As always there are spoilers ahead!

Trigger warning for a lot of discussion of suicide with analysis of the plot along with a side of dark humour.

If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

If you want to watch the film before you listen you can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region. On the Beach is available online to buy and rent from Apple and other sources in many places.

I can’t believe I am almost done and dusted with this film! I did really like the film and have to admit that perhaps I have been giving it a hard time.  Perhaps because it gave me a hard time! There are moments of fun, flirtation and enjoyment but it is all within the backdrop of undeniable impending annihilation. I am definitely someone who prefers some depth and thematic discussion of the ethics of humanity in my science fiction (as well as some good old pew-pew led heroism) but I did find this film to be so very sad. Luckily I have two absolutely wonderful guests to keep me company and help me keep a stiff upper lip in the face of doom.

Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively.

John Wills is a Professor of American Media and Culture at University of Kent. He has written lots about popular culture including 1950s American and Nuclear film.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:10 Nuclear war is apparently not fun

08:09 Not your usual sci-fi

09:21 Scope, scale and cultural impact

13:43 We are ALL doomed

15:58 Gregory & Ava: Dwight & Moira

20:51 Fred Astaire as the scientist!

23:45 Peter and Mary contemplate suicide and murder

27:27 Love in the time of annihilation

30:03 Submarine: Signals and San Francisco

36:58 The Final Ferrari Race

39:30 Suicide

46:16 Legacy

49:09 Recommendations

Correction: 

At 9:54 Tom mentions the film has not been revived but a joint US-Australia TV film released in 2000 was made.

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be discussing Teenagers from Outer Space (1959). It is a low budget indie film which seems to fit into the “bad film” category and so will not be for everyone! But I found it a relief full of lots of sci-fi tropes, funny parts, a coherent plot and likeable characters.

The film is in the public domain. You can watch it on the Internet Archive website and there is also a weirdly colourised version of the film on YouTube where you can also find the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episode on the film. I found that very funny too.

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

 

You can follow the podcast on social media: Instagram, Threads and BlueSky.

You can support the podcast and get ad-free episodes on Patreon.

Please be aware that we touch upon sexual assault in this episode due to the content of the film.

Description

USA in 1959 was on the brink of a decade that would see major changes in the country in terms of race. But never without opposition. It was also the year in which Harry Belafonte, at the peak of his fame, would star in The World, the Flesh and the Devil.

The film centres Belafonte’s character, Ralph Burton, as the last man on earth. A Black man at a time when the country was wrangling with desegregation. Ralph is joined by Sarah and Ben: White survivors who enter what was for a while his world. This episode focuses on race and racism and I am so lucky to have two amazing guests to help us put the plot and frustrations into context.

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema.

 

Stéphanie Larrieux is the associate director of the Centre for the study of Race and Ethnicity at Brown University. She wrote about the World, The Flesh and the Devil as part of her PhD.

 

Chapters (times may vary slightly due to advertising!)

00:00 Introduction

01:07 Why is this film largely unknown?

03:10 Source material

10:05 Harry Belafonte

16:25 An empty Manhattan

18:53 The last man on earth

23:12 Double sight and racial panopticism

24:26 Cultured and capable

28:03 Sarah’s unnerving feet

31:31 The frustrations of this film

35:26 Free, white and 21: Ralph and Sarah’s relationship

39:25 The hair cutting scene

41:42 Ben comes to town: Mel Ferrer

45:31 The ending

47:09 Inger Stevens

48:29 Ben’s “idealism”

49:47 The title

50:28 Black protagonists in science fiction

53:36 Legacy

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be talking about On The Beach (1959) starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins.

You can visit Just Watch in your region to find out where you can watch this film although it seems to be easily available to rent or buy online.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

You can follow the podcast on social media: Instagram, Threads and dipping my toes into BlueSky a little too. 

Description
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) spawned many remakes over the years, each rendition reflecting the anxieties of its time. The original film is one of my absolute favourites with a variety of potential meanings for a mid-century USA grappling with what it means to be American. My heavyweight sci-fi guests help to unravel the multiple threads.

The Experts
Barry Keith Grant is professor Emeritus of Film Studies at Brock University Canada. He has written/edited a huge number of books including the BFI Classics book on Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction 
02:25 From book to screen: different visions, nostalgia and AI 
07:24 Invaders from Mars: mistrust and madness 
11:58 Sci-fi, Horror and Noir, oh my! The film gets framed with an ambiguous ending 
21:21 Sleep, Shakespeare and tranquillisers 
25:29 Capitalism vs communism: Corporate culture, McCarthyism and conformity 
31:57 Becky: the frothing dress, changing social dynamics and divorce 
41:07 The great remake: 1978 and the cynical fade of counter culture 
47:22 The benefits of being a pod person 
50:52 1993 remake 
52:22 Recommendations

NEXT EPISODE!
The next episode is on one of the most underrated science fiction classics of all time: Forbidden Planet. You can buy or rent the 1956 film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region. It is worth checking platforms like Tubi and Pluto if they are available in your region.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

For the full show notes without character limits you can head to the website here. 

You can follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads although I am also trying to join in on BlueSky a bit. (It's a bit weird though.)

Description
Godzilla was released in 1954 in Japan it has gone on to become one of the longest standing movie franchises and began the Kaiju film tradition. Directed by Ishiro Honda, produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka with special effects my Eiji Tsuburaya. It was inspired in part by the 1933 King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms from the year before.

A big difference compared to US 1950s sci-fi films dealing with nuclear themes is the Japanese perspective. The film wasn’t officially released in the US until 2004 but the US re-edit Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956) brought Godzilla to a global audience. My absolutely wonderful guests share their insights on this cinematic masterpiece.

The Experts
The wonderful Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech. She has written/edited numerous books on science fiction.

Yuki Miyamoto is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at DePaul University. Her work focuses on the ethics around nuclear discourse.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction 
01:56 A short overview of Japanese science fiction history 
04:42 Yuki’s experience of Godzilla in Japan 
07:00 1950s sci-fi in the USA 
10:40 Japanese cultural context: Post nuclear bomb, radioactive tuna and censorship 
16:03 Scientists and flipped themes 
22:44 The scientist’s daughter, a demure rebel and the moral centre 
27:27 Japanese self-sacrifice 
29:27 Godzilla: King of the Monsters! Social critique vs entertainment 
40:16 The Legacy of Godzilla 
48:55 Recommendations for listeners 
51:25 Jean-Luc Picard’s birthday message to me

THE NEXT EPISODE!
The next film we will be covering is the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film is available to buy and rent on many outlets and even some free with ads streaming platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where its available in your region. 

We will (as usual) be spending some time speaking about the sequels so it might be worth watching the 1978 version as it is considered the best version by many! I loved it but the original holds a very special place in my heart so it will not be replaced by a copy. 

The episode hasn’t been recorded yet but the plan is also to speak a little about the 1953 film Invaders from Mars that has many similar themes.

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The end of 2024 is nigh!

You can follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads although I am also trying to join in on BlueSky a bit. (It's a bit weird though.)

Welcome to an end of year special! A compilation of some interesting parts of conversations from the podcast in 2024 that were edited out. I edit the podcast down to a more digestible length but this means I often lose parts of conversations that are really fun or insightful so here is a collection of those.

I also wanted to give a shout out to some amazing independent podcasters who (like myself) do not have huge teams or budgets to put together their shows. They’ve also offered me some sense of camaraderie in the crazy world of obsessing over something and then making podcasts about it.

You can find The Lorehounds crew and offerings which include conversations and recaps on some of the best sci-fi shows around on their website.

Em at Verbal Diorama is absolutely lovely, passionate about films (especially The Mummy) and does deep dives into many popular movies. Her research skills are fantastic and she is a fellow winner on the Ear Worthy podcast awards for 2024. Her website is here.

Mark Steadman is a fantastic and knowledgeable digital producer who knows lots about the podcasting business. He will be launching Undo: How history’s outliers got stuff done in January. You can learn more about him and it here.

Details of the guests and shows featured in this end of year episode: 
• Jess Nevins and Julian Chambliss were guests on episode 10: Pulps, Comics and the Rise of Superheroes. 
• Mark Bould and Peter Conolly Smith were guests on episode 8: King Kong: The Origin of a Cinematic Titan.
• Sonja Fritzsche and Noah Isenberg were guest in episode 5: Metropolis: The Most Influential Sci-Fi Film Ever*.
• Thomas Doherty and Xavier Aldana Reyes were guests on episode 12: Mad Scientists: Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll & Boris Karloff.
• Keith Williams and Ari Brin were guests on episode 14: Robert Duncan Milne: A Lost Pioneer of Science Fiction.
• Jay Telotte and Marc Longenecker were guests on episode 15: The Thing from Another World: Howard Hawks & the Cold War.
•  Scott Higgins and Phil Nichols were guests on episode 18: It Came From Outer Space: Bradbury, 3D & 1950s Teens
• Thomas Doherty and Mathew Rule Jones were guests on episode 21: Them! The 1954 Horror Sci-Fi that Spawned Big Bug Cinema.
• Jay Telotte and Mark Bould were guests on episode 11: Flash Gordon: From Buck Rogers Rip-Off to Space Opera Legend.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro and indie podcast shoutouts
02:06 Comics and Pulps: Who is your favourite superhero?
05:46 King Kong: Hays Code, covert wars and Frank-N-Furter
10:17 Metropolis: Rotwang the prototype
15:35 Mad Scientists: Favourites
20:55 Robert Duncan Milne: From page to screen
30:35 The Thing from Another World: Themes of seeing
34:15 It Came From Outer Space: 3D cinema and unions
36:28 Them! Drive-ins, degenerates and dingy cinemas
46:53 Flash Gordon: Casting choices

NEXT EPISODE! The next film we’ll be focusing on is the original Japanese version of Godzilla (1954). This is surprisingly difficult to get hold of although you can purchase a DVD from many outlets. In the US it is available on Apple TV and Max (previously HBO Max) as well as on Tubi. You can check the Just Watch website to see if it might be streaming in your region. I just wanted to add that the opening credits and music are just phenomenal in my opinion.  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

For the full show notes without character limits you can head to the website here.

Description
Them! (1954) is the 6th film we are covering from the 1950s. Hollywood is beginning to realise that sci-fi is a money making genre! The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms from the year before was a big hit for Warner Brothers and Them! followed suit. Another nuclear monster but this time it’s giant ants! Them! was the very first big bug feature and is often considered the greatest of the genre. It sits firmly between the horror and sci-fi and leaves a legacy that echoes beyond just big bugs into films like Aliens and A Quiet Place.

The Experts
Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively including the book Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s.

Matthew Rule-Jones is a senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:23 The first Big Bug film: Atomic to hydrogen bombs
03:49 The quality of Them!
05:24 Matt’s first experience of watching Them!
10:08 Boredom v terror, the silent generation and flame throwers in Japan
14:48 US vs UK interpretations in the post-war period
20:15 Scientists and heroes
25:15 The Ants!
28:38 Feminism
31:08 Sounds design and the Wilhelm Scream
33:51 The horror in Them!
39:01 The LA river
40:00 1954 Brown vs Board of Education: the seeds of change
43:10 Legacy
50:41 Recommendations

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode there is an “end of year” episode which will include parts of conversations over the last nine months (since the launch) that were edited out before release. There are some bits I planned for the end of the year and others that I reluctantly took out because I like to keep my podcast episodes to 45 minutes. (And yes, I know I fail almost every single time!) 

