#1950s scifi

[weirdlookindog]

Beverly Garland in It Conquered the World (1956)

[misforgotten2]

A book you very likely don’t have on your shelf #666

Cover by Alan Harmon -- 1950

[gameraboy2]

Son of the Stars by Raymond F. Jones Illustration by Alex Schomburg, 1952

[spockvarietyhour]

Launch Ramp, When Worlds Collide (1951)

[inthedarktrees]

Vampira, a.k.a. Maila Nurmi, on the set of Plan 9 from Outer Space, 1956

[rootsinthefuture]

Cinematic science fiction was characterised in the 1950s above all as an adventure centred on space (the theme of the literary space opera), whether it was setting out from our planet to explore its infinity (The Forbidden Planet, 1956), or its mysterious inhabitants visiting our Earth, often revealing less than benevolent intentions. In this sense, Pedro Jvanisevic's film, breaks away from this vein, exploring the future of humanity among Android robots, anticipating Blade Runner and other films of this genre.

[itsfullofstars]

[notpulpcovers]

[spacetimesally]

Other Timelines, Other Lifetimes Series…

The 50s (2 of 3) - Spacetime Sally's Beautiful Tomorrow, 1950s atompunk inspired sci-fi. This has that classic 50s feel and acts as a bridge between the vintage 20s/30s/40s inspired work to the more modern New Wave sci-fi of the 60s and 70s.

[queststhroughduality]

[wakingdreamworld]

Vintage Cake World - Pt 2

More images influenced by a vintage cake photo. The AI picked up on the vintage look of the cake photo and chose a vintage look even though I didn't specify one.

[weirdlookindog]

Devil Girl From Mars (1954)

[misforgotten2]

A book you very likely don’t have on your shelf #446

1958

[gameraboy2]

Weird Science-Fantasy Annual #1 (1952), cover by Al Feldstein

[vintagegeekculture]

The First Scifi Radio Shows, 1950-1951

Debuting within a month of each other in 1950, the first scifi anthology radio shows first aired: the better known Dimension X, which was preceded a month earlier by 2000-Plus.

Posterity remembers Dimension X much better for several reasons. The first is that it licensed scifi stories by Arthur C. Clarke and Asimov and other writers to adapt. The second is that Dimension X used the first electronic instrument, the theramin, to give itself an eerie and distinctive, unearthly and futuristic sound. The theramin would later be used in 1954's Forbidden Planet, inspired by the Dimension X score, and something once played alongside orchestras would thereafter be the official sound of scifi, UFOs and arriving aliens.

One would be forgiven for remembering that 2000-Plus premiered a full month before, and had completely original stories, as the first scifi program of any kind. Both shows wrapped up in 1951, which was around when radio itself started to be replaced by television.

Both are currently on archive.org, where they can be listened and downloaded in their entirety.

[tygerland]

Julian Paul Cover art; 1953 Lion Paperback edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818).