ten best of" lists (I own most of the films on it). Nice work.

Great selections, excellent synopses & reviews! Thank you!

Excellent recap! Really takes me back. Thanks!

"World Without End" should have a place since I believe it's the first movie where the crew of a space ship travel into the future. "Destination Moon" should also have a place as it pretty much predicted the way the moon missions would actually work, and this in 1950! I can also recommend "Flight to Mars" for its introduction of alien humanoid beauties wearing extremely revealing outfits. That got my attention as a young boy! I should also like to mention that many of these movies re-used props from previous films. Forbidden Planet sourced many of the props, uniforms, Altaira's dresses, various gauges, etc. I get a kick out of recognizing these!

Great list & wonderful commentary. I watched every one of those movies as a kid on Saturday mornings. Bravo!

I grew up watching all these gems!

Damn, good job. I have no complaints about any of the films you've selected. And you did a great job with the narration. Had a lot of fun with this one, thanks!

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers was a perfect match for the McCarthy era and the "communists hiding among your friends" paranoia. The Thing (From Another World) couldn't be made according to the original story in the 1950s, but John Carpenter did a good job on the original story, "Who Goes There?" Forbidden Planet so CLEARLY influenced Gene Roddenberry that it can be said to be the origin of the Star Trek franchise.

These movies all came out before my time, but I still remember watching some of these in the 60's on Saturday afternoons. It was great to be young with imaginations running wild.

Fellow Clevelanders will remember Ghoulardi airing these and other cheesy sci-fi movies every Friday and Saturday nights in the 60’s ! Ernie Anderson’s Ghoulardi character will be spun off by many others, most notably Svengoolie currently airing on MeTV !

super effing great brother! i'm 63. saw all of these with my brother in the revival theaters when i was a kid! saw them again on tv on the chiller theater midnight movies and afternoons!

Robbie was also in a pretty good movie called The Invisible Boy, which, in part, was inspiration for The Terminator, of all things!

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers main character Kevin McCarthy was also in the 1978 remake. Kind of felt like he survived the 1st movie only to be killed in the 2nd. I liked the cameo.

The introduction and sponsors segment was exquisite atop a great list of films and your description.

Excellent review with footage. Most appreciated, subscribed.

If you read the novelization of 'Forbidden Planet' you will find that Altaira is not Morbius' daughter, but a clone of his wife. Even creepier!

A nod to THIS ISLAND EARTH certainly seems appropriate, but missing, as it was a big influence on FORBIDDEN PLANET (the process the crew goes through in FP to prepare for conditions on Altair was directly derived from TIE, which has often been suggested as an influence on Star Trek's "beam-me-downer" set-up. It originated with the earlier film.) How about INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN? Certainly a better film than THE BLOB. Or either of the Quatermass films, far more influencial and lasting that WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. BUT, then again, these just may be your personal favorites, and as such, are very individualistic. Thanks for the video!

I was happy to have stumbled upon this video by chance, and decided to check it out. I grew up as a Sci-Fi fan boy watching Saturday afternoon matinees on local TV. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) was one of my top 10's, as was Body Snatchers & Blob. But there was one above all that has been my #1 vintage Sci-Fi film fave of the 50's (and 60's for me). I've raved about this film since I was 10, as well thru High School. Even in college, I took ONE film studies class while majoring in clinical psychology. Over the years I've probably rec'd as gifts 4 or 5 VHS cassettes/CD's & even a DVD about this film. All my family, friends, relatives, my ex's all knew my #1 film is also YOUR #1 film: The Forbidden Planet! To say I've watched it 100 times in my life is not out of the question. I recognized as a young boy this was different. It was the first high-budget, well written, a great cast, excellent SFX for a film in its day, especially for Sci-Fi. As many films took social & cultural themes of its time and weaved them into the story-line, as they did (for example, with the Red Scare) in The Day the Earth Stood Still... with one distinction. With the ascendance of Freud in the 50's, this film centered around the potential detrimental power of a dominant Id, and the over-active defense mechanisms of the super-ego (human conscience) deployed to try to keep the Id in check, & to have a well balanced Ego. Sorry to have written a tome on the subject matter, but this is how much I've regarded The Forbidden Planet as my (and apparently others') #1 Sci-Fi film of the 50's! It's a great list of videos you've curated for the genre and the decade! Thanks!

I'm thoroughly impressed by this video. The information, writing, clips and editing, music, and good voice-over. This sets a very high bar. If you maintain quality even near this level, you should have a hit. Good luck, and I'll be watching.

Thank you for this video. I had a huge rush of nostalgia for some of these gems. I plan to watch them and read the books again.

Very well done. Did not realize that so many good SciFi movies were made in the 1950s.