CORRECTION: I stupidly say Alien at 49:50 when I obviously mean the sequel Aliens. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

For the full show notes with no character limits you can visit the website.

Description
Creature from the Black Lagoon released in 1954 is in many ways the epitome of 1950s science fiction cinema. Jack Arnold (director), William Alland (producer) and Richard Carlson (the leading man) were all people who has become associated with the increasingly popular genre. It also has a beautiful and stylish Julie Adams as the heroine, scientists on a mission and of course the monster. But there are no themes of nuclear radiation, Russian invasion or small town shenanigans here. The film was filmed in 3D although the peak of 3D popularity had faded and most viewers saw this film in 2D. 

Two absolute heavyweights of sci-fi research join me to enlighten us.

The Experts
Jay Telotte is a Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film.

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has also written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema.

You can take a look at the Forbidden Planet poster mentioned amongst others that have the same trope by viewing my instagram post here. 

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the film and guests 
02:16 Little Jay goes to the cinema 
03:19 Universal monsters and comebacks 
06:20 The mythical origin of the story 
10:03 The monster, its maker and dangerous desires 
21:37 Human invaders and Jack Arnold 
23:22 Everybody loves Kay 
28:59 Man, nature, science and the environment 
29:12 Evolution: The Scopes Monkey Trial 
33:32 1950s sci-fi: Space opera to the dangers of the depths 
38:55 The Legacy: Sequels 
45:00 Legacy cont: The Shape of Water 
53:10 Recommendations for listeners

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be taking a closer look at Them! (1953). You can check Just Watch to see where it can be found in your region and the film is available to buy or rent at many outlets including Apple TV. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

Earlier this year I approached a brilliant theoretical physicist about whether she would like to come on the podcast to speak about her favourite science fiction film but instead she wanted to speak to me about the science of the film Interstellar (2014).

I apologise in advance for my own level of understanding of physics which is a mix of decades old lessons in school, a tiny handful of pop science books and a number of science fiction films.

Interstellar was released ten years ago in November 2014.

Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne was the main consultant to director Christopher Nolan on the science of the film which is packed with scientifically accurate scenarios (and a few scientifically fantastical ones too).

The Guest
Claudia de Rham is a theoretical physicist at Imperial College, London. Her expertise lies at the interface between Quantum Field Theory, Gravity, Gravitational Waves, Cosmology, Particle Physics, Numerical Simulations and Theoretical Mathematical Physics.

She is also the author of the book The Beauty of Falling: A Life in Pursuit of Gravity.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the show and guest
01:20 Claudia’s first viewing: Science, emotion and the world you leave behind.
03:25 A quick overview of the premise
04:37 Wormholes: folding paper and spacetime
17:17 Kip Thorne and gravitational anomalies
11:14 Time dilation and black holes
15:14 Time is relative, gravity is multi-dimensional and the transition to science fiction
16:49 Going beyond Einstein’s theory of general relativity to the holy grail of science
19:34 Differences in singularities and being pulled apart by black holes
21:47 The tesseract and extra dimensions
24:50 Gravity as communicator
29:38 Gravity vs light
33:20 Direct detection of gravitational waves, interferometers and LISA* in space
35:06 Observation of the shadows of black holes
36:50 Claudia’s love of gravity

Next Episode:
The next film we will be looking at is Creature from the Black Lagoon from 1954!

You can check JustWatch for where you can find the film in your region. It is available to rent or buy in various places including Apple TV. Sequels Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us are trickier to track down though there are some online streaming services. The Shape of Water (2017) which is heavily inspired by the original film is available to rent or buy in various places and is also available for those who have a Disney+ subscription. 

* The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As always there are spoilers ahead!

If you want to read the full show notes you can click the episode on this page and
scroll down.

Description
Are we sick of alien invasion films? I certainly hope not! Although this one is a little different as the aliens just want to leave. It Came from Outer Space (1953) was directed by Jack Arnold who would make a name for himself in the 1950s as a director of many sci-fi films. Although the script was written by Harry Essex the treatment for the film was by none other than the famous Ray Bradbury. The film is a mix of schlocky sci-fi and poetic soliloquies set in small town USA. To help us dig a little deeper into this film I have two fantastic guests.

The Experts
Scott Higgins is a Professor of Film at Wesleyan University as well as being the Curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives. 

Phil Nichols is a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and a researcher with a special interest in Ray Bradbury. He is Senior Consultant to the Ray Bradbury Centre at Indiana University and editor of The New Ray Bradbury Review. He is also the man behind the Bradbury 100 podcast and the Science Fiction 101 podcast.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the show and guests
01:40 The beginnings of a sci-fi film director Jack Arnold
04:30 Ray Bradbury’s influence on the film
09:40 The schlocky and elusive Aliens
15:54 Bradbury’s politics in the 1950s
18:22 Bradbury’s treatment vs Harry Essex’s screenplay
21:38 Small town USA: provincial views, scandal and something simmering beneath the surface
28:11 Teenage culture: post war boom, TV and rock n roll
33:26 Body snatching
36:00 3D cinema!
42:57 Ray Bradbury’s treatment
45:22 The legacy of the film
50:56 Recommendations

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be taking one of my pesky detours! I speak to brainiac theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham about the science of Interstellar which is ten years old on November 6th 2024. Interstellar (2014) is available to rent or buy at an array of outlets. You can check JustWatch to check which platforms it is available in your region.

 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As always there are spoilers ahead!

If you want to read the full show notes you can click the episode on this page and scroll down.

Description:
After the classic film The Day the Earth Stood Still we move forward to 1953 and yet another Alien invasion. This time the aliens are definitely not looking to be friends. The War of the Worlds was written by HG Wells and published in 1897 in Pearson’s magazine. There have been many adaptations of the text including the famous radio play from Orson Welles in 1938 and the film adaptation by Steven Spielberg in 2005. I mention the drawings of the Martian tripod machines early in the episode. You can take a look at these wonderful images on this Instagram post.

To help us with their brilliant insights I have two wonderful guests.

The Experts
Keith Williams is a Reader in English Literature at the University of Dundee where he runs the science fiction programme. He is the author of the book H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies. 
Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the show and guests 
02:26 HG Wells original text and his place in science fiction history
09:00 The 1938 Orson Welles CBS radio play 
12:46 1953 USA: paranoia and morality 
15:04 The differences from the novel: jingoism, religion and diversity
21:32 California: Manifest Destiny and small town attitudes
24:52 Race and racial segregation 
28:55 Science, religion and salvation
36:04 The spectacle of the film
38:31 The 2005 Spielberg rendition
43:35 The legacy of the film 
47:22 Related recommendations

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be taking a closer look at It Came from Outer Space (1953). You can check Just Watch to see where it can be found in your region and the film is available to buy or rent at many outlets including Apple TV. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

If you want to read the full show notes you can click the episode on this page and scroll down.

The Day the earth Stood Still was released in 1951 just like The Thing from Another World. And just like that film The Day the Earth Stood Still is based on a story from Astounding Science Fiction magazine. 

The flying saucer craze of 1947 has obviously made its impression on Hollywood and The Day the Earth Stood Still delivered a seamless sleek futuristic saucer along with an imposing shiny robot and a polite humanoid alien who comes in peace to deliver an ultimatum to a world wrangling with the atomic age. 

The Experts: 

Glyn Morgan is Curatorial Lead at the Science Museum in London and is a science fiction scholar. 

Peter Gottschalk is a Professor of Religion at Wesleyan University with a special interest in the South Asian region, empire and science. He also teaches a class called “Awesome Cinema”. 

Chapters 
00:00 Introduction to the show and guests 
02:22 Astounding magazine, The Manhattan project and the Peace Offensive 
5:55 From pulps to peace: Sci-fi amid the red scare 
11:28 The Flying Saucer 
14:00 A benevolent invader and the United Nations 
19:39 Gort the robot - Klaatu, Barada Nikto! 
25:55 The sane scientist 
29:06 Christian themes 
34:36 Media frenzy 
38:24 The 2008 remake 
42:44 Bernard Hermann’s seminal score 
44:06 Legacy and recommendations

 

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be taking a closer look at The War of the Worlds (1953). You can check Just Watch to find out where it can be found in your region. It is available to buy or rent at many outlets including Apple TV.

If you wanted to listen to the famous 1938 radio play from Orson Welles you can hear it here on YouTube.

And if you want to hear Richard Burton’s hypnotic reverberating voice in Jeff Wayne’s Musical version of War of the Worlds you can hear that here on YouTube.

 

 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As always there are spoilers ahead!
For the full show notes with no character limits you can click the episode on the website watch page here.

Description:
We are finally in the 1950s! The Golden Era of science fiction cinema.

Although the 1950s are known for may B Movies The Thing from Another World was produced (and possibly directed) but the very famous Howard Hawks and came from RKO which was a big name studio at this time.

This film capitalised on the growing appetite for science fiction in the USA which was up until this recently largely in print but also a little on television although studios were still wary of the science fiction label. Based on the John W Campbell novella Who Goes There? from 1938 there were a few significant changes made to the story.

The Experts
Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including the 2023 Selling Science Fiction Cinema.

Marc Longenecker is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Film Studies at Wesleyan University.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the show and guests
02:40 The 1950s sci-fi explosion
06:34 The studio aversion to science fiction and the paramount decree
09:55 Howard Hawks, Howard Hughes and who really directed this film?
16:20 If it walks like a Hawk: Hallmarks and the Hawksian woman
21:52 The Cold War, flying saucers and “the group”
34:05 Jay’s comparison to The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
36:26 The influence on John Carpenter and The Thing (1982)
44:21 The legacy of the film
48:56 Recommendations for listeners

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be taking a closer look at The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). You can check Just Watch to find out where it can be found in your region and is available to buy or rent at many outlets including Apple TV. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

 

Although science fiction cinema did not begin in the USA it seems that by the 1950s Hollywood had tapped into the ravenous appetite the public had for the genre.

 

The period is now known as the Golden Age of Science Fiction with an array of films ranging in style, topic and quality. Themes of space travel, alien invasion, nuclear fears and cold war paranoia are strewn across the decade.

 

Meanwhile in Czechoslovakia Karel Zeman was working on making some cinematic masterpieces made for children based on the works of Jules Verne and other late 19th century authors. In 1958 he made the film Invention for Destruction based on Verne’s novel Facing the Flag. In 1961 this was dubbed in English and retitled The Fabulous World of Jules Verne and distributed by Warner Bros.

 

The visual style is based on late 19th century etchings and illustrations of Verne’s novels which you can take a look at on this Instagram post.

 

The film went on not only to inspire many prominent filmmakers like Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam but also a cohort of writers who cite his film as being the origin for the style of steampunk science fiction.

 

I spoke to two wonderful guests to understand the historical context and ongoing influence of the film.

 

Thomas Lamarre is a Professor of Film, Media, and East Asian Languages and Civilisations at the University of Chicago. He is also the author of the Steam Punk cinema chapter in the Oxford Handbook of New Science Fiction Cinemas.

