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Science Fiction Noir , The Candidates

by karljhickey14 • Created 11 years ago • Modified 5 years ago
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  • 27 titles
  • Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

    1. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    19561h 20mApproved92Metascore
    7.7 (58K)
    A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
    DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry Gates
    The one often called a noir , great photography , told in flashback , paranoia at it's best . Spoiled only by an added later happy ending .
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)

    2. BBC Sunday-Night Theatre

    Episode: 

    Nineteen Eighty-Four

    (1954)
    1950–19591h 54mTV Episode
    7.7 (740)
    In a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.
    DirectorRudolph CartierStarsPeter CushingAndré MorellYvonne Mitchell
    Great BBC version with Peter Cushing and written by Nigel Kneale , one of the scariest films you'll ever see
  • Jan Sterling, Edmond O'Brien, and Michael Redgrave in 1984 (1956)

    3. 1984

    19561h 30mNot Rated
    6.9 (4.6K)
    In a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.
    DirectorMichael AndersonStarsEdmond O'BrienMichael RedgraveJan Sterling
    This one has Edmond O'Brien and Jan Sterling , plus Michael Redgrave , Donald Pleasance for the British side .
  • Donovan's Brain (1953)

    4. Donovan's Brain

    19531h 24mApproved
    5.9 (1.8K)
    Three scientists unlawfully remove the still living brain of a dead tycoon and experiment with it but the evil brain begins to telepathically control the lead scientist.
    DirectorFelix E. FeistStarsLew AyresGene EvansNancy Reagan
    Just has a similar feel , the plot of someone taking a rich man's place , the political and financial corruption would be noir without the brain in a jar scenario .
  • Margaret Field and Pat Goldin in The Man from Planet X (1951)

    5. The Man from Planet X

    19511h 11mApproved
    5.7 (3.3K)
    As a mysterious planet hurls itself toward Earth, an enigmatic extraterrestrial scout arrives on a remote Scottish island with unknown intentions.
    DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsRobert ClarkeMargaret FieldRaymond Bond
    Photography , camera angles , voiceover telling the story in flashback , directed by Ulmer .
  • Indestructible Man (1956)

    6. Indestructible Man

    19561h 12mApproved
    4.4 (3.3K)
    A brutal death row inmate double-crossed by his crooked lawyer gets his chance for revenge when, following his execution, a bizarre experiment brings him back to life and deadlier than ever.
    DirectorJack PollexfenStarsLon Chaney Jr.Max ShowalterMarian Carr
    Dragnet style voiceover , great use of real locations in Los Angeles
  • Marguerite Chapman, James Griffith, Douglas Kennedy, and Ivan Triesault in The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

    7. The Amazing Transparent Man

    196058mApproved
    4.2 (2.9K)
    A crazed scientist invents an invisibility formula. He plans to use the formula to create an army of invisible zombies.
    DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsMarguerite ChapmanDouglas KennedyJames Griffith
    Ulmer again , science used to rob banks , Marguerite Chapman is good as an over the hill moll
  • The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)

    8. The Quatermass Xperiment

    19551h 18mApproved
    6.6 (7.9K)
    Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.
    DirectorVal GuestStarsBrian DonlevyJack WarnerRichard Wordsworth
    Deadly serious , paranoid , great photography , plus noir favourite Brian Donlevy . Hammer in the change between noir and horror . The original BBC version is worth a vote too .
  • Quatermass 2 (1957)

    9. Quatermass 2

    19571h 25mApproved
    6.7 (5.1K)
    Professor Quatermass, trying to gather support for his Lunar colonisation project, is intrigued by mysterious traces that have been showing up.
    DirectorVal GuestStarsBrian DonlevyJohn LongdenSidney James
    Even better sequel , touches of Invasion of the Body Snatchers .
  • X the Unknown (1956)

    10. X the Unknown

    19561h 21mApproved
    6.1 (3.5K)
    A radioactive, mud-like creature terrorizes a Scottish village.
    DirectorsLeslie NormanJoseph LoseyStarsDean JaggerEdward ChapmanLeo McKern
    A lesser known Hammer sci fi , with similarities to Quatermass
  • Oliver Reed and Shirley Anne Field in The Damned (1962)

    11. The Damned

    19621h 27mApproved72Metascore
    6.6 (4.4K)
    An American tourist, a youth gang leader, and his troubled sister find themselves trapped in a top secret government facility experimenting on children.
    DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsMacdonald CareyShirley Anne FieldViveca Lindfors
    Under rated , directed by Joseph Losey , has it's moments .
  • Them! (1954)

    12. Them!

    19541h 34mApproved74Metascore
    7.2 (26K)
    The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
    DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames WhitmoreEdmund GwennJoan Weldon
    Great noir photography , and it ends up in the LA storm drains . So what if it's got giant ants ?
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

