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by Michelle Strozykowski

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The vogue for many fantasy films in the 1950s was towards the horror schlock of creature feature and alien invasion movies. The Thing From Another World and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers typify the top end of the genre. In retrospect, it is easy to dismiss these flicks as amateurish, almost comical thrills and spills, but that would miss the point and context of their creation. Many a child, growing up in the fifties, will still be able to remember these strange, fantastical films in adulthood. Almost certainly, even if the name of the film is long forgotten, they'll be able to pinpoint the exact scene that scared them witless and forced them to spend the rest of their childhood sleeping with the lights on.

Space was still an unexplored mass, NASA didn't even exist until 1958, and man didn't step foot on the moon until 1969. Considering how much we still have to learn about space today, the 1950s were like the dark ages. Little green men from Mars were a very frightening prospect, and played on the very real fear we all have of the unknown.

The Thing From Another World (1951)
This film is often credited to one of America's truly great directors, Howard Hawks, although it is Christian Nyby who gets his name on the screen. Whether Hawks actually ghost directed or not, he certainly had a hand in making this film one of the classics of 1950s science fiction. The plot follows a group of scientists who discover an alien spacecraft buried underneath the Arctic ice. They take the frozen pilot back to their research station, where he accidentally thaws out with violent consequences. The claustrophobic, fantasy elements of the creature coming to life and stalking the good scientists has parallels with the anti-communist feelings America was experiencing at the time. McCarthyism was at its height and Americans feared they were being pursued by demons of the political variety.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)
Directed by Don Siegal, Body Snatchers can also be read as an anti-communist allegory, and even names its lead character McCarthy, but it's also a chilling thriller. Mysterious pods appear, and people begin to act very strangely. When Dr McCarthy sees for himself what emerges from a pod, he tries to alert the authorities. But no-one can be trusted to be who they appear.

Other science fiction films, many with great titles such as Flying Disc Man From Mars and Rocketship X-M, were prevalent in the 1950s, as well as a TV version of the great sci-fi fantasy Flash Gordon. They were not, however, the only types of fantasy pictures to emerge. On a much lighter note, Disney films were soaring and Jimmy Stewart made a sweet, funny little film called Harvey.

Harvey (1950)
Eccentric Elwood P Dowd (James Stewart) has a best friend named Harvey, a 6ft tall invisible rabbit. His family don't know what to make of the situation, fearing mental illness or too much drink to be the cause, but Elwood himself puts his finger on it when he says you can be "Oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart; I recommend pleasant." The need to believe in Harvey is neither here nor there, but the need to believe in ones self is the key.

Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Lady and The Tramp (1956), Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Walt Disney studios produced these four classic animations in the fifties, weaving their special spell of magical fantasy to the delight of both children and adults alike. Disney films gave life to fairy tales and animated characters, sprinkling magic on the cinema of the fifties.

Fantasy films of a different variety emerged in the form of popular 1950s musicals such as An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The Band Wagon (1953). The fifties was also the decade auteur director Jean Cocteau produced his fantasy masterpiece Orpheus.

Orpheus (1950)
The story of a poet who becomes obsessed with the Princess of Death, Orpheus is an atmospheric magical fantasy. The poet, Orphee, follows death into the underworld, but without recourse to modern day special effects, Cocteau conveys his journey by using symbols and mirrors. If anything, this serves to give the film an even more poetic, impressionistic appeal, setting it amongst the greatest fantasy films ever made.

The Seventh Seal (1956)
The fifties also brought us this Ingmar Bergman classic, where once more Death is personified. The Grim Reaper has come to collect a knight (played by Max von Sydow) but agrees to the challenge of a game of chess. If he wins, the knight will keep his life. Despite the subject matter, moments of light relief are forthcoming, and even in the face of the many parodies this film spawned, it remains a mesmerizing experience. Much of the imagery is intensely beautiful, and the story is a meaningful one.

The best fantasy films of the fifties certainly cover an interesting and varied amount of output. For so many to have remained well known and highly revered right up to the present day, it's possible to appreciate just what an exciting time the fifties was in cinematic terms. Best of all, we are free to re-live the films of the decade on DVD.

Learn more about this author, Michelle Strozykowski.

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