 

Mary Heimann is Professor of Modern History at Cardiff University. She is also the author of the book Czechoslovakia: The State that Failed.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the show and Karel Zeman

03:51 Post War Czechoslovakia

06:52 A Christmas Dream and Hermina Týrlová

07:25 Global animation after World War 2

10:48 Journey to the Beginning of Time

12:47 Why haven’t I heard of this film*?

15:37 Science Fiction in Czechoslovakia

18:27 Steampunk!

23:08 Thomas’ experience of the film

24:58 The Czech perspective

26:12 The Czech New Wave and the Prague Spring

30:58 Milos Forman and filmmakers in exile

32:19 The messaging and nature of the film

35:56 Legacy

41:41 Recommendations for the listener

44:44 Ads and subscription details

 

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be speaking about another lesser known science fiction film: The World, the Flesh and the Devil from 1959. You can find out where the film is streaming in your region on the Just Watch website and an internet search brings a few leads for the full film online.

 

*Possibly because I am stupid.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unlike most episodes there are no film spoilers ahead!

For full detailed show notes please click the episode on this page and scroll down.

This episode we take a huge jump back to the end of the 19th century and a side step to science fiction literature rather than film.

Robert Duncan Milne is a lost pioneer of science fiction literature. Milne’s work had largely vanished despite a book drawing attention to him in 1980. Born in Scotland in 1844 he died in San Francisco at the dawn of the 20th century. During his time in San Francisco he worked as a journalist as well as writing science fiction short stories.

In the many stories Milne wrote he included themes of time travel, alien life, teleportation, cryogenic preservation, remote surveillance and much much more.

My fantastic guests today have spent many years researching and compiling Milne’s work and trying to discover as much as possible about his life and work.

The Experts
Keith Williams is a Reader in English Literature at the University of Dundee where he runs the science fiction programme. He has a special interest in the pre 1945 period. 
Ari Brin completed her Masters at the University of Dundee where she began her PhD research which focuses on the life and work of Robert Duncan Milne.

The book that Ari and Keith have been working on will be released in January 2025. It is available for pre-order for the ungodly price of £117 in the UK or $175 in the USA. We all hope a cheaper, consumer friendly version will be released in the future. 

Shownotes:
00:00 Introduction
01:59 Why was this pioneer’s work lost?
03:21 Milne’s contemporaries and the topics he wrote about
06:57 The promising young man who vanishes from Scottish society
12:32 San Francisco: an exciting literary hub in the late 19th century
14:18 Milne’s excessive drinking and the Keeley cure
19:27 Milne’s journalism and how it fed into his fiction
22:20 The Great Moon Hoax of 1835
25:51 Milne, Wells and visions of the future
33:17 The death of Milne and his work
36:32 Keith and Ari’s book and the crazy price

NEXT EPISODE!

WE ARE IN THE 1950s!!!!! It is an exciting but overwhelming time so please bear with me.

The next film we will be speaking about The Thing From Another World (1951). You can find out where you can watch it on Just Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/ 

It is available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play and other outlets. If you are in the USA I believe you can watch it for free (with ads) on Tubi.

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As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

For full detailed show notes (without character limits) you can choose the episode on the watch page here: https://www.everyscififilm.com/watch

This is a special crossover episode with The Lorehounds podcast. To learn more about The Lorehounds and their extensive coverage of multiple TV series you can visit their website here.

Description
It has been 45 years since the first Alien (1979) film released in the cinema receiving lukewarm reviews. Perhaps the impact of a different kind of science fiction film was completely lost on film critics having to deal with the many clasher films of the 70s and a slew of Star Wars rip offs? But since then, Alien has cemented its reputation as a sci-fi film classic. Although there were many sci-fi horrors in the 1950s B-movies this film was different. There is no dashing hero, no damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, no bug eyed monster that takes away from the gritty realism of the film. This film set science fiction cinema on a different course.

The Experts
Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He specialises in literature, film, and cultural history from the 19th century to the present. He has written/edited a crazy number of articles and books including the BFI Film Classics book on Alien.
Jason Eberl is a Professor for Health Care Ethics at St Louis University with a special interest in biotechnology, human enhancement and the philosophy of human nature. He has also written extensively including a range of books that examine the philosophy of various mainstream media such as Star Wars, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.

Co-Host
David is one third of The Lorehounds and is joining as co-host for this special crossover episode.

Chapters
00:00 Intro to the show and Alien’s bad reviews
02:55 The Origins of Alien
06:22 Why was Alien such a success?
08:06 Alien’s departure from the slick sci-fi aesthetic
09:15 Truckers in Spaaaace! Grittiness and the late 1970s political landscape
17:13 The protagonist: breaking away from gender stereotypes
24:00 Giger’s art and the Xenomorph's life cycle
26:50 A lack of eyes, Charles Darwin and Francis Bacon
30:31 The ship and the alien
33:43 The other monsters: Ash the android and the company
39:39 The history of heads speaking the truth
41:12 The Company: The factory line, Joseph Conrad & Belgians in the Congo
46:17 Jones the cat
51:22 The Philosophy of Alien
53:38 Recommendations
58:02 Outro

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we have a discussion about a long-lost pioneer of science fiction literature from the late 19th Century. Robert Duncan Milne’s work had largely vanished despite a book drawing attention to him in 1980. Milne was born in Scotland and died in San Francisco just before the dawn of the 20th century. Much of his legacy and work is thought to be lost due to the huge earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. My two wonderful guests are working hard to have him and his work recognised. 

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Be warned: There are some potential spoilers ahead. Neither of us have watched Alien: Romulus yet but there is a lot of talk of the franchise and what we are expecting of the new film including a very clever theory from David which could be a spoiler.

This is a bonus episode which is part of my first ever crossover podcast!

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* is joining The Lorehounds podcast as both are a little too excited about a certain franchise.

Alien (1979) is 45 years old this year and Alien: Romulus is being released on the 16th of August. To celebrate we have this bonus episode is myself and David from The Lorehounds having a short chat about the trailer for the new film. The next full episode will be on Alien (1979) released on Sunday the 18th of August. The Lorehounds and myself will be having a fan discussion about Alien (1979) on their podcast and finally you can catch a discussion about the Alien: Romulus film over at The Lorehounds after its release.

For more details about The Lorehounds you can visit their website here.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the Alien franchise. You can leave me a voice message here or catch up with what I’m working on or researching on my Instagram page. 

Chapters 
00:00 Intro to the show and the crossover project 
04:06 Alien: Romulus synopsis and production details 
05:57 Kids in Spaaaace! 
08:02 Sound design 
12:36 Infused with the original 
13:05 Practical effects 
16:10 Cultivating the next generation of fans 
19:00 Expectations: Ayesha 
20:36 Expectations: David 
23:51 David’s brilliant theory (and potential spoiler!) 
25:40 The Blade Runner and Alien universe 
28:51 Outro

NEXT EPISODE!
As mentioned above the next episode will be a discussion with David from The Lorehounds and myself speaking to two wonderful guests about Alien (1979). All the Alien films are available on the Disney Plus channel but are also available to buy or rent in many places including Apple TV. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

For full detailed show notes (without character limits), including the titles of the films mentioned or shown, you can choose the episode on the watch page here: https://www.everyscififilm.com/watch

Description

The idea of the ‘mad scientist’ has been with us for a very long time. In the early 1930s science fiction (and horror) films proliferated with the trope. Metropolis (1927) had already had the remarkable Rotwang who was a prototype that would go on to be referenced in Stanley Kubrick’s character Dr Strangelove (1964) with his black-gloved hand.

But why has the mad scientist become a staple of cinema? And why were the 1930s and 40s a time when Dr Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and the many other crazed scientists (including several played by Boris Karloff) became so commonplace? Luckily we have two wonderful brains ripe for picking!*

The Experts

Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University; he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively.

Xavier Aldana Reyes is a Reader in English Literature and Film at Manchester Metropolitan University with a special interest in the Gothic. His books include the fiction anthology Promethean Horrors: Classic Tales of Mad Science.

*Disclaimer: No human brain transplants were carried out on unwilling participants during the making of this podcast. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

03:05 The Great Depression and the Hays Code 

06:24 How World War I changed perceptions of science 

07:38 Frankenstein, Faust and forbidden knowledge 

11:33 The male mad scientists and the lack of female ones

16:13 Religion, magic and science

20:20 Eugenics, miscegenation and The Code

25:26 Anti-authoritarianism, psychoanalysis, Leopold and Loeb

33:34 Einstein, real science and the beneficial scientists

43:00 The legacy of the mad scientist

48:12 Recommendations for the listeners and outro

NEXT EPISODE!

I have a lot of detours planned ahead (which you can learn about in the outro). One of the films I will definitely be covering very soon will be Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) for a crossover episode with The Lorehounds podcast. Alien can be found to buy or rent on many channels as well as hard copies.

To keep up to date with what’s coming next you can join me on Instagram. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

For full detailed shownotes (without character limits) you can choose the episode on the watch page here.

If you would like to watch the Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers film serials they are available on YouTube. (Warning: the serials are repetitive and there are three Flash Gordon serials and one Buck Rogers!) The 1980 Mike Hodges Flash Gordon film is available to rent or buy at an array of outlets including Apple TV. 

Although it was Buck Rogers that triggered an array of copies after the comic strip was published in 1929, it is Flash Gordon  (one of those copies) that went on to have a film serial made with a lavish budget by Universal Pictures in 1936. Buck Rogers has had a significant impact in popular culture but the trajectory of Flash Gordon has eclipsed it in many ways.

This week’s experts bring you all their knowledge about how this came to be.

The Experts
Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film.

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has also written/edited many books on science fiction cinema.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to show and guests
01:39 Why a Flash Gordon film serial?
09:58 The full bill cinema experience in 1936
11:55 The origins of the misaligned Space Opera
14:29 Star Wars, George Lucas and his 1930s influences
16:08 Post Star Wars Space Opera
19:55 Pushing beyond a space adventure to social commentary 
21:48 Flash Gordon: The damsel, the hero and the good scientist
27:34 Ming the Merciless: Asian stereotypes, representation and racism
32:42 Aliens, post code reshoots and the sexual current
37:25 The 1980 Flash Gordon: Mark gushes while Jay waits
42:45 Jay’s reaction
45:06 The legacy
49:45 Recommendations

 

NEXT EPISODE!
The next episode will be covering an array of films about ‘Mad Scientists’ from the 1930s and early 40s. 

I will share some of the titles here but it will be a topical discussion. Boris Karloff who came to fame for playing the monster in Frankenstein (1931) plays the role of the mad scientist in multiple films during this period, many that stray away from the science fiction genre or have a strong crossover with horror film. Some of these are: The Man Who Changed his Mind (1936), The Invisible Ray (1936), Black Friday (1940) and The Man with Nine Lives (1940).

Aside from those we also have the film Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933), The Island of Lost Souls(1932) and both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde films (1931 and 1941). Metropolis (1927) has the scientist Rotwang who is an excellent earlier example of this trope.

You can check JustWatch to find where these films are available to buy, rent or stream in your region. I have found many on Apple TV and some are available on YouTube.

 

 

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Whilst researching the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers film serials of the 1930s I was delighted to find far too much information about the pulp and comic book origins of these heroes. So we are taking a detour to speak with people who really have their heads wrapped around this topic.

