MInd Boggling Trivia For 1950's Sci Fi Classics
POSTED BY: Jongsstraw
UPDATED: Thursday, February 7, 2013 23:32
VIEWED: 4460
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About 2 men who appeared in 2 classic 1950's sci-fi 'B' movies.....
Cecil Kellaway played the benign and grandfatherly scientific expert on dinosaurs in the movie 'Beast From 20,000 Fathoms'. His shocking death in the submerged bathoshpere while searching for the beast is something I've never fully recovered from even after 50+ years.
and
Edmund Gwenn, who played the benign and grandfatherly scientific expert on
ants in the movie 'Them'.
They were actually cousins in real life. Years earlier, Kellaway had turned down the role of Kris Kringle in 'Miracle On 34th Street' which subsequently was given to Gwenn.
** and if your mind wasn't completely boggled by those revelations, give this a try, if you dare...
Peter Graves changed his name from Arness. He was James (The Thing) Arness' brother. They both appeared in 1950's sci fi 'b' movies. Must have made for some interesting phone calls. James Arness fought giant ants in 'Them', while Peter fought off giant insects in 'Killers From Space', as well as giant locusts in "Beginning Of The End'.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Cecil Kellaway played the benign and grandfatherly scientific expert on dinosaurs in the movie 'Beast From 20,000 Fathoms'. His shocking death in the submerged bathoshpere while searching for the beast is something I've never fully recovered from even after 50+ years.
Tell me about it. That scene is etched in my memory. I think it traumatized me as a kid. Just being so deep underwater and seeing this huge thing coming at you and.....well, you know the rest.
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Quote:
Originally posted by MUTT999:Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Cecil Kellaway played the benign and grandfatherly scientific expert on dinosaurs in the movie 'Beast From 20,000 Fathoms'. His shocking death in the submerged bathoshpere while searching for the beast is something I've never fully recovered from even after 50+ years.
Tell me about it. That scene is etched in my memory. I think it traumatized me as a kid. Just being so deep underwater and seeing this huge thing coming at you and.....well, you know the rest.
Amen to that. Funny how certain elements from so long ago remain with us all our lives. I'm not a shrink, so I really don't understand why. I remember watching "Beast" many times on tv in the early 1960's. I've since seen documentaries on Ray Harryhausen and how he did the special effects for the movie. Pretty amazing stuff, and for me at least, much more creative and imaginative than a team of computer wonks creating stuff on a monitor screen. I haven't seen Beast in over thirty years but I can still visualize when the monster attacked the lighthouse, when it came out of the water in NYC, when it swallowed the cop, and when it destroyed the big roller coaster.
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Jongs.
I had no idea that Peter Graves and James Arness where brothers!!! How did I get this far in my 50's sci-fi loving years without coming upon this sooner. Thanks for that nugget of information.
Well this in my favourite genre. Not just Sci-fi but 50's Sci-fi. I totally love it!
My favourite is Creature From the Black Lagoon, just by virtue that it was the first 50's Sci-fi flick I saw as a kid and then later when I was at college we saw the 3D print of it at the university. It was part of a double feature with "It Came From Outer Space"
But you make a valid point about imagery that sticks with you no matter what. I still think the underwater shots of the creature are some of the most enduring I've ever seen in cinema.
Beast is awesome too. There's something dark and menacing about the whole production of that film. Sort of Godzilla-esque but with the charm and brilliance of Harryhausen...
....Harryhausen - what a master! I was only this afternoon watching Mysterious Island. It's my "go to" flick when I just want to be caught up in the fantasy of cinema. I love the Giant Crab animation! Still very convincing and appealing. I have a few friends who do computer animation and while I do understand the hard work they put in, it just cannot compete with the charm of stop motion for me. It's impossible to quantify I guess, but to my eyes, it feels more a part of the scene than CGI.
Nice post J!
°...Well here I am.°
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Quote:
Originally posted by THESOMNAMBULIST:
Jongs.
I had no idea that Peter Graves and James Arness where brothers!!! How did I get this far in my 50's sci-fi loving years without coming upon this sooner. Thanks for that nugget of information.
Well this in my favourite genre. Not just Sci-fi but 50's Sci-fi. I totally love it!
My favourite is Creature From the Black Lagoon, just by virtue that it was the first 50's Sci-fi flick I saw as a kid and then later when I was at college we saw the 3D print of it at the university. It was part of a double feature with "It Came From Outer Space"
But you make a valid point about imagery that sticks with you no matter what. I still think the underwater shots of the creature are some of the most enduring I've ever seen in cinema.
Beast is awesome too. There's something dark and menacing about the whole production of that film. Sort of Godzilla-esque but with the charm and brilliance of Harryhausen...
....Harryhausen - what a master! I was only this afternoon watching Mysterious Island. It's my "go to" flick when I just want to be caught up in the fantasy of cinema. I love the Giant Crab animation! Still very convincing and appealing. I have a few friends who do computer animation and while I do understand the hard work they put in, it just cannot compete with the charm of stop motion for me. It's impossible to quantify I guess, but to my eyes, it feels more a part of the scene than CGI.
