Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* – Details, episodes & analysis

As always there are spoilers ahead!

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In 1959 at the cusp of a new and exciting decade Richard Condon wrote a book that is largely described as a political thriller. And it is a political thriller. But it also fits neatly into my concept of science fiction. To learn more about what is and isn't science fiction you can head to the heady days of the first episode where the topic is discussed with science fiction scholars Lisa Yaszek and Glyn Morgan. (Please do excuse the fear in my eyes.)

Just a few years later a film was made by John Frankenheimer, starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh and a brilliant and manipulative Angela Lansbury.

The 1960s USA is in peak cold war fears, and the CIA is undertaking covert operations of their own, with the MKUltra programme, testing on humans to discover whether they can be manipulated and brainwashed.

Although this film continues many themes from the 1950s it is definitely a product of the new age as culture shifts and a new batch of Hollywood directors take cinema in a different direction.

I am lucky to have two brilliant guests to talk us through the themes and context of this 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 including the book American Politics in Hollywood Film.

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

02:23 New Hollywood Directors

04:57 Richard Condon's novel

07:00 Mind control in science fiction

09:40 Cold War in the Far East

16:57 The brilliant brainwashing scene

25:28 Raymond Shaw the unlikely hero

29:17 Frank Sinatra as Marco

33:17 Angela Lansbury as Eleanor

37:54 Janet Leigh

44:04Eisenhower and the legacy of conspiracy films

48:31 The remake

52:29 Recommendations

The recommendations this week are the films Suddenly (1954) and Seconds (1966). I will be covering Seconds in the near future so you can get ahead by watching it if you like!

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be discussing the Roger Corman film X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes from 1963 starring Ray Milland. DVDs of the film are available but it is also available to rent and watch online on Apple TV and many other platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region.

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

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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.

Hello wonderful people!

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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!

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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.

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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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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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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