For full shownotes for this episode without character limits you can visit here.

We will be talking about Flash Gordon (and a little about Buck Rogers) in the next episode. Scroll down to get more information on where to watch the 1930s film serials.

The Experts
Julian Chambliss is a scholar and a professor at Michigan State University. He is the author of multiple books including Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men: Superheroes and the American Experience.

Jess Nevins is an Author and research librarian who has annotated multiple comics and written the Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, The Encyclopedia of Pulp Heroes and The Evolution of the Costumed Avenger: The 4,000-Year History of the Superhero.

Chapters
00:00 Intro to the show and guests
02:14 The origins of pulp fiction
04:14 The western frontier and the American hero
06:23 Superheroes in the pulps and ancient civilization
09:42 WW1 and Hugo Gernsback’s Amazing Stories
11:21 Buck Rogers, race and rapid change
15:13 From pulp to comic strip: Buck Rogers and Tarzan
15:39 The success of Flash Gordon 
16:55 Racial politics of Flash Gordon
19:16 The true first superhero
20:38 Phantom’s international popularity
21:38 The Great Depression, superpowers and The New Deal
25:35 The Jewish influence
28:44 Superman as the good immigrant
32:25 Women: from pulps to comics
35:55 The rediscovery of black creators
40:44 Moral panic, senate hearings and the Comics Code Authority
48:34 The future of the hero

NEXT EPISODE!
Next episode we will be focusing on the Flash Gordon (and Buck Rogers) film serials of the 1930s. You can check JustWatch to see where you can access them: https://www.justwatch.com/

There are also available on YouTube including some strangely colourised versions.

I would also highly recommend watching the 1980 version of Flash Gordon which is ridiculously good fun in my opinion. It is available to rent or buy in various places including on Amazon and again you can check on Just Watch where it may be streaming in your region. 

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As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

For full detailed shownotes (without character limits) you can choose the episode on the watch page here.

I would love for you to join in by watching The Invisible Man here.

You can follow what I'm researching and working on next on the podcast Instagram page @everyscififilm.

Description:
When HG Wells wrote The Invisible Man in 1897 he was in a world in which the telephone, the phonograph and even the invention of the radio brought the idea of disembodied voices to an increasing number of people. In the 1933 film director James Whale (who also directed Frankenstein) imbued the film with themes of mass communication more relevant to an age of radio broadcasts and film newsreels.

Although it is a part of Universal Pictures classic monsters it often feels more like a comedy than a horror. The film was a great success with the special effects impressing moviegoers and critics. This week’s wonderful experts break down the themes and history of the film. We also have a little discussion about Things to Come (1936) which is also based on an HG Wells story and touch upon the infamous War of the Worlds radio play (1938) which (apparently) led people to think aliens were invading.

The Experts
Keith Williams is a Reader in English at the University of Dundee with a special interest in the pre 1945 period and HG Wells. He is the author of the book H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies.

Marc Longenecker is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Film Studies at Wesleyan University and wrote an article titled A Brief History of Invisibility on Screen.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Invisibility on film and by HG Wells
10:28 Humour, satire and prejudice
14:26 A man walks into a pub
15:28 Rags to riches: Whale, Wells and Rains
20:12 The invisible actor
22:02 Phonographs, radio and Hitler
27:18 War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama)
29:58 The special effects
35:37 HG Wells Vs the movies
41:00 Things to Come (1936)
46:42 Legacy
49:08 Conclusion
51:32 Recommendations

NEXT EPISODE!
No film to watch for next episode as we will be discussing the development of early pulp fiction magazines and comics and their relationship to science fiction. You can start catching up with the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers film serials of the 1930s as I am working on an episode based on them.  You can check JustWatch to see where you can access them.

You can also watch them on YouTube. There are also some colourised versions. There were three Flash Gordon serials and one Buck Rogers serial
Flash Gordon (1936)
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars (1938)
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
Buck Rogers (1939)

CORRECTION: at 24:09 Keith Williams misspeaks and says 1933 was the year of the Nazi coup. This was the year the Nazis came to power in a landslide election. The Beer Hall Putsch was in 1923.

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As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

For full detailed shownotes (without character limits) you can choose the episode on the watch page here.

I would love for you to join in by watching the film King Kong here.

Description:
In early March 1933 the US welcomed Franklin D Roosevelt as their 32nd president. The longest lasting presidency in US history.

That same weekend the original King Kong opened in theatres in New York. The huge ape was a big success and continues to wow audiences almost a century later.

Although I have many dear friends and family members who adore this creature I have never been enraptured by him. I wanted to find two experts who really had love of this film as well as the knowledge and insight that would put the movie into context.

The Experts
Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited multiple books on science fiction and the 1933 King Kong is one of his favourite films.

Peter Conolly Smith is an Associate Professor of History at Queens College, CUNY. He specialises in American studies and also considers King Kong as one of his favourite films. 

Chapters

00:00 My reading plans, a big thank you intro
00:46 Introduction
02:00 Why Mark loves the film
03:40 Why Peter loves the film
06:57 The meaning and relevance of pre-code films
09:25 The great travelling filmmaking adventurers
13:06 The Depression Era as King Kong
19:28 Racism: inherent and the allegory
27:32 The Scottsboro Boys trial
30:28 Beauty and the Beast: the contamination of civilization
36:08 Boyish adventure!
39:04 Groundbreaking special effects
41:53 The humanisation of Kong
43:26 The legacy: Kong, Kaiju and Jurassic Park
50:39 Conclusions
51:10 Recommendations for listeners

NEXT EPISODE!
The next film we'll be speaking about it The Invisible Man. You can watch it here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

For full detailed shownotes (without character limits) you can choose this episode on the watch page here and scroll down.

I would love for you to join in by watching the film Just Imagine which is available here.

If you would like to share your thoughts on the film or the episode you can do that on Instagram.

Description
How did the US make a lighthearted, musical rom-com in answer to the grand German dystopia of Metropolis?

Just Imagine was made by David Butler who was hot off the success of another musical: Sunny Side Up (1929).

Just Imagine was released in November of 1930 a little over a year after the Wall Street Crash. Sound had become commonplace in movie theatres and musicals were drawing in the crowds. Just Imagine had a budget of approximately $1.1 million.

The film is set in 1980. Unsurprisingly there are no synth bands or shoulder pads. There is, however, a glorious retro-futuristic glimpse into what the vision of the future looked like for the people of 1930. The film is very different to its big budget predecessors Aelita Queen of Mars and Metropolis. Just Imagine is a light-hearted, musical rom-com and offers very little anxiety about technology or the future. I had considered titling the episode 'Just Imagine Being Optimistic About the Future!'. Luckily I have procured some heavyweight experts to explain how techno-optimism was par for the course in the machine age USA.

The Experts
Jay Telotte is a Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written extensively about film history for decades including many books and articles on science fiction cinema. He wrote the article Just Imagine-ing the Metropolis of Modern America in 1996.

Lisa Yaszek is back with us! She is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, has written/edited multiple books on science fiction and teaches Just Imagine as part of a futurism, fashion, and science fiction design class. She was recently received the SFRA Award for Lifetime Contributions to Science Fiction Scholarship.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro to the show and guests
01:41 The perfect storm for a musical rom-com sci-fi
04:55 Musicals
08:19 Science Fiction
10:26 Swedish accents, gender and the other queen of Mars
15:10 Optimism, World's Fairs and technocracy
19:53 The futurists and fashion
24:26 Visionary tech hits and misses
28:50 Good and evil of sci-fi fashion
31:47 The death of the big-budget futurist film
33:27 Visual legacy: Flash Gordon, Frankenstein & Buck Rodgers
35:29 Sci-fi musical Vs sci-fi horror
37:34 Conclusions
40:07 Recommendations

NEXT EPISODE!
We will  be speaking about the 1933 original King Kong! The film is available to buy or rent on many streaming channels. You can check the 'Just Watch' website to get details on where.

You can also watch the film here.

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We're doing things a little differently this episode. There are still spoilers ahead!

Frankenstein is considered by many people to be a solid first choice for the first science fiction novel. (Before you start jumping up and down in disgust, yes, there are many stories from the 1600s and even ancient tales which are considered to be strong contenders for the first written sci-fi story. That does not take away from the influence of Mary Shelley.)

In 1816 the teenager* went on holiday to Switzerland and came up with the character of Frankenstein and his monster which would then develop into a novel titled Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Over 200 years later there are still films being made based on the characters from the book.

In this episode, we touch upon James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein film but look at the origins of the story, examine why its monster has such a long lasting legacy, and why these stories resonate with us still.

For full detailed shownotes please click the episode at www.everyscififilm.com/watch and scroll down.

The experts
Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He specialises in literature, film and cultural history from the 19th century to the present. He has written many books and numerous articles on science fiction, horror and the Gothic.

Sarah Artt is a Lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University. She has taught courses on Frankenstein in film and literature and co-led a 3 year project titled The Age of Frankenstein which examined the origins and legacy of the story. Her book Quiet Pictures comes out in May 2024.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction, thank you and guests
02:08 The origin of the monster
04:51 Mary Godwin: not your average 19th century girl
06:22 The monster is still with us
10:16 Mary Shelley as the monster: my hackneyed take
14:23 The ultimate goth princess
15:02 Knowledge and punishment
16:37 The horror film genre
20:12 Frankenstein’s monster: a child of revolution!
23:16 Why we love monsters
29:58 James Whale and the Bride of Frankenstein
31:38 Godzilla, B movies and pod people
35:50 The Stepford Wives
39:18 The slave becomes the master
40:08 Burning cross, lynching and the mob
42:59 Conclusions: class, prejudice and eugenics
46:06 Recommendations

Next episode
The next film we will be covering is Just Imagine (1930). Is is a musical, rom-com sci-fi set in 1980. You can watch it here: https://archive.org/details/JustImagine_201701

*Correction: I wrongly say at 02:37 that Mary Shelley is 16 or 17 years old when they arrive at Villa Diodati but she is 18.

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You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

In 1992 Ishiro Honda sat down for his final interview with journalist David Milner. When asked about which of his own films were his favourite Honda listed Godzilla (1954), Gorath (1962) and The Mysterians from 1957.

 

The Mysterians is a visually beautiful film full to the brim with sci-fi tropes. A technologically advanced but desperate alien race, affected by radiation, is invading earth and wants to take our healthy women for breeding purposes. There’s also a groovy space station and the first mecha-kaiju in the form of Moguera. A film made at a time when Japan seems to be wrangling with what it means to be a post imperial, post nuclear tragedy country with a growing economy and a booming film industry.

 

I have two wonderful experts to help shed light on the context of this trope laden sci-fi classic.

 

Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including the 2023 book Selling Science Fiction Cinema.

 

Yuki Miyamoto is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at DePaul University. Her work focuses on the ethics around nuclear discourse.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:56 Japanese Golden Age of Cinema: censorship, art vs big budget & the USA

08:47 Pacifism and militarism

14:04 Toho studios

15:36 Glorious colour, Toho-scope and cinema culture

19:57 Tradition, science and military might

27:55 Taking our women: occupation, war & marketing

36:55 Message of collaboration

39:50 The US market

44:51Battle of the Planets

45:55 Shout outs: Akira Ifukube and Eiji Tsuburaya

48:10 Legacy and Recommendations

 

 

NEXT EPISODE!

