50s MADNESS

Here is a list of movies for viewing outside of class that are from the 1950s and early 60s. They are all streamable on Netflix.

GOJIRA (1954) – This is the first Godzilla movie in its original Japanese language version. It is surprisingly serious and somber in tone and deals directly with the consequences of the nuclear nightmare that Japan had experienced only a few years before at the end of WWII. These references were removed from a 1956 US version that kept most of the original footage but inserted Raymond Burr as an American reporter visiting Tokyo.

BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (1955) – This is Bela Lugosi’s last role while he was still alive (it’s a long story). If you have a desire to see the work of Edward D. Wood Jr., considered by some to be the worst director of all time, this is your opportunity. Poor Bela gives it his all in this looney mix of bad script, amateur actors, cardboard sets and ridiculous props.

IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (1958) – An stowaway monster kills the crew one by one on a spaceship returning from Mars. You are correct if you think this sounds a lot like “Alien”. Although it is a fun movie and somewhat better than most of the period, don’t expect something by Ridley Scott.

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) – This is one of Roger Corman’s best films. Shot in seven days, it is an ultra low budget horror comedy about a dim-witted loser who works in a beatnik coffee house and desperately wants to be an “artist” like those who mercilessly push him around.

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959) – This is one of several movies produced and directed by William Castle, the master of “gimmick” showmanship. This one was presented in “Emergo” which was a fake skeleton pulled over the audience on a wire during the “chilling” climax of the film. Whoopee! Vincent Price is fun to watch as he was becoming the horror icon of the next two decades.

BURN, WITCH, BURN (1962) – This British film was the second (and best) adaptation of Fritz Leiber’s great story, “Conjure Wife”, about a skeptical college professor who discovers that his success might be due to his wife’s practice of Black Magic. It was released in England as “Night of the Eagle”.

BLACK SABBATH (1963) – An anthology film of three short stories by the great Italian horror director, Mario Bava. His work has influenced filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino to Martin Scorsese. Here, Boris Karloff hosts a trilogy of terror done with Bava’s signature fluid camera work and deeply saturated color.

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) – Vincent Price plays the title role in the first movie version of Richard Matheson’s classic sci-fi/horror novel, “I Am Legend”. Charlton Heston would star in the 1971 version, “The Omega Man” and Will Smith would paly the slayer of the un-dead in 2007.