50's sci-fi b-movie cliches

[Squeakmiester 3000]

Just wondering if anybody had any, as i am running a LARP at wayfinder based on 50's sci-fi, and thus need the cliches to make it complete. What i have already noticed:

Aliens are communists.

Invasion of the Body Snatcher rippoffs make up at least 30 percent of all 50's sci-fi.

Everything is radioactive.

Aliens are either flamboyant and hammy, or monsters. Or or flamboyant and hammy guys who own monsters, as in this island earth, or plan 9 (sort of).

Alien monsters allways love humans, dispite the creepy zoophila that idea suggests. And they allways carry them in the same way.

Alien Brains can alter all reality, to insane points.

Scientists don't need to be scientists of anything in particular, they just need some colored liqid in some glass beakers. And if they are a scientist of something, then they still have to have colored liqiuds in glass beakers. No matter what kind of scientist they are.

Mutated things. And when something mutates, that almost always means it become giant. And evil.

Those crazy teens and their crazy rock and roll!

The cops don't belive. No matter what.

So far, thats all i have. Also im having some trouble finding movies where the monsters really do have an attraction to the earth-humans. i have seen Robot monster, and i have seen Bride of the atom, but thats it. Otherwise, most of the movies i have the material i need to research it, but any movies that show the cliche that you think i may not have seen, go ahead and mention them. Im mostly looking for more cliches, tho.

Thanks!

[dean]

Not so sure about specifically 50's sci-fi [not sure about dates for some movies I've seen]

But I've noticed in some movies that I've seen is that there is a fear of the 'other'.  That is, the fear of the outsider, the unknown, whether it be the aliens themselves, or perhaps a character who doesn't fit in properly [eg Homosexual]

Most often this outsider, whether human or not, is often mistaken and judged by a harsh and uncivilised society eg, an outsider from another town comes spouting messages of aliens coming, and they not only disbelieve them [which, of course, is quite realistic] but they go on to discredit this person further, more so than perhaps they deserve.  

But hey, I perhaps need to watch more to be sure of what is pouring out of my fingers.

Lots of 50s movies, of course, especially via sci-fi, made social and political comments about the wrongs of civilisation especially via the nuclear link.  Films like the Day the Earth Stood Still stand out like this for me; a peaceful alien comes and tells us to stop being violent to one another and resolve our differences or else we are to be eradicated.  Kind of a contradiction in ideology [we will kill you for being too violent and unpredictable] but let's continue.  

When politics fails, the alien tries science, but mankind is unwilling or unable to accept this alien's demands, and eventually he is shot.  Bad move by earth one must say...

Sure, the Day the Earth Stood still is an obvious example, and easily read in a number of ways, but since it was such an important movie, and also early in the 50's, you can sort of see patterns of cliches forming from it, such as the fallacy of man, the failure or importance of science etc.

But hey, it's all good.  As long as movies like Plan 9 come about via this ideology, I'm happy.  And entertained.

[AndyC]

Another common trait of scientists is that older ones typically have one beautiful, intelligent daughter who is either engaged to the lab assistant, a rock-jawed man of action, or available for any rock-jawed man of action who might come along.

[Derf]

When the army is involved, they are the good guys (with notable exceptions like dean just mentioned in The Day the Earth Stood Still), and generals are likely to take action alongside their enlisted men, fighting fiercely against the monster (The Giant Claw, Them, etc.).

If those darned teenagers and their rock-and-roll music are involved, not only will the authorities not listen, but the teenagers will take care of the problem better than the police ever could (occasionally with the help of one of those beaker-happy scientists). Examples are The Giant Gila Monster and The Blob.

As for examples of movies with "monsters" that fall in love with human women, there's Mighty Joe Young, though that was made in 1949 rather than in the 50s and 20 Million Miles to Earth (sort of). I'll post more if I can think of any.

[Gerry]

Squeakmiester 3000 wrote:

> Also im having some trouble finding
> movies where the monsters really do have an attraction to the
> earth-humans.

