Spotlight: 1950s B-movie sci-fi

While 1980-1990 was the worst post-sound decade in film history, the 50s were host to more truly awful films than any other time. Evidence? Nearly half of the movies mocked by Mystery Science Theater 3000 are from those ten years.

What good can be said of the decade that gave us such gems as Radar Men from the Moon, The Robot Vs. the Aztec Mummy, and Attack of the Giant Leeches? Well, at least we had the choice to see On the Waterfront, Sunset Boulevard, and a string of Hitchcock masterpieces instead. But the 1950s sci-fi craptacular remains an indelible stain on film history.

Does it get any sillier than a serial named Canadian Mounties Vs. Atomic Invaders? I doubt the most skilled satirists could come up with a more absurd title. But it wasn't just the titles; the movie themselves were... well, their degree of banality and absurdity cannot be characterized with the English language.

What makes these horrors so unforgivable is that it should have been obvious from the start that these would be awful movies, at the pitching stage. These are not good ideas with poor execution. These are terrible ideas that have no hope of resulting in good movies.

Commando Cody, Sky Marshal of the Universe, must stop moon men from conquering the earth. A mad scientist and his robot search for Aztec treasure and awaken a mummy. Irradiated leeches grow to gigantic proportions and terrorize residents of a swamp. When any of these ideas were pitched to a movie studio executive, the projects should have been shot dead right there.

The 1950s sci-fi cheese phenomenon culminated in the 1959 release of what is widely regarded as the worst film ever made, Plan 9 from Outer Space, whose tag line is: Unspeakable Horrors From Outer Space Paralyze The Living And Resurrect The Dead!

But, a strange thing happened with Plan 9: it became a cult favorite because it was so terrible. In fact, if you're in a giggling mood, or drunk or high, Plan 9 from Outer Space is a very enjoyable movie - the epitome of the 'unintentionally funny' genre.

Indeed, spotlights on 1950s sci-fi crapulence like Mystery Science Theater 3000 can be seen as a celebration of the admirable missteps of experimental and daring filmmakers, without whose brilliance classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey or even Citizen Kane would not have been possible.

And, as *luck* would have it, this week sees the DVD release of the newest celebration of 1950s B-cinema: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. While it's not quite as funny as Plan 9 from Outer Space, it's an unabashed tribute of everything wrong about 1950s B-movie sci-fi.