Sci-Fi Cinema in the 1950s
Science fiction movies from the fifties (1950-1959), including TV movies. This list uses a fairly strict definition of science fiction, and therefore does not include most films that deal with fantasy, the supernatural, or super heroes. Films that fall more under the umbrella of horror (like many creature features) have also been omitted.
See also: Sci-Fi Cinema in the 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
Related sci-fi list: Sci-Fi Television in the 1950s
See also: Sci-Fi Cinema in the 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
Related sci-fi list: Sci-Fi Television in the 1950s
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- DirectorIrving PichelStarsJohn ArcherWarner AndersonTom Powers"Destination Moon", tells the tale of when Doctor Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer approach Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation construction firms to help build a rocket that will take them to the moon.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsWalter ReedLois CollierGregory GayeA hero single-handedly sets himself against Martians trying to assume control of Earth.
- DirectorMikel ConradStarsMikel ConradPat GarrisonHantz von TeuffenBoth the CIA and KGB investigate UFOs in Alaska: friend or foe?
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsLloyd BridgesOsa MassenJohn EmeryAn astronaut crew on their way to the Moon are unexpectedly propelled by gravitational forces and end up on Mars instead.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetWallace GrissellStarsJudd HoldrenLarry StewartGeorge EldredgeSpace hero Captain Video battles the evil Vultura on the planet Atoma.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
- DirectorArch ObolerStarsWilliam PhippsSusan Douglas RubesJames AndersonThe world is destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. Only five Americans survive, including a pregnant woman, a neo-Nazi, a black man and a bank clerk.
- DirectorLesley SelanderStarsMarguerite ChapmanCameron MitchellArthur FranzFive astronauts successfully fly to Mars where they encounter seemingly friendly and advanced inhabitants who harbor covert plans to use their ship to invade Earth.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsRobert ClarkeMargaret FieldRaymond BondAs a mysterious planet hurls itself toward Earth, an enigmatic extraterrestrial scout arrives on a remote Scottish island with unknown intentions.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessJoan GreenwoodCecil ParkerAn altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.
- DirectorChristian NybyHoward HawksStarsKenneth TobeyMargaret SheridanJames ArnessScientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.
- DirectorTerry O. MorseStarsBruce KelloggOtto WaldisJim BannonScientists use a gigantic drilling machine for an expedition to the center of the earth.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsRichard DerrBarbara RushPeter HansenAs a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.
- DirectorWolfgang LiebeneinerStarsHilde KrahlJosef MeinradWaltraut HaasIt is the year 2000 and the World Global Union is in charge, although other countries are allowed to elect their own government leaders, as long as they support the Union. When Austria's newly-elected president, makes his inauguration speech, he declares Austrian independence and issues an edict ending Austria's financial support for the Global Union. The Global Union President arrives in a flying-saucer with her retinue of world-soldiers, equipped with death-ray guns, to put an end to the rebellion. The president and the country are put on trial. The Austrian president recounts the country's' long battle for peace, and shows how Austria stopped the invasion of the Turks, and gave the world the operetta and the waltz. He organizes a mass parade with flora floats and a brass band playing the Austrian Freedom Song in order to appeal to the court's impartiality. A 1943 document signed by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin and assuring Austria of independence is presented.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsGerald MohrPeggie CastleDan O'HerlihyA group of people at a bar witness the unfolding events of a Soviet invasion of the USA.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsGeorge D. WallaceAline TowneRoy BarcroftStrategic targets on Earth are being destroyed by an unknown weapon. Government security head Henderson suspects it's an "atomic ray" originating from the moon.
- DirectorHarry HornerStarsPeter GravesAndrea KingHerbert BerghofAn American scientist is able to contact and communicate with Mars with shattering political, economic, and spiritual repercussions.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsJudd HoldrenAline TowneWilson WoodThe invaders come to Earth to create an H-bomb to blast Earth out of orbit so that Mars can take its place.
