We could debate what at the ten greatest ‘50s sci-fi films, and perhaps we shall someday. There are so many that my actually favorite monster movie of all time (which is saying something), Them!, probably wouldn’t make that list. On the other hand, there would be a spot available, for me, since I long ago have removed The Day the Earth Stood Still from that roster. The older I get the more horrified I am by the film’s outright fascist politics, dressed up and obfuscated by a shiny patina of progressivism.
Even so, I imagine why there might be some debate on the margins, the general list would be nearly universally agreed upon: The Thing from Another World, Forbidden Planet, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (or arguably Gojira/Godzilla King of the Monsters), Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc. Many would no doubt still nominate The Day the Earth Stood Still, which just as a movie—if you ignore it’s message—is pretty amazing. There are two really good Quatermass Movies, and if you expand sci-fi to social satire, there’s The Man With the White Suit.
Anyway, we’ll shelve that discussion for now. However, those films at the end there raise an interesting question that is more personal. What film do you personally really, really like even if it is in no way one of the decade’s classics.
For me, that would be The Land Unknown. It’s an odd choice, in that it stays away from the decade’s obsession (or cynical and often lazy exploitation) of atomic energy and weapons as a plot element. It’s your classic Lost World picture, with more in common with Willis’s classic silent film, or King Kong, or The Land that Time Forgot.
Although often viewed as a ‘B’, The Land Unknown—as discussed by Tom Weaver in his typically expert and entertainment commentary on the Kino Lorber Blu Ray release—was actually Universal’s most expensive sci-fi film of the 1950s. Although Weaver didn’t have exact budget figures for The Incredible Shrinking Man, he confirms that film cost less than The Land Unknown. The latter film cost more than even Universal’s much heralded color space opera This Island Earth.
Indeed, The Land Unknown was itself meant to be shot in color. However, the dinosaur suits cost so much that they had to revert to black and white. As with Them!, this actually works to the film’s benefit, providing loads of atmosphere that would be missing in color. The Land Unknown was even shot in CinemaScope, no doubt to showcase the gigantic Lost World set. This presumably along with the monster suits and puppets, ate up the majority of the hefty budget. Also, it’s actually sets. For instance, they had to recreate much of the set (all of it?) in 1/3rd scale for scenes featuring the nine foot tall T-Rex suit.
Running a thrifty 78 minutes, The Land Unknown cuts to the chase by using a stock quartet of characters. Setting out on a helicopter tour of Antarctica (after the obligatory stock footage to establish verisimilitude) are the Stalwart Commander, the Spunky Female Correspondent, the Regular Guy, and the Panicky Guy. They crash land in the inevitable warm zone where the constant temps have forestalled evolution through the eons. In other words…dinosaurs.
As you’d expect from the lean running time, events continue apace. Within 15 minutes they have crashed, there’s a malfunction that they can’t fix and the radio can’t cut through the thick atmosphere. There’s a villain—basically Wolf Larsen combined with the stranded guy from Treasure Island—who conveniently has a spare part they need. He’s willing to trade it for the lady, which of course is no go. I usually disdain having a human villain to pull attention away from the fantastic elements, but this guy is a great character and integrated very well with the monster action.
The real stars are the monsters. And man, they are glorious. There’s a sequence or two of your typically real lizards dressed up like dinosaurs. Modern viewers will surely wince at the way the two monitor lizards in question are set to fiercely fight and maim each other for our supposed amusement. More to the point, the use of real lizards clashes with the mindboggingly incredible dinosaur suits and puppets, which are what truly elevate the film to classic status for me.
It’s the typical roster: giant man-eating plant, pterodactyls, a truly nifty plesiosaur that lurks in a lagoon and attacks the unwary. Then there’s the capper, what remains my absolute favorite movie T-Rex of all time. I get why most people vastly prefer the realistic CGI Rexes of your Jurassic Parks and whatnot. However, seeing this fabulous guy-in-suit dino simply balms my soul. You can talk about how it looks goofy, or snicker about patent origins as a man in a suit. I don’t care, it is exactly what I want from a film like this. I don’t want my dinosaurs to be animals, I want them to be monsters, and these really fill that bill.
Anyway, enough blathering from me. I know everyone here—all like ten of you—must have a ‘50s sci-fi film that you hold close to your heart, even if it’s not one of the acknowledged classics. What are they, and why?
