Worlds of Wonder: Sci-Fi Goodness (and a bit of goofy fun)
I'm a sucker for worlds of imagination, so sci-fi has always been a favorite, even when it's been a bit cheesy (some of us have a sense of humor about this stuff). These are movie and tv show favorites; some are groundbreaking, some awe inspiring, some puzzling, and many are just plain silly. What's the point of having a future if it isn't at least fun? I'm skipping superheroes, if you don't mind, as I have covered them on another list.
Now, "Mr. Sulu, ahead warp factor 10!" "Aye, aye, Captain!" "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my parent's basement."
Some spoilers ahead...
Now, "Mr. Sulu, ahead warp factor 10!" "Aye, aye, Captain!" "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my parent's basement."
Some spoilers ahead...
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- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsVictor AndréBleuette BernonA group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.George Melies classic silent film about a group of scientists who travel to the moon, via a cannon-launched projectile. The film loosely adapts Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, and was a wonder of special effects, for its time. Edison ripped him off before he could bring the film to the US.
- DirectorStuart PatonStarsAllen HolubarDan HanlonEdna PendletonA French professor and his daughter accompany Captain Nemo on an adventure aboard a submarine.Early silent version of the Verne classic, with the ultimate science pirate, Captain Nemo. The title refers to the distance travelled, not the depth, for the smarty pants at Saturday Night Live (a sketch from the 90s).
- DirectorYakov ProtazanovStarsYuliya SolntsevaIgor IlyinskyNikolai TsereteliEngineer Mstislav Sergeyevich Los travels to Mars where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group of Elders with the support of Queen Aelita who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope.Early Russian sci-fi extravaganza. I've only seen photos; but, it looks amazing. It gets high praises from movie historians. Very imaginative look, right there with Lang.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav FröhlichIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.One of the true visual wonders of the silent era. Fritz Lang brings to life this tale of a monstrous city, where the elite live in grand towers, while the workers toil underground. One of the first uses of sci-fi cinema to make social criticisms, though there is plenty of that in Verne's work. The robot version of Maria would inspire the design of C3PO, which may explain why he acts that way.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsEl BrendelMaureen O'SullivanJohn GarrickNew York, 1980: airplanes have replaced cars, numbers have replaced names, pills have replaced food, government-arranged marriages have replaced love, and test tube babies have replaced ... well, you get the idea. Scientists revive a man struck by lightning in 1930; he is rechristened "Single O". He is befriended by J-21, who can't marry the girl of his dreams because he isn't "distinguished" enough -- until he is chosen for a 4-month expedition to Mars by a renegade scientist. The Mars J-21, his friend, and stowaway Single O visit is full of scantily clad women doing Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers and worshiping a fat middle-aged man.This is essentially a musical comedy, but it features some fantastic sets and interesting visuals. The main story is nothing to write home about.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.This film straddles both the scientific and the horrific. The mad genius Dr. Frankenstein tries to creat artificial life, with tragic consequences. Boris Karloff made the monster human. The film departs quite a bit from Mary Shelly, but is probably the better known version. It would influence many things, both in the sci-fi and horror worlds.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsCharles LaughtonBela LugosiRichard ArlenA mad doctor conducts ghastly genetic experiments on a remote island in the South Seas, much to the fear and disgust of the shipwrecked sailor who finds himself trapped there.Charles Laughton is Dr. Moreau in this early adaptation of HG Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau. Wells' metaphoric tale of genetic experiments is ably brought to life.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsClaude RainsGloria StuartWilliam HarriganA scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.Claude Rains stars in this adaptation of HG Wells. Again, this is as much horror as sci-fi, with Rains very effective as the scientist driven mad by his condition.