In two weeks we will be speaking about a film that shocked me with its striking visual style. The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958), also known as Invention for Destruction or in its original Czech: Vynález zkázy. You can look to find the film on Just Watch but people in mainland and central Europe may find it easier to find with mainstream streaming services. The Criterion Channel also has the film available and there may be some Central and Eastern European services that you may be able to sign up to. I believe there may be a copy on YouTube but I am unsure of its quality or validity.

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*Almost.

As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!
You can watch Metropolis (1927) here or here:

For full shownotes visit the watch page for this episode on the website: https://www.everyscififilm.com/watch

Description
After losing World War I Germany entered a time of economic hardship and political turmoil. In 1918 the Monarchy abdicated. The country was financially crippled by the reparations enforced by The Treaty of Versailles and German democracy began.

From 1918 until Hitler came to power in 1933 is known as the Weimar period. A time of political upheaval and artistic creativity. German Art and Cinema were thriving while the left and right were wrangling for control of the country.

In 1927 Fritz Lang made what is to this day considered one of the greatest films of all time. It is based on a story by Thea Von Harbou, his wife at the time, who went on to collaborate with Nazi Party on multiple films.

The ongoing influence of Metropolis on film is immense. Films like Blade Runner, Fifth Element, Frankenstein, Batman, and more recently Poor Things have all been influenced by it. And yet, the film itself was not a hit.

Luckily we have two luminary experts to help us understand the film, the society it came from and the themes it portrays.

The experts
Sonja Fritzsche is a professor of German Studies and an author/editor for many books about science fiction. She has taught courses on science fiction, utopia and Metropolis.

Noah Isenberg is a film historian and best-selling author. He is a professor at the University of Texas and editor of the book Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction, shownotes clarification and guests
02:30 Weimar: economics, Hitler and creative legacy
11:05 Fritz Lang
15:00 Thea Von Harbou
18:41 Lang’s Jewish heritage and Harbou’s Nazism
21:05 The rediscovery of missing Metropolis reels
22:05 Lang’s visual virtuosity
26:05 Fear of the future and the three faces of Utopia
27:50 The virgin, the whore and the workers unions
31:41 Critical reception Vs visual spectacle
35:32 Religious themes
37:37 The Nazi connection
45:23 Lang’s future: M, Woman in the Moon, Film Noir
48:25 Is Metropolis the most influential sci-fi film of all time?
50:36 Conclusions and recommendations

NEXT EPISODE!
We will be looking at Frankenstein and speaking about monsters and their role in storytelling and science fiction. You can watch Frankenstein (1931) here.
Or check Just Watch for where it is available. 

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As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead!

You can watch Aelita Queen of Mars (1924) here. For full shownotes visit the watch page for this episode on the website: https://www.everyscififilm.com/watch 

Lenin, the leader of the Russian revolution and the new soviet Russia declared “cinema is for us the most important of the arts”. He recognised the power of film to reach a wide range of audiences and its potential as propaganda. The country was struggling as was its film industry which was nationalised in 1919. 

In the first half of the 20th century Russia has been through a world war, a revolution and a civil war which ended in 1923.

Some months later the words “Anta Odeli Uta” started appearing in the press and distributed leaflets. The words are from Aelita Queen of Mars which was Soviet Russia’s first big film. A film they hired acclaimed pre-revolutionary film director Yakov Protozanov to make. This film was intended to make a big impact, to be popular and be a beacon of the new emerging soviet Russia. Although the film was a commercial success, communist critics were harsh in their verdict.

The film has a mishmash of themes which make for confusing viewing. Part communist propaganda (oppressed Martian workers rise up against a cruel king), part romantic drama (jealousy and obsession), part social commentary (corrupt government officials and bumbling policemen) amongst many other things.

Luckily we have two heavyweight scholars to help us rein in the confusion.

The experts
Denise Youngblood is Professor of History Emerita at the University of Vermont.  She is a specialist on the history of Russian and Soviet cinema from 1908 to the present. She has written extensively on the subject, including seven books and numerous articles and film reviews. Denise has a PhD from Stanford and was one of only three Americans who studied Soviet film history at VGIK (the Soviet state film institute in Moscow) during Soviet times.

Rachel Morley is Associate Professor at UCL's School of Slavonic & East European Studies where she is also co-chair of Russian Cinema Research Group. She has published widely and presented papers on Russian film.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to show and guests
02:43 The pre-revolutionary master returns
07:01 Where is the communist propaganda?
13:00 Anta Odeli Uta and the critics Vs fans
18:34 Is the protagonist meant to be unlikable?
23:12 Women: past, present and future
28:34 The working class
32:17 A vision of the future: costumes and set design
35:22 Russian sci-fi after Aelita: Stalin Vs Khrushchev
38:38 Aelita: a warning to Soviet filmmakers
40:53 Did Aelita inspire Fritz Lang’s Metropolis?
43:12 Protozanov’s future
44:27 Stalin’s restrictions on the film industry
48:02 Conclusion

NEXT EPISODE!
Fritz Lang’s Metropolis is next! It is considered by many to be one of the greatest films of the silent era. You can watch it here  at the internet archive or here on YouTube. Or you can check here for UK or here for US options. DVDs of the film are also available

(There are many versions of the film due to editing, lost footage and restorations. There is also a 1984 Giorgio Moroder version with an 80s soundtrack!)

 

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As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead! 

Every once in a while we take a break from watching and learning about old science fiction films and speak to a guest about their favourite sci-fi film. In this episode I speak to David Eagleman about The Creator and what about this 2023 film made it to the top of his list.

For full shownotes with references to the subjects mentioned in this episode you can visit https://www.everyscififilm.com/the-creator-david-eagleman-s-fvourite

The guest
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University, a best-selling author of multiple books, and an entrepreneur. He is cofounder of Cognito Entertainment, a production company that focuses on science-based films and documentaries and he also directs the US based Center for Science and Law. David is the host of the Inner Cosmos podcast that delves into topics about the human brain and perception. You can find out more about him at https://eagleman.com

Chapters
00:00 Introduction of show and guest
01:19 Overview of The Creator (with spoilers)
03:24 Why The Creator resonates with David
05:38 Consciousness, AI, and neuroscience
10:16 Human tribalism and prejudice
14:28 AI: friend, foe, fear, and the future
17:50 Mimicry, humanity, and the potential of AI
19:15 Can AI adapt and excel beyond the human brain?
23:01 Sad robots and subjectivity
24:52 Religious AI, heaven, and the cynical ending

NEXT EPISODE!
The next film we will be looking at is Aelita Queen of Mars. A 1924 film from Soviet Russia. You can watch the film here on YouTube. In some locations you can check where it is available to stream, rent or buy at JustWatch. The film is available to buy on Amazon in some places. DVDs of the film are available though not common.

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As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead! I would love for you to join in by watching the film, Le Voyage Dans La Lune here. The film was made by the pioneer French film director George Méliès in 1902. It is widely considered to be the first sci-fi film ever. There is a small rumble of a potential contender which I have added at the bottom of the full shownotes.

For full shownotes with references to the subjects mentioned in this episode you can visit https://www.everyscififilm.com/the-first-science-fiction-film-ever

The experts
Richard Neupert is the Charles H. Wheatley Professor of the Arts and a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor at the Department of Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Georgia. He has written extensively on film including numerous books. His book French Film History, 1895-1946 was published in 2022.

​Bert Ulrich probably has one of the best jobs in the world! He acts as NASA’s liaison for film and TV collaborations. He is a film and visual arts author. In 2022 his essay A Legacy of Spectacle: The Impact of George Méliès on Science Fiction Filmmaking was published in the academic journal Film International. 

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to show and guests
01:37 How the son of a successful bootmaker became a theatre performer
04:14 George Méliès watches a Lumiere brother’s screening
06:35 A quick overview of the film
08:12 Méliès satire and style
12:30 The father of special effects
15:27 France’s Belle Époque: optimism, industrialism, and exploration
20:47 Success and piracy
23:42 The pros and cons of Méliès’ solo working style
27:54 Méliès’ decline
31:27 Rediscovery of his work
33:49 The development of Sci-fi cinema since 1902
44:18 Concluding thoughts

NEXT EPISODE/S!
Next episode I will be speaking to David Eagleman, Stanford neuroscientist and best selling author, about his favourite Sci-fi film The Creator. This 2023 film is streaming on Disney+. You may be able to check where you can rent or buy the film at JustWatch.

The next film we will be looking at is Aelita Queen of Mars. A 1924 film from Soviet Russia. You can watch the film here on YouTube. You can check where it is available to stream, rent or buy at JustWatch. The film is available to buy on Amazon in some locations. DVDs of the film are available though not common.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And so we begin! The very first episode. Before we start the journey of examining every single sci-fi film ever* we must understand what science fiction is. In this episode I speak to science fiction scholars Lisa Yaszek and Glynn Morgan about the definitions of this well-known genre. What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Are superhero movies sci-fi? Are the we the real monsters? Please be warned: as always there are spoilers ahead! Link for the next film is at the bottom.
*Almost

For full shownotes which explain more about the topics, names and books mentioned in this episode you can visit https://www.everyscififilm.com/what-is-science-fiction

The experts:

I am extreme lucky to have these guests with me.

Lisa Yaszek has known sci-fi very well for very many years. Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech, she researches and teaches science fiction and has authored, compiled, and edited numerous books on the topic. Her Future is Female books not only draw attention to the huge contribution of women writers in the genre but also have wonderful retro covers! (I am not judging a book by its cover but I am judging the cover!)

Lisa was President of the Science Fiction Research Association from 2009-2010 and serves as an advisory board member for About SF. She has won many awards for contributions to science fiction and serves as a juror for sci-fi writing awards.

Glyn Morgan is Curator of Exhibitions at The British Science Museum and put together the Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination exhibition which has moved on from London, UK and is currently showing in Hong Kong. He is a lecturer and former editor of Vector, the Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association. He has written extensively about sci-fi and speculative fiction and has served as an award judge. 

Chapters: 

00:00 Introduction to show and guests
02:58 Lisa’s definition: Darko Suvin and his three criteria
10:24 Glynn’s definition: Damon Knight’s one criteria
16:50 Are superhero films science fiction?
18:38 Magic Vs science
20:28 The history of comic books, superheroes and science fiction
26:36 Mysticism in science fiction
34:12 What even is science?
37:44 Is everything in space sci-fi?
43:57 Aliens and monsters
49:40 AI, robots and fembots
55:34 Time travel and multiverses
59:57 Dystopia, utopia, and Star Trek
01:12:13 Conclusion

NEXT EPISODE!
George Melies' Le Voyage Dans La Lune from 1902 will the focus of episode 2. It is available to watch on YouTube. Or you can check here for UK or here for US options. DVDs of the film are also available. 

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Every single sci-fi film ever. Almost.

Award-winning podcast producer and sci-fi film enthusiast Ayesha Khan volunteers for the task. Her continuing mission: to explore strange old films, seek out the experts, and to boldly bring them to you.

We will begin our journey with an episode dedicated to finding out what science fiction actually is.

Then we move to Paris, 1902, to watch and discuss the first sci-fi film ever: Le Voyage Dans La Lune.