- DirectorCharles LamontStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloRobert PaigeTwo workmen accidentally launch a space rocket intended for Mars, and find mistakenly landing in New Orleans just the beginning of their misadventures.
- DirectorArthur HiltonStarsSonny TuftsVictor JoryMarie WindsorAstronauts travel to the moon where they discover it is inhabited by attractive young women in black tights.
- DirectorFelix E. FeistStarsLew AyresGene EvansNancy ReaganThree scientists unlawfully remove the still living brain of a dead tycoon and experiment with it but the evil brain begins to telepathically control the lead scientist.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsBarbara PaytonJames HayterStephen MurrayBill and Robin, helped by their childhood friend, Lena, develop a "reproducer" which can exactly duplicate any object. Bill, crushed when Lena marries Robin, convinces her to allow him to duplicate her, so that he may have a copy of her for himself. The experiment, at first deemed a success, seems to have worked only too well as the duplicate, Helen, is such an exact copy that she also loves Robin, not Bill. Bill hopes to rectify the situation with another radical experiment.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsHelena CarterArthur FranzJimmy HuntA young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsRichard CarlsonBarbara RushCharles DrakeA spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.
- DirectorCurt SiodmakHerbert L. StrockStarsRichard CarlsonKing DonovanJean ByronThe Office of Scientific Investigation sends A-Men agents to investigate reports of unusual magnetic activity in various communities.
- DirectorW. Lee WilderStarsTed CooperTom DalySteve ActonWhen an asteroid crashes, the search begins to track down the mysterious aliens.
- DirectorRichard TalmadgeStarsDonna MartellHayden RorkeRoss FordA saboteur posing as a scientist strives to destroy the world's first space station.
- DirectorPhil TuckerStarsGeorge NaderGregory MoffettClaudia BarrettThe monstrous Ro-Man attempts to annihilate the last family alive on Earth, but finds himself falling for their beautiful daughter.
- DirectorAbram RoomStarsMikhail BoldumanSofiya PilyavskayaValentina UshakovaAn American scientist invents a new weapon of mass destruction - silver dust. Corporate war breaks out between two military industry giants to own the weapon. The scientist dies and his son makes the discovery public with more consequences.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsHoward DuffEva BartokAlan WheatleyA small group of closely-guarded British scientists test their first rocket amidst indications of matrimonial strife in the community. After the partial failure of the firing, a couple go missing - have they gone off together or are their murdered bodies circling the earth in the remains of the rocket?
- DirectorArch ObolerStarsHans ConriedWilliam H. LynnGloria BlondellTweedy college professor discovers his new TV set is animate, apparently possessed by something from the future, and militantly intent on regulating his daily life.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes TremayneA small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
- DirectorDavid MacDonaldStarsHugh McDermottHazel CourtPeter ReynoldsAn uptight, leather-clad female alien, armed with a ray gun and accompanied by a menacing robot, comes to Earth to collect Earth's men as breeding stock.
- DirectorHerbert L. StrockStarsRichard EganConstance DowlingHerbert MarshallA security agent investigates sabotage and murder at a secret underground laboratory, home of two experimental robots.
- DirectorBurt BalabanStarsPatricia NealHelmut DantineDerek BondA stranger from Venus lands in Britain and forms a bond with a young American woman. He comes with a warning to Earth's leaders that they must eliminate all nuclear weapons if the peoples of the solar system are to survive.
- DirectorW. Lee WilderStarsPeter GravesJames SeaySteve PendletonAn atomic scientist claims he was abducted by aliens after being injured in a plane crash.
- DirectorRichard CarlsonHerbert L. StrockStarsWilliam LundiganHerbert MarshallRichard CarlsonThree men are assigned by the Office of Scientific Investigation to man rocket ships to outer space and attempt to capture a meteor.
- DirectorOscar RudolphStarsCharles CoburnSpring ByingtonAnne FrancisWacky complications ensue when 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.