- DirectorKarl HartlStarsHans AlbersSybille SchmitzPaul HartmannUrged by famous airman Ellissen the Lennartz Company puts into reality the project proposed by his friend Droste: F.P.1, a huge floating platform in the Atlantic that makes long-distance flights viable. Ellissen is in love with company heiress Claire, but when he returns from his adventures to save the endangered F.P.1 he finds out that he has lost her to Droste.Really two films, a German one and then an English one. An engineer designs and builds a masive floating platform (the FP1 of the title) that is to be a waystation in the Atlantic, for air and sea travel. However, from the start, there are people trying to sabotage it. Conrad Veidt plays a playboy aviator who lends a hand. The design is interesting and the plot is good, but much of the acting revolves around the pseudo-romance. May be a bit dull for modern audiences.
- DirectorOtto BrowerB. Reeves EasonStarsGene AutryFrankie DarroBetsy King RossWhen the ancient continent of Mu sank beneath the ocean, some of its inhabitant survived in caverns beneath the sea. Cowboy singer Gene Autry stumbles upon the civilization, now buried beneath his own Radio Ranch. The Muranians have developed technology and weaponry such as television and ray guns. Their rich supply of radium draws unscrupulous speculators from the surface. The peaceful civilization of the Muranians is corrupted by the greed from above, and it becomes Autry's task to prevent all-out war, ideally without disrupting his regular radio show.Gene Autrey stars in this serial, as himself. A group of mysterious marauders is chased by Autry, only to find an underground advanced civilization. Autry gets caught up in the intrigue, but has to keep cutting out to record his radio show, or he will lose his ranch. This silliness tends to pull the plot to a halt, which keeps an otherwise good serial from becoming great.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRaymond MasseyEdward ChapmanRalph RichardsonThe story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.William Menzes directs this visually amazing tale of HG Wells' predictions of the coming future. Raymond Massey stars as John Cabal, a somewhat cynical man who is faced with man's stupidity as war breaks out. He joins together with a group of aviators and technocrats to bring about a new civilization, from the ashes of the old. Ralph Richardson is the "Boss," a petty tyrant with dreams of conquest. The acting is rather operatic and more than a bit pompous, but the visuals are stunning, from the Wings Over the World super bombers to the building of an underground utopia, to the moon launch at the climax. The film is a real triumph of modern design and imagination.
- DirectorFrederick StephaniRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeJean RogersCharles MiddletonFlash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.The first of Universal's Flash Gordon serials. This one sticks relatively close to the comic strips, as Flash, Dale, and Zarkov travel to Mongo to try and stop it from colliding with Earth. Neither the serial or the original strip ever address how they were supposed to do this and it is quickly forgotten. The acting is rather stiff, and some of the costumes are a bit clunky, not to mention, many of the actors weren't quite as athletic as Buster Crabbe, but it's a lot of fun and keeps you interested, once you get used to the rocket ships flying in circles. Universal gave this one a feature budget and it shows.
- DirectorB. Reeves EasonJoseph KaneStarsRay CorriganLois WildeMonte BlueCrash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. Norton's rocket submarine searching the sea and little Billy Norton, the professor's son stows away, of course. When they find Atlantis they are caught in a war between peaceful Atlanteans, note their white capes, and war-monging Atlanteans, note their black capes. After many harrowing moments for Crash, Diana, Prof. Norton and Billy, they barely get away with their lives when they escape a tower of Atlantis raised to the surface for the sole purpose of dominating or destroying the Earth (Which one depends on the compliance of the upper world dwellers.)This was Republic Studios' attempt at duplicating Flash Gordon. It doesn't have the same budget or imagination, but it makes up for it in action and beefcake. Ray "Crash" Corrigan is the hero, who is part of a naval expedition to Lake Pahoe, I mean, find a lost world. They find dictators, super tanks, and clunky robots, and a lot of guys in bedsheets, though they don't appear to be part of the KKK. Silly fun for a while, but you are ready for it to end far sooner than it does. Try it in small doses.
- DirectorFord BeebeRobert F. HillFrederick StephaniStarsBuster CrabbeJean RogersCharles MiddletonWhen a deadly Nitron ray strikes Earth, Flash Gordon and his friends travel to Mars to battle Ming the Merciless and his new ally Queen Azura.Flash and the gang are back, as they try to thwart Ming's new plan, while meeting Queen Azura. Lots of great action here, much of which would inspire Star Wars.