Occasionally we will take some detours to hear some fascinating people discuss their favourite sci-fi film. Episode three features Stanford neuroscientist, best-selling author, and the host of the Inner Cosmos podcast David Eagleman. He tells us why The Creator (2023) made it straight to the top of his list. 

Join me in watching a film and then hearing some clever, heavily decorated connoisseurs release knowledge torpedos. For us! For posterity!

If you're joining in, I would love to hear from you. For feedback, comments, or queries leave me a message at https://www.speakpipe.com/everyscififilm

The podcast launches on March the 31st 2024. 

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You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

I Married a Monster from Outer Space was released as part of a double bill (with The Blob) in 1958. The story focuses on newlywed couple Marge and Bill Farrell but unbeknownst to his new bride and the whole town Bill has been replaced by an alien on the eve of their wedding. 

Themes of marriage, resentments and gendered expectations are as rife as can be expected in the 1950s. We have two insightful experts help shine a light on these themes. 

The Experts 

Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively. 

Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

01:58 Science fiction golden age and the marriage melodrama 

05:27 The female led sci-fi film and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique 

08:40 Patriarchal expectations of 1950s men 

13:24 Changes in post war America 

16:33 The Hays production code and the scandalous double bed 

21:19 The Alien: looking good and learning to love 

26:14 Marge’s dilemma

30:42 Romantic, sexual and gendered anxiety 

39:20 Devil Girl from Mars: Aliens are coming to take our men! 

41:36 Legacy 

45:59 Recommendations for the listeners

NEXT EPISODE! 

Next episode we will be hopping slightly back in time and discussing The Mysterians from 1957. The film was made in Japan by Toho studios. It is quite difficult to buy or rent a copy but is available in some regions on FlixFling, The Criterion Channel and some other internet sites. 

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As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

Somewhere in the late 1950s society began to come to terms with the idea of the teenager. Teens were heading to the cinema leaving younger siblings and parents at home. The Blob (1958) isn‘t a tale of rebellion or film warning about teenage delinquency but a thoroughly enjoyable time with a catchy theme tune. 

I have two wonderful guests to help us unravel this classic 1950s sci-fi. 

The Experts 

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous  of articles and books on cultural history and film. 

Matthew Rule Jones is a senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

03:22 The origins of the film 

06:05 Moral panic, the teenager and the AIP film formula

11:36 Red scare as red herring: Jello and suburbia  

16:25 The intention vs the interpretation of films 

17:32 The Blob  

20:00 The theme song vs the earnest tone 

24:15 The cinema scene and self-reflection 

28:32 The double bill offering 

29:56 Steve McQueen: The adult teen 

39:10 What are we gonna do? 

39:40 Legacy: Sequels and the education system 

48:55 Recommendations for the listener

The Next Episode! 

The next episode we will focus on the film I Married a Monster from Outer Space. You can buy or rent the film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region

 

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For this bonus episode I’ve teamed up with the excellent History Daily podcast. 

Very exciting! 

History Daily tells fascinating stories of what happened “on this day” in history with a new episode every weekday.

The early 1950s in the USA stand out as not just a time of economic prosperity but also one of paranoia. The country faced the fear of the atomic bomb, the Red Scare and a moral panic around juvenile delinquency. (Teenagers were new and unpredictable!)

During this time Joseph McCarthy’s power to seek out and persecute perceived communists was at its peak but the tide was about to turn. In 1954 it took journalist Ed Murrow guts to stand up to the influential senator.

You can learn more about History Daily on their website here. 

(And please just indulge me in telling you that it is a complete coincidence that this episode release aligns with this day in history! 9th March 1954 is when Ed Murrow aired his report on Joseph McCarthy!)

You can hear more from me on social media platforms Threads, Instagram and somewhat gingerly also on Bluesky. 

 

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You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

The Worst Film of All Time by The Worst Director of All Time. So claimed the 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards by Michael and Harry Medved regarding the film Plan 9 from Outer Space and director Edward Wood Jr AKA Ed Wood. 

But this very title is one of the reasons behind the revival of the film and of Ed Wood. The film has issues with continuity, set design, dialogue and a coherent ‘Plan 9’ but something about the film appeals to a subset of film lovers. Perhaps it’s the flashes of style, the joy in its failings or perhaps it’s a recognition of something beyond the traditional and often formulaic nature of mainstream narrative filmmaking. Today I speak with two wonderful film academics and fans of the film. 

The Experts 

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema. 

Rodney F Hill is a Professor of Film at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University and has written extensively about film. 

If you are interested in finding out how you can help the Prince Charles Cinema you can visit this page here.

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

01:28 Ed Wood: Hollywood, Kubrick and Corman 

05:04 Glen or Glenda, the production code and censorship 

12:39 Plan 9 and the Baptist Church 

14:33 Bela Lugosi and the rest of Ed Wood’s crew 

20:35 The Amazing Criswell 

23:23 Plan 9: An unconventional classic 

25:50 Why my guests love the film 

34:04 Bad science 

35:46 The more traditional aspects Plan 9 

37:22 The Worst Film of All Time and The Worst Director of All Time 

39:57 Ed Wood the outsider and the Church of Ed Wood 

43:14 Comparison to mainstream films 

45:21 The Legacy 

48:08 Recommendations 

50:37 Save the Prince Charles Cinema 

NEXT EPISODE! 

The next episode we will be discussing The Blob (1958) which is available to rent and buy online in many places. You can also watch the film on the Just Watch website which was quite unexpected! (And remember folks, Steve McQueen is supposed to be 17 years old in this film!)

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As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

I would love to know what you make of the ending of this film if you watched it. Best place to do that is on social media. Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

1957 USA seems like a country on the brink of huge social change. (Of course, I say this with the benefit of hindsight and with a deep affection for the decade that was just around the corner.) But so many of the events of the year are an indication of what’s to come. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first of many legislative attempts to bring federal protection for African Americans in the face of growing dissatisfaction in the South towards desegregation of schools and society. 

1957 was the year the Little Rock Nine were enrolled into a previously all white school. The photos of nine black children often surrounded by angry and jeering crowds and the presence of US paratroopers are staggering. 

It is the year Enovid was approved by the FDA for menstrual problems. Two years later it would become the first FDA approved contraceptive pill. 

And in October 1957 Russia launched Sputnik into orbit causing a shock across the USA. Despite anxiety about their biggest rival the country was not ready for such a display of technological accomplishment. 

The year prior in 1956 Jack Arnold (who had become somewhat disillusioned by the increasingly schlocky independent sci-fi films of the late 50s) was convinced to return to Universal to make The Incredible Shrinking Man. 

Richard Matheson’s story is an unusual examination of a man losing stature both physically and socially. Many consider this Jack Arnold’s greatest science fiction film. We have two wonderful guests to explain why that might be. 

Scott Higgins is a Professor of Film at Wesleyan University as well as being the Curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives. He has written multiple books and essays about film. 

Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

01:42 Jack Arnold’s best film? 

06:30 Special effects and 1950s horror 

09:15 1957 USA: The rumblings of change 

13:29 Metaphors and definitions of masculinity 

30:43 Kafka, psychoanalysis and The Kinsey Reports 

35:22 Women 

37:38 The End! 

45:17 Legacy 

49:55 Recommendations for the listener

NEXT EPISODE! 

Next episode we will be talking about what the book The Golden Turkey Awards declared as the Worst Film of All Time by The Worst Director of All Time. Plan 9 from Outer Space by Ed Wood is available to rent or buy on various online platforms. Just Watch is a good resource to check where it might be available in your region. Mubi and Pluto are only available in some regions but do offer a decent range of older science fiction films.

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As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

Forbidden Planet (1956) is a somewhat overlooked 50s classic. Although it often fails to make lists of the greatest sci-fi films of all time it has come across often in my written research and when speaking to guests. It’s a film that not only seems to excite avid fans of sci-fi cinema but also influenced some of the genre’s heavy hitters like both Star Wars and Star Trek. A costly, slick, colourful movie which takes a break from the red scare themes and invites us to delve into the dangers of the human mind. 

We mention Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics in the episode which are: 

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 

2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. 

The fourth law also known as Law Zero or Zeroth Law is: 

A robot cannot cause harm to mankind or, by inaction, allow mankind to come to harm.

I have two amazing guests to help unravel the threads in this space opera. 

The Experts

Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including the 2023 book Selling Science Fiction Cinema. 

Glyn Morgan is Curatorial Lead at the Science Museum in London and a science fiction scholar.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the film, some historical context and the guests 

02:25 The impact of Forbidden Planet 

07:56 MGM does big budget sci-fi 

13:52 Robby the Robot: a new type of robot and Asimov’s laws 

22:02 Special effects 

23:15 Altaira: miniskirts, the Hays Code and sexism 

32:44 The monster: Disney, the id and technological hubris 

38:01 The sound of electronic music: Bebe and Louis Barron’s breakthrough 

43:50 The legacy of Forbidden Planet 

50:09 Recommendations for the listeners

NEXT EPISODE!

The next episode we will focus on The Incredible Shrinking Man. You can buy or rent the 1956 film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region. It is worth checking platforms like Tubi and Pluto if they are available.

 

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You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

 

Thank you so much to Patreon subscribers! If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

 

This film is silly. And I love that for me. I hope many of you will enjoy something much more lighthearted after the heavy topic of nuclear annihilation from the last episode.

 

Teenagers from Outer Space (1959) was the work of Tom Graeff who wrote, produced, directed, edited and acted in the film.  

 

As previously mentioned, the film is silly but I found it very enjoyable. Stilted dialogue that is often out of sync, special effects that are very simple and yet effective, space fascists with rayguns and a sweet hearted rebel finding his way in the unfamiliar new world of Earth. How many sci-fi tropes can you possibly fit into a film made on the tightest of budgets?

 

The film made me laugh a lot which admittedly isn’t too difficult to do but it was a much needed laugh after the beautifully bleak misery of On the Beach.

 

I am not the only person who has a soft spot for this film. I am very lucky to be joined by two wonderful guests who are definitely avid fans of this alien invasion adventure.

 

Marc Longenecker is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Film Studies at Wesleyan University.

 

Blair Davis is a Professor of Media and Cinema Studies at DePaul University. He has written a lot about cinema and comics and including the book The Battle for the Bs: 1950s Hollywood and the Rebirth of Low-Budget Cinema.

 

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:37 Why do you love this film?

08:41 Distribution and reception

12:48 “Bad” film

18:15 The tragic life of Tom Graeff

25:53 Derek the hero: the rebel anti-fascist with daddy issues

33:10 Special effects

38:17 Chekov’s Gargon: the lobster monster!        

 40:58 Space adventures on Earth and teen appeal

44:28 Thor! A bad guy with great comedic value

47:04 The ending

50:18 King Moody: from space fascist to Ronald McDonald

50:54 Recommendations for the listener

 

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next time we’ll be discussing the film The Tingler (1959) starring Vincent Price. The film is readily available on multiple streaming services to rent or buy and also on some free services in some regions. The Just Watch website gives a good overview of where you can find films in your region.

Hello wonderful people!

 

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

 

Thank you so much to Patreon subscribers! If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

The idea behind the podcast is we all watch the film (with film choices and where to watch given in the show notes of the previous episode) and then you can listen to the podcast after two weeks and learn more about the film.