As a boy in the early sixties, my Mom insisted I sit and watch "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still". She was quite the fan and soon I was too. Two more that came to mind while watching this were "The Brain from Planet Arras" and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" . I don't remember how good they were but they left an impression. The giant floating brain was gross and Crusoe had a sidekick on Mars that suspiciously resembled a Native American. I remember I liked him.

This is great stuff. I remember most of these from childhood, thank you for this wonderful experience.

The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) is a movie that stuck with me since seeing it as a kid. Now that I live in Vegas I love the scenes where he wonders around old Las Vegas. A movie like it but showing a man that starts getting smaller is "The Incredible Shrinking Man", also from 1957.

'The Blob' was Steve McQueen's first film.... also, the Blob is transparent when it hatches but becomes red after it starts eating people because of the blood!!! Also - 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' isn't strictly sci-fi ... more a fantasy/escapist film perhaps? ... I agree with other comments - 'The Incredible Shrinking Man' is a 100% classic!!! Honourable mention for 'Them' and 'I Married A Monster from Outer Space'

This is awesome! Liked and subscribed!

Please do not forget that this was WALTER Piegons his first sci fi picture..it was tremendous! Superb cast and great play. The lazer pistols gave off a humming sound!

What a kick it was watching your video. Being almost 70 and a sci-fi nut I’ve seen all these and more. Special effects before cgi, though corney were much more fun. Now that I’m older what I really enjoy now is reading the original books and novels. Comparing the original plot and message to the movie is fascinating and also quite telling.

I have seen all these movies and...well, I agree with ALL your choices; and in the order you presented them. Well done, Mike & Team!

Nice work. Forbidden Planet is one of my all-time favorites. I saw it first in 1958 when I was 7. It was the first time I saw homo sapiens emerge from a flying saucer. Only when I saw it again as an adult did I appreciate the significance of the theme "how much energy is enough?" that destroyed the Krell. Great film!

“Invaders from Mars”was a B&W sci-fi movie released the same week as the great “War of the Worlds”! But Invaders was seen through the eyes of a young boy (I was 9 when I saw both these movies)! He is awakened by the sight and sound of a Space Ship landing just beyond eyesight of his home! He tells his father who goes out to investigate. He returns saying didn’t see anything but his personality seems entirely changed! When the boy goes to town he notices some peoples personalities seem different as well! He then notices something small on their necks at the top of their spine! The people who walk in the sand outside of town are disappearing into the ground and return significantly changed as if they are being controlled! I’ll stop there and say it was a eerie, scary sci-fi having some elements of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (‘56)! The ending was effective & left you wondering (a dream or?)

Great list! I always loved the horror movies disguised as Sci fi, such as, First Man into Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon trilogy and It! The Terror from Beyond Space.

I don’t know if anyone else has commented here on this issue, but the video maker made an error when talking about “When Worlds Collide “. He says that Earth gets destroyed by colliding with Zyra, but that’s not right. Zyra’s close passing causes the initial damage to Earth, but it’s actually the star Bellus that ultimately ends up colliding with Earth destroying it. If Zyra had hit Earth, both would have been destroyed meaning the rocket ship would have had no planet to land on. Other than the one mistake I really enjoyed the video! 😊

As a kid in the 50's my favorite Sci-Fi Movies always had Commando Cody or The Rocket Man in them like the classic "Radar Men from The Moon" and I have copies of them to this day and also "Metropolis" is another favorite. I enjoyed your 10 pics and can see why you picked them for this video and thanks for all your efforts to bring back these great memories of simpler times~!! (New Sub Today)

Even in the mid 1960s... these 50s Sci Fi movies were fun to watch. I was just a little kid growing up during the turbulent 60s era. My particular 10 best would have omitted The Blob, where it's difficult to see Steve McQueen pretending to play a teenager (he was actually 27 yrs old then),.. and Godzilla (man in a costume). I definitely would have included "Invaders from Mars" , where one of the stars of the movie is indeed a child!... and "20 Million Miles to Earth"... featuring the fantastic special effects stop action magic by the late, great Ray Harryhausen! That's just me though.

excellent video. all top movies, 50s sci fi was the best, no need for all the gore and crap of today. nothing like grabbing a bowl of popcorn and sitting down to watch movies like these, and Monolith Monsters, it came from beneath the sea, beast from 20000 fathoms and others

The least believable thing about the Blob is that Steve McQueen's character is 17. Steve was 27 but looked 40.

I saw “Forbidden Planet” the year it came out. I still consider this the best sci-fi movie of all time, and have wondered why a modern-day sequel (or prequel) hasn’t somehow been created. But then I am glad it was not because no sequel could stand up to this original great movie.

Great selection. I even agree with the ranking order. I'm in my 70's and remember all of these movies. I have them in my own collection.of 61 (so far) sci-fi movies from the 1950's.