- DirectorFord BeebeSaul A. GoodkindStarsBuster CrabbeConstance MooreJackie MoranA 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.Buster Crabbe also starred as the original sci-fi comic hero, Buck Rogers. In a slight deviation from the strip, Buck and Buddy Deering are frozen by gasses, after an airship crash, only to wake up in the future. There, they help stop the scemes of the evil Kane. Pretty good visuals here. George Lucas later used a clip at the beginning of THX 1138.
- DirectorFord BeebeRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeCarol HughesCharles MiddletonA ravaging plague has struck the Earth threatening no less than global extinction. This alien disease is believed to be the evil spawn of Ming, the merciless Emperor of Planet Mongo. The world's only hope now rests with Flash Gordon.Flash and his friends help out Queen Fria and King Ronal, rulers of Frigia, as they fight the evil Ming's schemes. Plenty of daring do and the usual circling space ships. The title crawl at the start of each episode would find its way to Star Wars.
- DirectorJohn EnglishWilliam WitneyStarsLee PowellBruce BennettEleanor StewartThe US marine corps must battle a would-be world conqueror who uses electricity as a weapon.An evil villain, the Lightning, launches attacks on the world, from his flying wing, while he launches electric torpedoes. It's up to a pair of US Marines to try and stop him. Much of the footage is recycled from Dick Tracy (including the flying wing) but the villain is brand new. His black costume and helmet would inspire Darth Vader.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetThomas CarrStarsKane RichmondRick VallinLinda LeightonAn adventurer travels to the moon to stop a madman from getting hold of the Interceptor Ray, a weapon that could destroy Earth.This was one of the rivals of Flash Gordon, an adventurer who travels through time in his Time Top. I have no idea how faithful the serial was.
- StarsDon HastingsAl HodgeHal Conklin"Guardian of the Safety of the World", private citizen-scientist Captain Video, assisted by his teenage helper The Ranger and an army of Video Rangers, preserves the peace in the far-off future, fighting the evil Dr. Pauli of the Astroidal Society and a bunch of other baddies (Nargola, Mook, Kul, Clysmok). The show appeared nightly Mon-Fri, featured many outlandish weapons and techno-gimmicks, and was run on a minuscule prop budget.Another of the early sci-fi television series; one of the first, actually. This was a big hit with kids, back in the day.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsTristram CoffinMae ClarkeDon HaggertyJeff King in his experimental rocket suit battles the evil Dr. Vulcan.Wonderful Republic serial about a scientist who fights saboteurs, using a rocket pack. The enemy uses all kinds of scientific devices to kill and wreak havoc. This is the best of the three serials.
- StarsFrankie ThomasAl MarkimJan MerlinFour centuries into the future, Cadets Tom Corbett, Roger Manning and Astro are training to become Solar Guards. Their ship, the "Polaris" took them to numerous adventures, usually natural catastrophes rather than villains.One of the early tv adventure shows, low on budget but not ideas. Its hard to take these things seriously, though.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsWalter ReedLois CollierGregory GayeA hero single-handedly sets himself against Martians trying to assume control of Earth.Another sci-fi serial, though not felt to be in the same caliber as King of the Rocketmen or even the Phantom Empire. The budgets in these things don't lend themselves well to great visuals, apart from the Lyedecker Brothers.
- 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.One of the early sci-fi films with a great eye towards scientific accuracy. It's still a bit laughable, and more than a bit plodding, but it tries for serious. The Mysties roughed it up a bit.
- 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.Another early techno/sci-fi film, with ideas from Robert Heinlein. Unfortunately, they deviate a bit too much, but it's not a bad attempt.
- 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.One of the first truly serious sci-fi films, with an alien ambassador who comes to Earth to try to steer it from the path of war and destruction. He is aided by his robot Gort. Of course, some trigger happy earthling stirs things up. Great film from Robert Wise. Forget the Keanu version.