The Joy of Crappy Old Sci Fi Movies & TV Shows

General General Discussion
1

TCM lately has been showing a lot of schlocky old Sci-Fi movies. A lot of these I never even got to see as a kid. Bad as some of them are, I appreciate the chance to see them finally.

Examples:

The Beast of Hollow Mountain

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048992/

Probably one of Willis O’Brien’s worst. This wouldn’t even be good enough for a bad Saturday kid’s movie now.

The Deadly Mantis

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050294/

I guess it’s passable by 1950’s standards.

And one great one that I had never seen all the way through:

The Fly

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051622/

The 1986 one with Jeff Goldblum was more scientifically plausible, but this one is still great.

I’m going to keep an eye out for other 1950’s and 1960’s drive-in movie sci-fi and horror fare.

Ones I hope they run:

The Monster from Green Hell

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050723/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066561/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5

I saw that one as a kid, on a double bill with The Valley of Gwangi http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065163/?ref_=nv_sr_1

My parents had intended for all of us to go see Tora, Tora, Tora http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066473/?ref_=nv_sr_1 but the audience was lined up around the block. My dad looked at me and said, “You wanna see a couple of dinosaur movies?”

Of course my eyes got as big as saucers and I said yes.

We saw both movies in a little run-down theater that no longer exists.

2

Was watching them last night, Rodan, The Black Scorpion, The Deadly Mantis, etc.

They are popcorn fun.

3

The Black Scorpion. One of my faves. One of Willis O’Brien’s best IMHO.

I’d love to also see another childhood favorite again: I Married a Monster from Outer Space.

4

After my wife fell asleep on the couch I switched over and watched for a while. Those movies were late-night TV staples on the weekends growing up.

5

Okay Sci fi geeks…

I’m trying to remember 2 series when i was growing up in the 70s.

1st one Earth was trashed etc. 2 distinct human populations remained the Educated one kept the uneducated ones in check by using cattle prods their Cities/continents were connected by subterranean high speed rail trains. Time traveler astronaut discover the educated one’s were really bad people…

2nd one Huge space ship after Earth was abandoned Each section held different races, people and cultures none of who were aware of the others.
The crew had to travel through all these sections to ensure the Ship would continue to function till it arrived at its destination.

6

Pretty sure this was ‘The Starlost’ although I don’t think you could see it in my area. I heard about it years later.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starlost

.

7

Oh man, too many to count. I always liked ‘Them’ and the original ‘The Thing’. Then there are the cheese fests like ‘The Giant Gila Monster’ and ‘Attack of the Giant Leeches’.

8

Yup that was it…

9

Remember the Space:1999 TV series? Bringing up “The Starlost” made me remember it. It was a fourth-rate imitation of Star Trek where the moon is blown out of orbit by the detonation of nuclear waste and it became a “spaceship” for the main characters through the series. I didn’t watch more than a handful of episodes, but I don’t think they ever explained how the moon could get from planet to planet so quickly (space is BIG, you know).

I remember the manager of the local affiliate that carried it used to have a Saturday afternoon chat show and he used to rave on and on about how Space:1999 was better than Star Trek.

I don’t think the show lasted (at least in this area) more than a few episodes or something close to that.

Better than Star Trek? Wasn’t done until Babylon Five.

(Okay, you Trekkies can through tomatoes now).

10

I just watched a couple of episodes on youtube
lol

11

Sounds like a derivative of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.

12

That one and UFO. Have both box sets. Don’t care how cheesy they were. Chicks with purple hair and silver space suits are awesome.

13

I have those both in my queue @ netflix, remember them vaguely. Then there is The Invaders.

14

Ha! Made me look for my Space:1999 annual from 1976.

I liked the Eagle Transporter and had a few models of it. I enjoyed most Gerry Anderson shows (I grew up on Captain Scarlet) because of the awesome vehicles and models.

Some of the 1999 episodes were kinda creepy for a kid. THIS one freaked me out (I think I was only 8 or 9 when I watched it). Who wouldn’t be freaked out over a burnt walking corpse with glowing eyes?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDbJodLSvAw

15

I really enjoyed that show! My Dad and I used to watch it together and it would definitely freak me out every once in a while. I must have been 5 years old. I still have the match-box sized Eagle Transporter that I used with the Moon Base Alpha we would construct with my custom made building blocks. Good times.

16

Have it.

17

Genesis II (1973), would be my guess.

18

Hah, The Giant Gila Monster was going to be my contribution to the thread.

Thanks to my dad, I’ve seen them all; Them, The Thing From Another World, etc… The John Carpenter remake was The Thing and the prequel by the same title in 2011.

19

I have the original Outer Limits boxed set. Still think it was one of the best sci fi series ever, remakes not so much. Then there is Kronos, The Mole People, Incredible Shrinking Man, Day of the Triffids, Quartermass and the Pit, Martian Chronicles… Way too many to list.

20

I don’t know if they were crappy, but this guys work was a highlight of my childhood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Harryhausen
Feature films[edit]
Mighty Joe Young (1949) (first technician)
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) (visual effects)
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) (visual effects)
The Animal World (1956) (effects technician, documentary)
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) (special photographic, animation effects)
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) (visual effects)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) (associate producer, visual effects)
The Three Worlds of Gulliver (1960) (visual effects)
Mysterious Island (1961) (special visual effects)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (associate producer, visual effects)
First Men in the Moon (1964) (associate producer, visual effects)
One Million Years B.C. (1966) (special visual effects)
The Valley of Gwangi (1969) (associate producer, visual effects)
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) (producer, visual effects)
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) (producer, visual effects)
Clash of the Titans (1981) (producer, visual effects)

//youtu.be/UyCRvFPZqc8