Great list! I saw many of these on TV as a small child while visiting my grandparents on Saturday afternoons.

Oh man your videos are sick Bro. Thanks. Already a subscriber

Awesome video. It brought back a lot of childhood memories.

Thanks for sharing these precious memories for those of us who saw them in the 50's and 60's, and sharing for the New Generations, in the hope that they realize what they are missing out on today. 👍👍 5⭐

I loved watching monster movies when I was a kid and saw all of these movies. The 50s had so many great sci-fi movies. A couple of other movies from that time period I enjoyed was "From Hell it Came" (Tabanga!) and "Attack of the Crab Monsters" (with "the professor"). But there are so many others, so good and some so bad they're good!

When Worlds Collide absolutely facinated me as a kid. How about a top 10 campy sci fi movies like " Queen of Outer Space ?

Amazing list of Amazing films ! These changed my life ,seeing them as a child of the 70's. First off Gammera is Godzilla's friend .It's hard to say which affected me the most but being an artist all my life I was inspired to become a special effects artist. Thanks for reminding me I need to see some of these again ASAP !! SUBBED. probably binge your channel tomorrow

Im 65 and love these old Si Fi movies. Especially with Robbie the Robot. Creature from the Black Lagoon is a super favorite. Thank you so much for your Channel and keep the content coming. Im a Disabled Veteran and it really helps my PTSD.🇺🇸

Good selection. The phrase is "Klaatu barada nicto" and was deliberately used as an homage in the 3rd Evil Dead movie with Bruce Campbell.

I love how Miles reprises the ending to Body Snatchers at the start of its 1970s remake. Continuity.

Of all the movies in your list, which I’ve seen many, many times, The Day the Earth Stood Still is by far my #1 because it was the most believable and “adult” in its message. While made in black and white, the special effects were awesome for the time as was the saucer’s exterior and especially interior. There were undoubtedly scary moments, but they weren’t overdone or “in your face”. And even though Gort’s suit appears hokey by 2023 standards, Gort’s helmet head, rising visor, and ominous flashing light are still quite terrifying. Great list, BTW.

Instant sub can't wait to see the rest of your material.

Great video. The movie the Blob was filmed in my hometown in Pa. My number one favorite 1950's sci-fi movie is War of the Worlds but the Day the Earth Stood still is a close second along with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Destination Moon and the book it's based on along with Tarantula are among my very favorites as is Journey to the Center of the Earth which I catch often on Showtime.

I _loved_ these early SciFi movies, both the American and Japanese movies, but not so my family. I would take every opportunity to spend the night with my best friend, Marty, because his family loved these movies and watched on every time I was there. Kevin McCarthy and John Hoyt (When Worlds Collide) (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) starred in a bunch of 50's SciFi movies and shows, but some of these had some really high profile mainstream actors. The Blob: Steve McQueen. Journey to the Center of the Earth: James Mason Godzilla: Takashi Shimura. You probably won't know him but he was absolutely _brilliant_ as the leader of the samurai mercenaries in "Seven Samurai", as well as starring in a ton of other great movies. Them: James Whitmore and James Arness (also in The Thing) The Day the Earth Stood Still: Patricia Neal. And of course. Forbidden Planet: Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Neilson and Ann Francis. My favorite is Mothra, but it wasn't made until 1961. It also stars Takashi Shimura.

Good selection Bro !

That was awesome! I love the old sifi movies! I have a couple of them in my DVD collection! Thank you for your posting them!

You forgot that Forbidden Planet also influenced the original Johnny Quest. There was the invisible creature brought to view by the electrified force field in a Johnny Quest episode that had a very close resemblance to the creature in Forbidden Planet.

Great list - 1, 2, and 3 are my absolute favs! Thanks for putting this video together :-) If you ever want to chat Sci Fi don't hesitate to get in touch.

Well done, very enjoyable. Yes, more please!

Great video.. And yes.. even though I love robot from Lost in space.. .. Robbie is Boss. .. .. one last thing.. 1950s war of the world.. IT CAN STILL HOLD ITS OWN TODAY.. amazing

Great list. I watched Rodan and The Crawling Eye incessantly as a kid on a local channel. Always scared the heck out of me.

Super fantastic!!!!! Loved it!

Enjoyed this blast from this past - thanks. As a kid my mother would let me stay up late to watch the 50s sci-fi movies. Here in the UK, the sci-fi genre was pretty much atrophied, though there were a few classics such as Village of the Damned.

Though not exactly sci-fi, the 1959 film, "On the Beach" should get honorable mention. The survivors of WWIII are all congregated in Australia, the last habitable place on Earth. They try to live-out their lives, as the deadly radiation slowly drifts toward them. A similar theme is explored in the 1962 film, "Panic in the Year Zero".