Nice post J!
°...Well here I am.°
Thanks for your response and kind words. It's very encouraging for me to see someone who appreciates the old sci fi classics from the 50's and 60's. Like you, I love those movies, and I watch the dvds all the time. You really hit one of my hot buttons hard when you used the word "charm"! Yes their charm is what makes me love them all to this day. The best example of that was something I wrote about years ago; a comparison of the 2002 Time Machine versus the 1960 Time Machine. The original drips with charm and sweetness, and while the remake wasn't too bad, it couldn't hold Mrs. Watchett's candle to it.
Creature From The Black Lagoon is a favorite of mine. And Mysterious Island is one of the coolest movies ever made. It Came From Outer Space is one of the classic originals. I'm a big Barbara Rush fan and she was as breathtaking in that as she was in When Worlds Collide.
Some of my other personal favorites of that era are...
World Without End
It, The Terror From Beyond Space
Killers From Space
Brain From Planet Arous
Angry Red Planet
Creation of the Humanoids
The Crawling Eye
...and hundreds more!
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Quote:Oh, the pre-remake of Alien. Yeah, it was cool!
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
It, The Terror From Beyond Space
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Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Quote:
Thanks for your response and kind words. It's very encouraging for me to see someone who appreciates the old sci fi classics from the 50's and 60's. Like you, I love those movies, and I watch the dvds all the time.
Well there aren't many of us out there. None of my friends understand my fascination with 50's sci-fi and it's pretty much a regular point of ridicule. But I don't mind, I accrue so much enjoyment from these old classics.
Just to let you know presently I'm living in Spain near Granada, and d'you know how many Harryhausen films were shot out here! It's amazing. Jongs, have you seen the 7th Voyage of Sinbad? Well it was shot in the Alhambra in Granada, it doubled for Persia or Bagdad.... I took two friends there last year (I'm an hour and a half away). Incredible to think all those greats worked here back in the day. Also I've been to the beach where they shot the bulk of the Mysterious Island exterior shots too. It was a real fluke too, it was only later after researching that I realised.
Quote:
You really hit one of my hot buttons hard when you used the word "charm"! Yes their charm is what makes me love them all to this day. The best example of that was something I wrote about years ago; a comparison of the 2002 Time Machine versus the 1960 Time Machine. The original drips with charm and sweetness, and while the remake wasn't too bad, it couldn't hold Mrs. Watchett's candle to it.
Ha,ha Indeed! The remake is actually one of the better remakes that has been done, so no beef there, but the original.. Man you cannot beat it. Pal basically was in love with this story and it shows with every flickering frame of celluloid. It's a beautifully designed film.
Quote:
Creature From The Black Lagoon is a favorite of mine. And Mysterious Island is one of the coolest movies ever made. It Came From Outer Space is one of the classic originals. I'm a big Barbara Rush fan and she was as breathtaking in that as she was in When Worlds Collide.
All good flicks. And yeah Barbara Rush, what a beauty. When Worlds Collide was great fun too (actually that sounds like I'm missing the point given the nature of the story), but there's something so enjoyable about watching those films. I think it's the innocence, or the colour tones, or even the very simplistic science, but whatever they're so endearing.
Quote:
Some of my other personal favorites of that era are...
World Without End
It, The Terror From Beyond Space
Killers From Space
Brain From Planet Arous
Angry Red Planet
Creation of the Humanoids
The Crawling Eye
...and hundreds more!
Hmm I've not seen Killers From Space, Angry Red Planet or Creation of the Humanoid so will have to seek those out.
While we're on favourites:
1) Creature from the Black Lagoon.
2) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original cut)
3) The Thing (1951)
4) Mysterious Island
5) War Of The Worlds
6) Day the Earth Stood Still
7) the 7th Voyage of Sinbad
8) Time Machine
9) Jason and the Argonauts
10) The Incredible Shrinking Man (Best ending along with Planet of the Apes)
11) The Beast from 20,000 fathoms
12) The Quatermass films: III, II, I
13) Journey to the Centre of the Earth (James Mason)
14) This Island Earth
15) First Men on the Moon
16) 20 million miles to earth
17) Destination Moon
18) When World's Collide
19) Dr Cyclops
20) Invaders from Mars.
I could go on...... As you say hundreds more.... I'm really in the mood for a massive 50's Sci-fi fest now!
°...Well here I am.°
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Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:Quote:Oh, the pre-remake of Alien. Yeah, it was cool!
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
It, The Terror From Beyond Space
To quote Daffy Duck:
"Indubitably!"
°...Well here I am.°
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Quote:
Originally posted by THESOMNAMBULIST:
18) When World's Collide
Another one that sticks in your mind. Who gets to go, and who has to stay behind. Good stuff.
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Quote:
Originally posted by MUTT999:Quote:
Originally posted by THESOMNAMBULIST:
18) When World's Collide
Another one that sticks in your mind. Who gets to go, and who has to stay behind. Good stuff.
Yep. That imagery of the Rocket on the ramp has always stuck with me. And once again the astro artist Chesley Bonestell supplied the imaginings for the New World.
°...Well here I am.°
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