 

It has been brought to my attention (thank you, Olivia!) that sometimes a synopsis might be very helpful to know what on earth is going on. It seems not everyone is watching these films before listening. So, I have added more information further below. As always there are spoilers ahead!

 

The Tingler (1959) was released in cinemas with the expectation that cinema owners would install “Percepto!” under certain seats. This was a small electric buzzing device that would be triggered during key moments of the film.

 

Director William Castle was known for these kinds of interactive, promotional gimmicks and had used them many times before. The tradition of “Ballyhoo” in cinema is an old one and involves enticing audiences to the movies with various types of marketing stunts.

 

Vincent Price plays the hammy lead with a gravitas very few people can pull off. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable film despite the lack of “Percepto!” in my own home.

 

As always, I am lucky to have two excellent guests joining me.

 

Scott Higgins is Professor of Film at Wesleyan University as well as being the Curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives.

 

Matthew Rule Jones is a senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter.

 

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:57 William Castle the King of Ballyhoo

04:21 William Caste’s background

10:19 The death of Florence Lawrence and movie myth-making

13:50 The Avant Garde, The Grand Guinol and The Surrealists

18:40 Red blood in a black and white film

21:50 A brink film: LSD, insanity and the impending Psycho

25:53 Loose ends and ethical loopholes

29:03 Vincent Price as the part-time mad scientist

33:33 The bad wife

34:57 The Tingler, teen audiences and a screaming crescendo

40:07 Manly screaming and scream queens

42:33 The silent era references

46:32 Legacy

52:14 Recommendations

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be talking about The Wasp Woman from 1959 directed by Roger Corman. I believe the film is in the public domain and is easily available online for free or to buy and rent on many streaming services.

 

It is also available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpPAN6frZmU

 

Synopsis of The Tingler

The Tingler begins with the director William Castle addressing the audience about how they are about to experience a tingling sensation that no audience has ever experienced before. Relief can be gained by screaming!

 

The story involves Dr Warren Chapin (played by Vincent Price) investigating the cause of why some inmates are frightened to death before their executions. A man names Olly Higgins visit Dr Chapin and tells him that it is his brother-in-law that Chapin is doing an autopsy on. Chapin is convinced there is something physical in the body that causes death by fear!  

 

Olly Higgins runs a silent cinema with his deaf-mute wife Martha.

 

Warren Chapin is  obsessed with his work and ignores his wife who has decided to spend her time cavorting with other men! Her sister Lucy is good, kind and the epitome of idealised 1950s femininity. Lucy is in love with Dr Chapin’s assistant David.

 

In his experiments Dr Chapin pretends to kill his wife to scare her, tests LSD on himself (a relatively new drug that is in 1959 legal and used by psychologists) and experiments on animals and potentially on Martha Higgins with LSD although that part isn’t really clarified.

 

In an x-ray of his wife (who he has frightened into believing she’s dead – we can’t expect things to make sense) Dr Chapin discovers there is a long caterpillar-like creature that hugs the spine when people are terrified.

 

Dr Chapin visits Martha Higgins to give her some medication which may or may not be LSD. After this she experiences many frightening experiences including a bath filled with red blood (in a black and shite film). Martha is terrified of blood and collapses.  

 

Olly Higgins brings his wife Martha to Dr Chapin. She is very sick or dead. Dr Warren declares Martha dead but after she moves he gets permission to find out why. He discovers and extracts the tingler!

 

Shenanigans commence involving a murderous wife, an escaped tingler in the silent cinema and Martha’s revenge!

As always there are spoilers ahead!

Scroll down to read a brief synopsis of the film. The idea is to watch the film in advance before tuning in but apparently many of you listen without prep which is lovely albeit confusing! Next episode’s film is also listed below. 

Roger Corman began his career in film in 1950 and would go on to leave a huge mark on the industry by mentoring many filmmakers in the 1970s (Peter Biskind’s book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is a great read if you’re interested!). 

The Wasp Woman from 1959 was produces and directed by Corman and rounds of the podcast’s fantastic foray into the 50s.* 

A film that focuses on the CEO of Janice Starlin Enterprises: Janice Starlin herself! The company is suffering and Janice is ageing but scientist Dr Eric Zinthrop had discovered the secret to youth in extracts of royal jelly taken from queen wasps. 

My two amazing guests are here to enlighten us on wasps, women and workplace* etiquette.

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He specialises in literature, film, and cultural history from the 19th century to the present. 

Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction.

 

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:00 Roger Corman

07:06 Women in 1959, the Mad Men era and real life women CEOs

09:38 The Fly: death, face reveals and campiness

15:52 The 1995 remake

18:13 The parasitic wasp

20:59 Royal jelly, royalty and matriarchs

22:50 Office politics: youth, beauty and 50s expectations

32:48 Teen market & production constraints.

35:14 Death of the Wasp Woman

36:42 Susan Cabot’s tragic death

40:00 Legacy of the film

46:38 Recommendations for the listener 

Synopsis of The Wasp Woman

Dr Eric Zinthrop has been research the royal jelly of queen wasps and has discovered an elixir of youth that changes grown animals into baby ones. He is exactly what Janice Starlin, the ageing CEO of the hugely successful but failing cosmetics brand Janic Starlin Enterprises needs to change her and her companies fortune around. 

A couple of the men who work for Janice do not trust Zinthrop. They enlist Janice’s secretary Mary to spy on her boss. Although Janice can see the effects of the new drug she impatient with the slow results and Zinthrop’s cautious attitude. She goes to the laboratory and injects herself to speed up results.  

Meanwhile Zinthrop realises his formula makes his test animals crazy but before he is able to warn Janice he gets into a car accident. Janice cannot find him and so decides to continue to self-administer doses of the serum and begins to look increasingly younger.

When Zinthrop is finally found by Janice she pays for and takes over his care sleeping at the office. She also discovers the serum has an unfortunate side effects of turning her head into that of a huge wasp and causing her to kill! This all leads to a big fight at the end in which Janice Starling’s wasp form is attacked and thrown off a high floor balcony.

 

NEXT EPISODE!

We will be shimmying into 1960 with the classic HG Wells adaptation The Time Machine. The film is available to buy or rent online from major outlets including Apple. You can check the Just Watch website to see where the film is available in your region. 

 

 

*I would like a gold star for alliteration please.

 

As always there are spoilers ahead!

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

HG Wells shadow is a long one and his seminal work on time travel was published in 1895. But well over a half a century later Hollywood was still hooked on Herbert (George Wells). The Time Machine was directed by George Pal and released 1960. From the turn of the century to the beginning of a new decade my amazing guests break down the themes and influences on this mid-century steampunk precursor.

Keith Williams is a Reader in English Literature at the University of Dundee where he runs the science fiction programme. He has a special interest in the pre 1945 period and is the author of the book H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies.

Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood.

 

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:39 HG Wells in 1985: the book and the birth of cinema

05:37 1960s USA: the cusp of a new age

10:02 The influences on Wells: Thomas Henry Huxley and William Morris

17:21 James Bond: Rod Taylor’s missed opportunity

19:08 Time travel: the time machine, mannequins and the BBC

27:57 The far-flung future: evolution, class and nuclear war

35:32 Fritz Lang, Metropolis, and the death of flower power

39:24 The Legacy

47:09 Recommendations for the listener

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next week I will be discussing the Eastern Block with brainy experts and discussing one of the first sci-fi films from the region Der schweigende Stern, AKA The Silent Star from 1960. 

It was also re-edited and released as The First Spaceship on Venus. You may like to watch the MST3K version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVmgb3jEimQ

If you are in the USA and have a public library card you should be able to find the film on Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/116646 

The film is available to rent online depending on your region. Just Watch should be able to help. 

If you felt very committed you could also buy this DVD collection of DEFA sci-fi which includes writing and interviews with the amazing Sonja Fritzsche, Evan Torner and Mark Bould: https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/strange-new-worlds-science-fiction-at-defa/

 

As always there are spoilers ahead!

In 1951 Poland, during its Stalinist era, acclaimed science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem released his first book: The Astronauts. (He had already written the novel The Man from Mars which was serialised).  

In 1960 The Astronuats would go on to become the basis of East Germany’s ambitious communist sci-fi film Der schweigende Stern or The Silent Star. The script would go through 12 drafts before filming by which time Lem had removed his name from the project. 

Although the script lacks focus it is full of historical and cultural significance and is a strong an indictment of why ideological control should not be asserted on the arts.

The film is idealistic, looks great with some beautiful design and does not feature Christopher Nolan (link to Instagram post). 

I have two top notch academics to discuss the film. 

Sonja Fritzsche is a professor of German Studies and Senior Associate Dean at Michigan State University. She has also written/edited many books about science fiction. 

Evan Torner is an Associate Professor of German Studies and Niehoff Professor of Film & Media Studies at the University of Cincinnati.

 

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:53 Post Metropolis German Sci-Fi

09:50 East German filmmaking in 1960: DEFA, Kurt Maetzig & Utopian futures

16:34 The Bitterfelder Weg programme: the working class in the arts

18:50 The Polish influence: Stanislaw Lem, ideological space & the Polish October

24:31 12 drafts of the scripts: Too many cooks

29:24 Influences: Forbidden Planet, Woman in the Moon and If All the Guys in the World

32:03 The communist ideal in spaaaace!

38:32 Visual delights: Box office draw and Nazi Agfacolor

45:11 The stolen US edit: First Spaceship on Venus

47:15 Legacy, language and recommendations

 

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Back to Blighty for some good old fashioned evil children in Village of the Damned (1960). The film is easy to rent or buy on an array of streaming platforms including YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cujvDkHxFcg

You can check the Just Watch website for details of where to find it in your region.

As always there are spoilers ahead!

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

If you want to support the podcast you can get ad free versions at Patreon. 

In 1956 the film The Bad Seed was a big hit for Warner Bros featuring a blond-haired evil child.

One blond scary child sometimes isn't enough! Writer John Wyndham published The Midwich Cuckoos in 1957 which had already sold to MGM before he’d completed it. The film tells the story of a different kind of alien invasion. Midwich village is infested with pregnancies affecting the female population who all give birth to blonde haired and light eyed, rapidly growing, telepathic children (did I mention they were creepy?). Outsiders who will go to any length to keep their kind alive.

I have two absolutely amazing guests who can tease apart some of the history and themes of this wonderful sci-fi horror. 

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema.

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous articles and books on cultural history and film.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:38 John Wyndham, The Midwich Cuckoos and MGM’s British studios

04:22 Post War anxieties

07:10 Wyndham and pacifism

08:29 Feminism, forced birth and Wyndham’s women

11:16 The life of George Sanders: a fabulous cad

18:50 The Cosy Catastrophe

21:38 The premise: terrifying telepathic toddlers

27:20 The evil child and the concept of innocence

31:42 The legacy of the evil child in cinema

35:59 Telepathy

41:47 Class and post war social mobility

47:25 Legacy and the John Carpenter remake

51:29 Recommendations for the listener

 

The telepathic couple Mark mentions are most likely the Piddingtons.

When Mark says "Astounding" he is referring to the magazine Astounding Science Fiction where the editor was John W Campbell Jr.