    13. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

    19531h 20mApproved
    6.6 (9.3K)
    A ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.
    DirectorEugène LouriéStarsPaul HubschmidPaula RaymondCecil Kellaway
    Great photography , bit parts for Steve Brodie and Lee Van Cleef who gets to shoot the monster .
  • The Brain (1962)

    14. The Brain

    19621h 23m
    5.2 (396)
    After the mysterious crash of a millionaire's private airplane, three scientists secretly harvest the dying man's brain and keep it alive in a laboratory in order to communicate with it through telepathy.
    DirectorFreddie FrancisStarsAnne HeywoodPeter van EyckCecil Parker
    Cheaper British version of Donovan's Brain , fits in with all the British B movie noirs of the time .
  • Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina in Alphaville (1965)

    15. Alphaville

    19651h 39mNot Rated92Metascore
    7.0 (29K)
    An agent wrecks the main computer on another planet.
    DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsEddie ConstantineAnna KarinaAkim Tamiroff
    Eddie Constantine's Lemmy Caution , star of countless French noirs , in a strange alien city
  • It's Alive (1974)

    16. It's Alive

    19741h 31mPG72Metascore
    5.8 (9.5K)
    The Davises are expecting a baby, which turns out to be a monster with a nasty habit of killing people whenever it is scared. And it is easily scared.
    DirectorLarry CohenStarsJohn P. RyanSharon FarrellAndrew Duggan
    Hitchcock couldn't have done a better job , great Bernard Herrman score , and another finale in the LA storm drains
  • Harrison Ford and Sean Young in Blade Runner (1982)

    17. Blade Runner

    19821h 57mR84Metascore
    8.1 (859K)
    A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
    DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean Young
    Visual homage to noir of the forties , trench coats and venetian blinds .
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)

    18. The Terminator

    19841h 47mR84Metascore
    8.1 (972K)
    A cyborg assassin from the future attempts to find and kill a young woman who is destined to give birth to a warrior that will lead a resistance to save humankind from extinction.
    DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael Biehn
    Eighties equivalent of all those RKO B's , features a bar called Technoir , and of course rips off the two Outer Limits Harlan Ellison stories , Soldier and Demon with a Glass Hand which are prime candidates too .
  • Emilio Estevez, Olivia Barash, Harry Dean Stanton, and Jennifer Balgobin in Repo Man (1984)

    19. Repo Man

    19841h 32mR82Metascore
    6.8 (44K)
    A young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
    DirectorAlex CoxStarsHarry Dean StantonEmilio EstevezTracey Walter
    The box from Kiss Me Deadly and other touches
  • Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961)

    20. Most Dangerous Man Alive

    19611h 22mApproved
    5.4 (340)
    After wandering in a nuclear testing area in the desert, escaped mobster Ron Candell starts mutating and seeks revenge on his former crime partners.
    DirectorAllan DwanStarsRon RandellDebra PagetElaine Stewart
    B movie classic , escaped gangster caught in a nuclear blast tries to get even with the world
  • Faith Domergue and Gene Nelson in The Atomic Man (1955)

    21. The Atomic Man

    19551h 16mPG
    5.6 (494)
    A scientist is found floating with bullet and a radiation halo around his body. The radioactivity has put him seven-and-a-half seconds ahead of us in time. He teams up with a reporter to stop his double from destroying his experiments.
    DirectorKen HughesStarsGene NelsonFaith DomergueJoseph Tomelty
    Noirish opening , dark photography , features a twist on the usual amnesia .
  • The Electronic Monster (1958)

    22. The Electronic Monster

    19581h 16mApproved
    4.6 (243)
    An insurance investigator finds there's more to electronic dream therapy than meets the eye.
    DirectorsMontgomery TullyDavid PaltenghiStarsRod CameronMary MurphyMeredith Edwards
    Merton Park B movie , insurance investigator , ex nazi doctors , fits in with the British crime features
  • Howard Duff and Eva Bartok in Spaceways (1953)

    23. Spaceways

    19531h 14m
    5.1 (655)
    British scientists test rocket; matrimonial strife looms. Rocket partially fails; couple goes missing. Did they elope or are they dead, orbiting in rocket debris?
    DirectorTerence FisherStarsHoward DuffEva BartokAlan Wheatley
    Hammer murder mystery , with rockets .
  • Frozen Alive (1964)

    24. Frozen Alive

    19641h 20m
    4.1 (684)
    A scientist experimenting with suspended animation decides to use himself as a test subject. Before he is frozen, his wife is killed, and he is suspected of her murder.
    DirectorBernard KnowlesStarsMark StevensMarianne KochWolfgang Lukschy
  • House of Mystery (1961)

    25. Kraft Mystery Theater

    Episode: 

    House of Mystery

    (1961)
    1961–196356mTV Episode
    6.5 (203)
    A young couple go to check out a house they're thinking of buying. A somewhat mysterious woman tells the couple several stories of the fates that befell the house's previous owners.
    DirectorVernon SewellStarsPeter DyneleyJane HyltonNanette Newman

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