- DirectorSherman A. RoseStarsRichard DenningKathleen CrowleyVirginia GreyGiant robots from Venus invade Chicago. Stranded in the deserted city are strangers Frank and Nora.
- DirectorLee SholemStarsCharles DrakeKarin BoothBilly ChapinA young boy-genius befriends his grandfather's robot, designed as a test pilot for space travel and coveted by foreign spies.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsGene NelsonFaith DomergueJoseph TomeltyA scientist is found floating with bullet and a radiation halo around his body. The radioactivity has put him seven-and-a-half seconds ahead of us in time. He teams up with a reporter to stop his double from destroying his experiments.
- DirectorDavid KramarskyRoger CormanLou PlaceStarsPaul BirchLorna ThayerDona ColeA dysfunctional family operating an isolated date farm in the California desert is threatened by the arrival of an extra-terrestrial.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsWalter BrookeEric FlemingMickey ShaughnessyAn American-led team of International astronauts leave their space station on the first mission to Mars, but the captain's religious beliefs may get in the way.
- DirectorEdward L. CahnStarsRichard DenningAngela StevensS. John LaunerAn ex-Nazi mad scientist uses radio-controlled atomic-powered zombies in his quest to help an exiled American gangster return to power.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsRichard DenningLori NelsonAdele JergensIn a post-Apocalyptic world after an atomic war seven disparate people find themselves in a protected valley in the home of a survivalist and his beautiful daughter.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsBrian DonlevyJack WarnerRichard WordsworthProfessor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanJack ArnoldStarsJeff MorrowFaith DomergueRex ReasonAliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsHugh MarloweJoan TaylorDonald CurtisExtraterrestrials traveling in high-tech flying saucers contact a scientist as part of a plan to enslave the inhabitants of Earth.
- DirectorCy RothStarsAnthony DexterSusan ShawPaul CarpenterA team of astronauts lands on a moon of Jupiter to find it populated with beautiful young women looking for mates. An old man explains to the explorers the group's story, as well as the moon's dangers.
- DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsWalter PidgeonAnne FrancisLeslie NielsenA starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.
- DirectorJohn GillingStarsPaul DouglasEva BartokLeslie PhillipsAn American reporter smells a story when he is stranded in an Iron Curtain country where the local dictator is using gamma rays to transform children into mutated henchmen.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry GatesA small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsPeter GravesBeverly GarlandLee Van CleefA well meaning scientist guides an alien monster to Earth from Venus, so that he can rid mankind of feelings and emotions - but only death and sorrow results.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsEdmond O'BrienMichael RedgraveJan SterlingIn a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.
- DirectorPaul DicksonStarsKieron MooreLois MaxwellDonald WolfitThe British launch the world's first orbital vehicle. Their military sends a super-bomb along, which goes wrong and threatens the crew and a stowaway.
- DirectorGuy FergussonStarsMarcia ManolescueGillian HarrisonFella EdmondsA group of schoolchildren come upon an alien from Venus, and help him against a gang of criminals who are trying to kidnap him.
- DirectorKôji ShimaStarsKeizô KawasakiToyomi KaritaBin YagisawaUFOs are seen around Tokyo. Because they look like giant starfish the aliens cannot approach us without creating panic. Hence one of them sacrifices itself and takes the form of a popular female singer. It/she warns mankind that a meteor will crash on Earth. While the approaching meteor causes hotter and hotter weather, mankind runs and builds a last-chance anti-meteor weapon.
- DirectorEdward BerndsStarsHugh MarloweNancy GatesNelson LeighAstronauts returning from a voyage to Mars are caught in a time warp and are propelled into a post-Apocalyptic Earth populated by mutants.
- DirectorLeslie NormanJoseph LoseyStarsDean JaggerEdward ChapmanLeo McKernA radioactive, mud-like creature terrorizes a Scottish village.
