The Rocket Man Starring: Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Anne Francis, John Agar Film release: 1954
A little boy comes into possession of a ray gun that compels anyone caught in its beam to tell the truth. He uses it to prevent his orphanage from being shut down by creditors and to help a cute couple fall in love.
Who couldn't delve into the subject of the Flying Saucer phenomenon in the Atomic Age without referring to the iconic contributions made by Hollywood? And so, here it is . . .
The Day the Earth Stood Still(1951) My all, all-time fave. I can still remember being huddling in front of our tiny black and white set as a wee youngster, staring wide eyed as Gort makes his appearance down the ramp. Brimming over with one memorable scene after the other.
Stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Billy Gray and Lock Martin as Gort.
Day The Earth Stood Still-Bernard Herrmann - Gort - The Visor - The Telescope .mp3
It Came From Outer Space(1953) Another hero scientist to the rescue tries to make peace with a stranded menace from outer space. I like the ending when one of the bug-eyed creatures disguised as the lead love interest shoots deadly sparks from her wand. It Came From Outer Space
Invaders From Mars(1953) I don't know... it seems like the movie runs on about 30 minutes longer than it really needs to be, but it's considered a classic, plus an original storyline told from a child's perspective.
This Island Earth (1955) Not exactly an invasion storyline, but it does go in to quite a bit of detail into the sad story of Exeter and his dying other-worldly race. And there's saucers, the "interocitor", the "mu-tants" and a hero scientist. This Island Earth (1955) - Theatrical Trailer
The THING (from Another World) (1951) A giant carrot-man (played by James Arness) from space terrorizes a polar research outpost. My favorite scene is the beginning when the search-party forms a wide circle around an object they find under the ice, then realize they've found a crashed saucer. The Thing (1951) movie clip
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This Flying Saucer featurette is also published on the blog Atomic Living
The Day the Earth Stood Still Company: 20th Century Fox Director: Robert Wise Year: 1951
Cast: Sam Jaffe, Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Billy Gray, Frances Bavier, Lock Martin, Elmer Davis, H.V. Kaltenborn, Drew Pearson, Gabriel Heatter Plot: A visitor from outer space lands his saucer in Washington, D.C. and announces to the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or faces the consequences as a threat to other planets.
The movie is based on a story by Harry Bates - “Farewell to the Master” which was originally published in theOctober 1940 issue of Astounding. You can read this in its entirety: Farewell to the Master.
Score: Bernard Hermann utilize the eerie and other-worldly theremin for the first time for the soundtrack of a screen production. You can hear a sample of this music here.
What if America had followed through with Dr. Wernher von Braun's original, expensive and ambitious vision of travelling to the Moon, and then on to Mars beginning with the resources and science available in the 1950's? This filmmaker attempts to put the whole story together on the screen of that grand vision.
Disney's Man in Space - Conquest of Space - Launch! Von Braun's vision comes alive in 1955 with a little help from the Disney animators. This clip features a retriever rocket and a wheel-type space station.
Cunningly developed by Brotron Labs from an Electrolux vacuum atop a Steelcase chair base. A no nonsense, cut-to-the-chase destroyer. Please use responisbly.
The Rocket Man
