1950s Sci-Fi Movies Worth Watching Today

The 1950s turned Cold War nerves into flying saucers, pod people and ants the size of trucks, and the decade's science fiction still makes a terrific movie night. This list covers American and British films released from 1950 to 1959, in release order, and mixes the serious classics with the cheerfully cheap ones. Each entry makes clear which kind it is, so you know whether you are in for real chills, real ideas or a good laugh with friends. The test for a place: the film has to hold up for a viewer now, either because it is genuinely good or because it is fun in a way no modern film can fake. Japanese monster movies such as Godzilla are left out because they deserve a list of their own. Short on time? Start with The Day the Earth Stood Still, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Forbidden Planet.