HORROR 101 with Dr. AC: IT CAME FROM 1953!! (INVADERS FROM MARS, WAR OF THE WORLDS, ROBOT MONSTER, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE)

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953) d. Jack Arnold
INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) d. William Cameron Menzies
WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) d. Byron Haskin
ROBOT MONSTER (1953) d. Phil Tucker

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By the closing of the 1940s, it seemed that audiences had grown weary of the classic monsters of yesteryear, and were hungry for new thrills. Those exciting new stories came not from moldy crypts or ancient curses, but rather from beyond the stars. With space exploration already a going concern among the world powers and reports of UFOs starting to make their way into the public consciousness, it was no surprise that filmmakers also cast their gaze to the heavens, imagining what fresh wonders and threats might make their way toward our little planet.

With Destination Moon, and Rocketship X-M leading the charge in 1950, and The Day the Earth Stood Still, When Worlds Collide, and The Thing from Another World appearing the following year, the stage was set for a literal invasion of sci-fi thrills from studios large and small, and audiences couldn’t get enough of it.

Tonight, AC and his interstellar panel of guests (Jon Kitley, Dave Kosanke, Alan Tromp, and Doug Long) will be celebrating a quartet of features (It Came from Outer Space, Invaders from Mars, The War of the Worlds, Robot Monster) that have endured for 70 years in the hearts and minds of genre fans, four films that, despite their wildly disparate budgetary constraints and artistic visions, have earned a devout following and share a multitude of ideas and conceits, if not box office receipts. Our show tonight is entitled, “It Came from 1953,” and the world has never been the same since.