Seats on a spaceship are prized items after it is discovered that a star is on a collision course with Earth. Some top-flight SFX help save humankind when the ship manages to make it to a planet that happens to be passing by. Despite landing in an arctic landscape, it looks likes Eden when the survivors step outside. Scientifically implausible, but enjoyable.
Creature from the Black Lagoon D: Jack Arnold (1954) 79m
Buy Amazon
B-grade monster mash which overcomes pedestrian script and occasional lifeless acting with some fine underwater photography. Scientific expedition to the Amazon finds a prehistoric man-amphibian who sets his sights on sexy Julia Adams. Very much in the King Kong mould, the film was originally shot in 3D.
Godzilla - King of the Monsters D: Terry Morse (1954) 80m
Buy Amazon
The first in a long line of Japanese Godzilla (aka Gojira) movies has the monster revived by nuclear testing and then cutting loose on Tokyo. Fifteen sequels later (not counting the recent re-make) the same thing was still happening. Out-of-sync dubbing became a trademark of these movies - which only served to add to the fun.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea D: R Fleischer (1954) 127m
Buy Amazon
Audiences got a sobering break from all the kitsch in this wonderful Disney version of the Jules Verne novel. James Mason, Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre star - as Capt Nemo tries to bring peace to the world by sinking military shipping with his high-tech submarine Nautilus. The giant squid scene is worth the price of admission alone.
Earth vs the Flying Saucers D: Fred F Sears (1956) 83m
Buy Amazon
Outstanding Ray Harryhausen SFX has flying saucers crashing into Washington DC landmarks and creating all sorts of havoc. The standard plotline has aliens invading Earth and facing more resistance than expected from its pesky human inhabitants. Superior B-grade blast from the past and a genuine 50s sci-fi classic.
Journey to the Center of the Earth D: Henry Levin (1959) 132m
Buy Amazon
Jules Verne makes it to the big screen yet again, this time with a couple of laughs thrown in for good measure. Scientist (James Mason) leads an expedition to the earth's core. Climatic perils, prehistoric creatures, geomorphological hazards and a psychedelic forest make the race to the 'underworld' a non-stop adventure.
The Incredible Shrinking Man D: Jack Arnold (1957) 81m
Buy Amazon
Working from his own novel, scriptwriter Richard Matheson made sure there would be no Hollywood-style upbeat ending. Radioactive fog causes fully-grown Grant Williams to start shrinking, whereupon he loses everything he holds important in life. He has memorable run-ins with the house cat and a normally innocuous spider.
The Fly D: Kurt Neumann (1958) 94m
Buy Amazon
A scientist invents a molecular disintegration machine sort of like the transporter on The Enterprise. Things get icky when a fly gets stuck in the gizmo with him and Vincent Price (playing a good guy for once) tries to sort things out. In a real surprise, novelist James Clavell is the man responsible for penning the screenplay.