- DirectorBert I. GordonStarsGlenn LanganCathy DownsWilliam HudsonA military officer survives a nuclear blast, only to begin to uncontrollably grow into an increasingly unstable giant.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsJohn AgarJoyce MeadowsRobert FullerAn evil alien brain from the planet Arous hijacks the body of an Earth scientist in order to control the Earth.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsGrant WilliamsRandy StuartApril KentAfter Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.
- DirectorEdward L. CahnStarsSteven TerrellGloria CastilloFrank GorshinAliens equipped with venomous claws invade a small town but the town's teenage population is mobilized to fight the menace.
- DirectorHerman HoffmanStarsRichard EyerPhilip AbbottDiane BrewsterA ten-year-old boy and Robby the Robot team up to prevent a Super Computer from controlling the Earth from a satellite.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsJeff MorrowBarbara LawrenceJohn EmeryAliens from another world send a huge robotic accumulator to invade the Earth and absorb all energy it comes in contact with.
- DirectorCharles SaundersW. Lee WilderStarsRobert HuttonGeorge CoulourisJulia ArnallA wealthy business man discovers he has a brain tumor and seeks medical help. The business man finds a scientist experimenting with transplanting monkey heads on different monkey bodies. The business man decides to steal the head of Nostradamus from the prophet's crypt.
- DirectorJohn SherwoodStarsGrant WilliamsLola AlbrightLes TremayneRocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaMomoko KôchiShortly after a giant robot destroys a village, aliens from outer space arrive offering friendship. Will the people of Earth tie these two events together?
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsPaul BirchBeverly GarlandMorgan JonesAn alien agent from the distant planet Davana is sent to Earth via a high-tech matter transporter. There, he terrorizes Southern California in an attempt to acquire blood for his dying race, the result of a devastating nuclear war.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsBrian DonlevyJohn LongdenSidney JamesProfessor Quatermass, trying to gather support for his Lunar colonisation project, is intrigued by mysterious traces that have been showing up.
- DirectorWilliam AsherStarsGene BarryValerie FrenchGeorge VoskovecAliens take five people, give them small capsules which can kill mankind without additional damage, with the understanding they will colonize Earth only if they use the weapons.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsAllison HayesWilliam HudsonYvette VickersWhen an abused socialite grows to giant size because of an alien encounter and an aborted murder attempt, she goes after her cheating husband with revenge on her mind.
- DirectorIrvin S. Yeaworth Jr.Russell S. Doughten Jr.StarsSteve McQueenAneta CorsautEarl RoweAn alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.
- DirectorBruno VeSotaStarsEd NelsonAlan Jay FactorCornelius KeefeThe inhabitants of a small Illinois town begin disappearing after a strange cone is found sticking out of the ground nearby.
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsJohn BaragreyMala PowersOtto KrugerA brilliant surgeon encases his dead son's brain in a large robot body, with unintended results...
- DirectorGilbert GunnStarsForrest TuckerGaby AndréMartin BensonA friendly visitor from outer space warns against conducting experiments with the Earth's magnetic field, that could mutate insects into giant monsters.
- DirectorQuentin LawrenceStarsForrest TuckerLaurence PayneJennifer JayneA series of decapitations on a Swiss mountainside appear to be connected to a mysterious radioactive cloud.
- DirectorPaolo HeuschMario BavaStarsPaul HubschmidMadeleine FischerFiorella MariScientists discover that a group of meteors are hurtling on a collison course with Earth, and if they hit, the planet will be destroyed.
- DirectorMontgomery TullyDavid PaltenghiStarsRod CameronMary MurphyMeredith EdwardsAn insurance investigator finds there's more to electronic dream therapy than meets the eye.
- DirectorArthur CrabtreeStarsMarshall ThompsonTerry KilburnMichael BalfourA scientist's thoughts materialize as an army of invisible brain-shaped monsters (complete with spinal-cord tails!) who terrorize an American military base in this nightmarish chiller.