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be talking about The Day the Earth Caught Fire from 1961.

You can rent the film on Apple or Amazon in the US or on Amazon or BFI Player in the UK. The Just Watch website is a good option to find where films are available in your region. 

 

As always there are spoilers ahead!

 

If you’d like to join in on more conversations and keep up to date on what I’m working on you can follow me on social media: Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

 

After last episode’s UK village setting we stay in the country but head to London for a newsroom apocalyptic drama. We have more hints that we are heading into the 60s with a surly hero and a sultry ex-Disney heroine.

 

The Day the Earth Caught Fire was finally released in 1961 after eight years of director Val Guest trying to get the film made. Perhaps the mid-50s Britian wasn’t ready for this story although it would be interesting to see what kind of differences there would have been. (Val Guest was busy making The Quatermass Xperiment during that time!)

 

I welcome back two excellent guests to teach us more about this film.

 

Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including the 2023 book Selling Science Fiction Cinema.

 

Glyn Morgan is Head of Collections and Principal Curator at the Science Museum in London and a science fiction scholar.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:17 1961: Anxiety, British Free Cinema & Angry Young Men

07:28 The CND and memories of the war

08:05 The highs and lows of Cli-Fi

13:16 The beginning of the end

15:47 Val Guest

18:43 Snappy dialogue or too much talk?

22:25 The newsroom

27:40 Arthur Christiansen

30:06 The surlier hero

34:47 Janet Munroe

37:05 Disney & breaking out of type

41:06 One foot firmly in the 60s

42:09 Ambiguous and alternate endings

46:39 Legacy

51:57 Recommendations

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next week we will be talking about the beautiful, half hour long, science fiction art film La Jetée (1962) that 12 Monkeys was based on. You can find the film on Apple, Amazon and also on YouTube but the version with English subtitles is not great quality. 

As always there are spoilers ahead!

 

A quick note that I shall be at the London Film Festival on October the 16th giving a whistlestop tour of sci-fi cinema. It is a free event but you have to reserve tickets so if you happen to be in London and wanted to attend here is the information.

 

Translation for the beginning of the podcast:

“Later, he knew he had seen a man die.

And sometime after came the destruction of Paris.”

 

You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

 

If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

La Jetée is very different from the science fiction films I have covered so far. A 28-minute art film mostly made of still images that went on to inspire many films as well as the 1995 12 Monkeys. The filmmaker, Chris Marker was an elusive French multimedia journalist, artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer who very rarely did interviews. He was part of the Left Bank group in Paris which was part of the larger French New Wave movement.

 

My amazing science fiction authorities today are Lisa Yaszek who is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech and has written/edited multiple books on science fiction and Mark Bould who is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has also written/edited numerous books on science fiction.

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:15 The French New Wave

08:50 The New Wave of science fiction literature

13:00 The New Wave science fiction films

17:53 Vertigo’s influence

21:10 Eros and Thanatos: Love and death (and time loops)

23:55 A very different science fiction film: Un photo-roman, sound and reliable narrators

32:00 The darker future: gritty retrofuturism and echoes of WWII

36:59 What is real? (And why is it so beautiful?)

40:52 Distressing distortions and more death

46:03 The one moving image

48:33 12 Monkeys

51:47 Legacy of the film

55:30 Recommendations for the listener

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode is episode 42 and it seems patrons on Patreon would like a detour to cover the meaning of life the universe and everything. So we shall be talking about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. You do not need to watch the film but if you felt like reading the book , listening to the original radio play, watching the TV series or indeed watching the film either as a new experience or to refresh your memory you absolutely can!

 

As always there are spoilers ahead. You can buy the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book in most bookshops and you can listen to the radio play on YouTube and also on the Internet Archive.

 

You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

 

If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show and be revered amongst both the G'Gugvuntts and the Vl'Hurgs: https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

As mentioned elsewhere this is not an analysis of the film or any kind of review of the book but more like a chat amongst fans of what the story means to us and why.

 

My amazing guests are very qualified to wax lyrical about the topic at hand.

 

Michael Newton is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. He is a cultural historian who has written about film amongst many other topics including being the Editor of the book The Origins of Science Fiction. 

Mark Steadman creative digital producer, long time podcaster and host of the Beware of the Leopard podcast which explored the A to Z of the Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy. (He also has what I consider the best productivity podcast in the world as it takes into consideration that we are humans with feelings and lives. Undo – How history’s outliers got stuff done can be found here.)  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:52 When we were first exposed to H2G2

05:01The Late 70s and scifi

06:54 Mental health and the art of Zen

10: 40 Zaphod: Douglas Adams and the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

15:31 Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect

19:53 Suburban life and bathos

21:46 Douglas Adams’ “first album”

24:41 The broad appeal

28:03 Douglas’ delightful detours

32:25 We love Douglas and his thin plot

32:58 No happy ending

36:18 Absurdism

37:31 Sirius Cybernetics Corporation and Silicon Valley

41:29 Gadgetry in H2G2

47:11 Shoutout to the super intelligent colour blue

50:25 Legacy: Tech, atheism, and imagination

54:02 Recommendations for the listener

 

NEXT EPISODE!
In two week’s time (if all goes well!) we shall be discussing Panic in the Year Zero (1962) and the appeal of Armageddon. The film is available to buy or rent online in many places in the USA and UK but may be tricky in certain regions.

 

 

 

As always there are spoilers ahead!

 

You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

 

If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

There is a trigger warning for discussion of rape in this episode. I have marked the beginning of that part of the discussion with a beep and the discussion lasts for four minutes and four seconds after the beep if you wanted to skip past it. 

 

Last week we told you “Don’t Panic!” but this week we focus in on the panic. 

 

Panic in Year Zero was directed by and stars Ray Milland and is about a father taking his family on the road to do some camping. One the way there a nuclear bomb is dropped on Los Angeles and the world starts to fall into disarray. Not because of the bomb causing devastation or radiation but because of how human s are absolute nutters given the slightest chance.

 

This film has a very 1950s sensibility but with a Jazz laden soundtrack that hints at the unruly decade ahead.

 

The Federal Civil Defense Administration in the US in the early 50s was set up by President Truman to educate and prepare the public in case of an attack on US soil. The short film mentioned in the discussion The House in the Middle can be viewed on YouTube here. 

 

This episode we talk not just about the film but the human fascination with apocalypse. I have the perfect guests for the task.

 

Steven Schlozman is a psychiatrist and a writer of books including the novel The Zombie Autopsies which was being adapted to film by George Romero before his death in 2017.

 

John Wills is a Professor of American Media and Culture at the University of Kent. He has written lots about popular culture including 1950s American and Nuclear film.

 

Chapters

 

00:00 Introduction

01:52 The non-nuclear nuclear film

07:10 Nuclear drills in schools

10:07 USA nuclear prep: Civilian education and CONELRAD

16:33 Jazz music and sociopaths

20:05 Daddy’s gaze

26:39 The fun of Armageddon

32:02 The developmental stage of apocalypse fantasy

37:35 Ann is always wrong

39:21 Sexual violence

43:27 A pre-cursor to zombie apocalypse

48:25 Legacy

52:45 Recommendations for the listener

 

Recommendations

Steven: The Day After (1983) is a made for TV film.

John: The book Every Home a Fortress: Cold War Fatherhood and the Family Fallout Shelter by Thomas Bishop

 

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be discussing The Day of the Triffids! Although we will be using the 1963 film as a starting point there will be a lot of discussion about the original novel and the differences between the theme heavy book and the fun 50s style scifi of the film.

 

The film can be found on Fubo, Roku, Pluto and Plex and a few other online streaming platforms in the US and UK. The Just Watch website is a good resource to find where the film may be available in your region.

 

There are spoilers ahead for all versions of The Day of the Triffids and also for the film Signs.

You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm 

This episode had been edited down to a more digestible length of under an hour but a longer (audio only) version is available for Patreon subscribers (alongside the shorter option).

We are doing things a little differently and discussing the 1963 film along with the source material which is John Wyndham’s 1951 book The Day of the Triffids.

The Day of the Triffids film was released in 1963 after reshoots were required to add a whole new arc in the story and bring the time to a more suitable length for a feature.

The film has many of the hallmarks of a 1950s science fiction film but seems to be reflective of the Golden Era of science fiction very much coming to its end.

The film is (very loosely) based on John Wyndham’s first successful novel but seems more dedicated to the tropes of a 1950s sci-fi marketed for a mass, US leaning audience. The book is chockful of themes that are touched upon throughout the story which have very little (if any) presence in the film.

I have added a list of the characters we discuss below as well as a quick overview of their roles in the book and the film.

As usual I have two insightful guests to help us understand all of this.

Matthew Rule-Jones is a senior lecturer in film studies at the University of Exeter and author of the book Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety.

Adam Stock is a senior lecturer in English Literature at York St John University and author of the book Dystopian Fiction and Political Thought: Narratives of World Politics.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:30 John Wyndham’s first hit

05:23 The concept of the cosy catastrophe

08:43 Wyndham’s Britain: post-colonial triffids coming home to roost

14:48 The 1963 film: Wells, end of the golden age and marketing

20:04 The lighthouse sequences: Karen vs Josella

23:06 Weed killers in The Silent Spring era and WW2 imagery

25:17 The role of the Triffids

30:37 Bill Masen the hero

34:37 Coker’s missing role

37:11 Women!

40:27 The ending

46:51 Legacy

53:57 Recommendations

Bill Masen:

Hero in both the book and the film. In the book Bill is English and works for the triffid farm where he has been almost blinded by a triffid sting. His colleague begins to suspect the triffids are indeed sentient and able to communicate. This brings up questions around exploitation and enslavement. In the film Bill is American and works for the US Navy who help save the hero and other survivors at the end of the film.

Josella Playton:

The heroine from the novel is not present in the 1963 film. Josella comes from a wealthy family (one with servants) and has written a notorious book titled Sex is my Adventure.

Coker:

Coker has a large role in the book and we meet him as an advocate for the newly blinded masses when many of the few sighted people left are attempting to save themselves from the threat of a disintegrating society. He is a strong public speaker from a working-class background who had learned to speak in a way that is more amenable to the intelligentsia and upper classes. His strongly held beliefs (of forcing the sighted to serve the blind) change through the book to become less idealistic and more practical.

Coker in the film is an old man with a very minimal role who dies early in the story form a triffid attack.

Susan:

Is a young girl who is rescued by Bill in the film after a train crash and ensuing chaos. In the book Bill takes in Susan whose family have died. She is a capable young child who develops an understanding of triffid behaviour from observing them as she guards the home that Josella and Bill stay in for many years.

Miss Durrant:

In the film Miss Durrant is the beautiful heroine that Bill meets in a large house in France that is caring from blind survivors of the meteor shower. In the book, Miss Durrant is a religious minded woman who is appalled at a man named Beadley’s attempts to rebuild society through polygamy. She seems to purposefully mislead Bill who is trying to track down Beadley because he thinks Josella will be with him.

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be speaking about The Manchurian Candidate from 1962 by John Frankenheimer. A film that may not fit the definition of science fiction for many people but by now I think we know how ambiguous those definitions can be!

You can find the film on streaming platforms including Apple TV. The Just Watch website is a good resource to find where the film is available online in your region.