As of late, I've been re-dipping into the otherworldly flicks of the 1950s, and a great, companion source for these ambitious submissions is Classic Monsters of the Movies: Popcorn and Pinchers (An Anthology of Classic 1950s Sci-Fi Cinema).
Thanks to writers/researchers Nige Burton and Jamie Jones, Popcorn and Pinchers covers the grand gamut of the celluloid staples that once reigned supreme at matinees and drive-in theaters, ranging from Robot Monster to The Quatermass Xperiment.
Beloved, classic specimens from the Creature from the Black Lagoon trilogy, It Came from Outer Space, This Island Earth, The War of the Worlds, Invaders From Mars, Earth vs the Flying Saucers, Invasion of the Saucer Men, Plan 9 From Outer Space, It Conquered the World, The Thing from Another World and The Blob conquer the pages, as well as experimental mishaps that include The Alligator People, The Fly, Return of the Fly, The Indestructible Man, Donovan's Brain and The Colossus of New York.
Gigantic intruders are also revealed: The Cyclops, The Amazing Colossal Man, War of the Colossal Beast, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Them!, Tarantula, The Deadly Mantis, The Black Scorpion, 20 Million Miles to Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Beast of Hollow Mountain, Godzilla and Rodan.
First-time and revived, Gothic examples also crawl their way forth, including The Black Sleep, Bride of the Monster, The Son of Dr. Jekyll, Frankenstein 1970, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Revenge of Frankenstein, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, How to Make a Monster, in addition to Abbott & Costello's continuing, mega-monster meet-ups.
Then there are the allegorical narratives that audiences found ever so profound, headlined by Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1984, The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Incredible Shrinking Man; as well as those entries that looked to space to sustain the human race, emblemized by Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide and Forbidden Planet.
No matter the category or niche, Burton and Jones document and delve, referencing not only the directors, writers and producers who made these movies so captivating, but their powerhouse stars.
Through its comprehensive, eighty-four, photo-garnished pages, Popcorn and Pinchers delivers what one needs to know about the era: an encyclopedia of both big and small proportions, which will transport one to a simpler time that dared to consider the strange, scientific possibilities that hovered on the horizon.
Classic Monsters states that supplies on this essential anthology are running low; so it's wise to move fast!
https://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/popcorn-and-pincers-1950s-sci-fi-movie-anthology/
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