- DirectorPaul LandresStarsArthur FranzKathleen CrowleyRobert BrownCarol Dahlmann enlists the Hollister brothers to help locate her missing husband. The husband was tracking a fallen satellite through the jungle. While tracking him down, the trio discover an unusually strong acid killing animals and people.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsDavid HedisonPatricia OwensVincent PriceA scientist has a horrific accident when he tries to use his newly invented teleportation device.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsJoseph CottenGeorge SandersDebra PagetIn 1868, American inventor Victor Barbicane develops a powerful military explosive that he also uses as fuel for a moon-bound rocket manned by himself and a motley crew.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsYumi ShirakawaKenji SaharaAkihiko HirataWhen a narcotics deal goes sour and a suspect disappears, leaving only his clothes, Tokyo police question his wife and stake out the nightclub where she works. His disappearance stumps the police - until a young scientist appears who claims that H-Bomb tests in the Pacific, evidenced by a "ghost ship" that has turned up in the harbor, have created radioactive creatures - "H-Men" - who ooze like slime and dissolve anyone they touch.
- DirectorGene Fowler Jr.StarsTom TryonGloria TalbottPeter BaldwinAliens arrive on Earth to possess the bodies of humans. One of their first victims is a young man, whose new wife soon realizes something is wrong with him.
- DirectorEdward L. CahnStarsMarshall ThompsonShirley PattersonKim SpaldingThe first manned expedition to Mars is invaded by an unknown life form, which stows away on the rescue ship.
- DirectorLester Wm. BerkeWilliam BerkeStarsRobert LoggiaEllen ParkerPhillip PineA strange missile from outer space circles the Earth at low altitudes, destroying everything in its path.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsWalter ReedLois CollierJames CravenFeature version of 1950 serial "Flying Disc Man from Mars."
- DirectorRichard E. CunhaStarsRichard TravisCathy DownsK.T. StevensEscaped cons stowaway on a flight to the moon and discover alien women ruled by a sadistic queen.
- DirectorEdward BerndsStarsZsa Zsa GaborEric FlemingDave WillockAmerican astronauts are drawn by a mysterious force to the planet Venus, which they find to be inhabited only by beautiful women and their despotic queen.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsJudd HoldrenAline TowneWilson WoodFeature version of the 1952 serial "Zombies of the Stratosphere. " Alien invaders plan to use a Hydrogen bomb to blast Earth out its orbit so Mars can replace it.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsMichel RayAdam WilliamsPeggy WebberAn alien intelligence aborts the launching of a rocket with the help of a bunch of children.
- DirectorEdward BerndsStarsBill WilliamsLyn ThomasRobert EllisA fungus brought from space threatens to grow and spread, devouring everyone in its path.
- DirectorRobert J. Gurney Jr.StarsWard CostelloJoyce HoldenFrederic DownsScientists build a time machine to snatch objects from the past. But little do they know that 20th-century objects put in the machine seem to be "traded" for analogous future objects by intelligent life.
- DirectorBert I. GordonStarsSally FraserRoger PaceDuncan 'Dean' ParkinGlenn Manning, "The Amazing Colosasal Man," believed dead after falling from the Hoover Dam, reemerges in rural Mexico, brain damaged, disfigured, and very hungry.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsDick MillerSusan CabotRichard DevonAn "unknown force" declares war against planet Earth when the United Nations disobeys warnings to cease and desist in its attempts at assembling the first satellite in the atmosphere.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsBeverly GarlandBruce BennettLon Chaney Jr.A woman in a hypnotic state recounts to two doctors the details of a horrific experience from her past life that began with the mysterious and sudden disappearance of her husband.
- DirectorIb MelchiorStarsGerald MohrNora HaydenLes TremayneOne of only two survivors from a Martian expedition is so traumatized she doesn't remember the circumstances of the trip.
- DirectorMikhail KaryukovAleksandr KozyrFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsIvan PereverzevAleksandr ShvorinKonstantin BartashevichTwo countries race to have the first successful landing on Mars.