Here are a few:

I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE
THIS ISLAND EARTH
THE CRAWLING EYE (sorta)

Not aliens, but 50s monsters:

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and its sequels REVENGE OF THE CREATURE and THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US

THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED

CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER

I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN

There are more from the 60s too.

[The Burgomaster]

*  Aging scientists always have beautiful daughters who fall in love with military men.  (Pretty much the same as AndyC's observation about the daughter and the lab assistant).

*  The "A-Bomb" is responsible for unleashing most of the monsters that roam the Earth.

*  Beautiful women wear tight dresses and high heels . . . even when they are certain that they will be running away from a monster in the very near future.

*  All aliens have either big heads or tentacles (or both) and they often glow.

*  Most deep space exploration teams include one guy who only wants to have fun and make passes at women.  The guy often plays the ukelele and wears gaudy clothing.

[trekgeezer]

* Even if the woman is scientist or doctor, she will quickly volunteer to get the coffee.

* On space missions the electronics guy (radio or engineering) will have a Brooklyn accent, be great at his job, and totally clueless to everything else. He will also probably get eaten by something unpleasant (Angry Red Planet).

* The high school science teacher is as knowledgable as any of the generic  scientist  types. (Earth vs the Spider).

* A little radiation never hurt anybody!

[Squeakmiester 3000]

Thanks everyone. I'll try to incorperate those cliches that i missed, (though the ones involving space expeditions can't be incorperated into my game, as it is entirely earth-bound).  Also, I'll get to veiwing that list. From what I've read, The day the world ended will be most usefull, as it is most like the monster I have, and Caltiki will be the most disturbing, cause it's a giant blob thing, and it falls in love with a human......weird..... Anyhow, I'll have some trouble incorperateing the scientist daughter one, as the scientist i have instead has an unrespected though very intelligent female assistant/sex slave, not a daughter.  Hmmmmm........maybe two scientist? but that may be over doing it.

[Master Blaster]

How about uncivilized animal hide clad alien cave women shave their legs, pluck their eyebrows and wear makeup -

Vampire Men of the Lost Planet,
Rocketship X-O,
and just about anything with the word "Amazon" in it.

[Squeakmiester 3000]

Hm, true, and good point that actually extends to all amazon movies, ever. They also wear eyeliner. And ofen mini-skirts. But what im mostly looking for here is earth-bound 50's sci-fi, not space exploration 50's sci-fi

[AndyC]

Oh, should clarify that the beautiful daughter rule only applies to older scientists. Young scientists are all ruggedly handsome outdoor types, and often single.

It should also be noted that scientists in the 50s were much smarter than those of today, as they could usually come up with surprisingly accurate theories about any previously unknown phenomenon, based on virtually no evidence. And they could do it fast.

Unfortunately, they also tended to put sensitive equipment, such as the self-destruct button or the control that keeps the monster frozen, where it can be easily bumped or played with.



Post Edited (08-16-05 13:48)

[Derf]

Master Blaster wrote:

> How about uncivilized animal hide clad alien cave women shave
> their legs, pluck their eyebrows and wear makeup -
>
> Vampire Men of the Lost Planet,
> Rocketship X-O,
> and just about anything with the word "Amazon" in it.

Not to mention Wild Women of Wongo, Prehistoric Women, Teenage Cave Man, and any other dinosaur movie from the 50s (or the 80s).

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

Yeah the flamboyant "Odious Comic Relief", whom you WISH would die a horrible death early on, but is usually the penultimate victim.  

You know, these tropes sorta hold for "Alien " too!
-Ed

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

Don't forget the boxy, slow-moving robot that is strangely terrifying to everyone in the movie.  
_Ed

[Squeakmiester 3000]

Your right, though i'll have a bit of trouble putting the robot in. Justr one one of the aliens slaves, along with the mutant. I'm also debateing either chosing the old scientist cliche or the old scientist clice, or just having both.