Sci-fi movies from the 1960s that are still worth watching
Joshua Tyler and Drew Deitch | Updated
The sixties were a turning point in American culture and science fiction.
For fans of sci-fi movies, this decade will be remembered as the decade that brought us groundbreaking director Stanley Kubrick 2001: A Space Odysseya favorite H.W. Wells adaptation Time machineand one of the greatest turnarounds in history Planet of the Apes.
Unfortunately, most of the decade’s other great sci-fi films haven’t stuck with modern audiences and are slowly being forgotten. Not if we can do anything about it!
Let’s get in our time machine and travel back to an era when ideas were bigger and better than most special effects could create, but still left their mark on film history.
It’s Giant Freakin Robot, and it’s a 1960s sci-fi movie that’s still worth watching.
Doctor Who and the Daleks (1965)
You know Doctor Who as a television show, but in 1965 the good doctor received a feature film on the big screen titled Doctor Who and the Daleks. This was the first time the Doctor was seen in colour.
Best of all, the Doctor is played by Star Wars’ own Grand Moff Tarkin, Peter Cushing.
The film is an adaptation of one of the earliest Doctor Who TV series “Dalek”. It features Doctor Who and his three young companions traveling to the planet Skaro to confront the evil Daleks.
In this continuity—which should always be separate from the series—the Doctor is actually called Doctor Who. And he’s not a time lord, he’s a human inventor who builds the TARDIS, not steals it. Most of the other changes are cosmetic, but it’s still a unique piece of sci-fi history that any fan will want to check out.
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Before Richard Matheson’s landmark novel I am a legend was turned into a Will Smith blockbuster and Charlton Heston’s cheesy delight, the legendary Vincent Price starred in the original adaptation, The last man on earth. After a plague turns the population into undead vampires, Robert Morgan goes into hiding and tries to survive after the world changes.
The last man on earth it’s a dark little film that’s surprisingly effective in its dark tone, thanks to the anchoring of the always excellent Price. It later inspired George Romero to change the game Night of the living deadso if you want to see where this movie is from The last man on earth is a must-see fridge.
Barbarella (1968)
Barbarella it’s not the edgy space movie it’s reputation would have you believe.
Sure, there’s a moderate amount of nudity in the film, but it’s done so naively and innocently that you almost don’t notice at times.
Barbarella stars Jane Fonda as a solo space pilot traveling through space in a distant future where Earth has gone through the need for barbaric things like violence and war. They also got rid of sex, replacing it with pills.
In this context, Barbarella is sent to track down a galactic villain with plans to bring back violence and war. Early on in her journey, she discovers that the sex that people don’t have anymore is actually pretty good. It’s also helpful because whenever she does this, the man she’s paired with is often inspired to greater heights. Barbarella literally helps the angel get his wings by making love to him.
That sounds pretty sloppy, doesn’t it? But check out one of those uncensored sex scenes in the video at the top of the article.
All of the sex happens off-camera, and what you’re actually watching is a series of beautifully constructed sci-fi set pieces, with actors of all abilities wearing lovingly crafted and completely outlandish costumes. Clearly, their goal was to create something more than a space movie. They tried to create visual art in the spirit of the 60s, aimed at free love.
Do they succeed? It’s up to you, but we can safely say that there is no other film like it Barbarella and it’s a staple of the decade for good reason.
Planet of the Vampires (1965)
Italian genre maestro Mario Bava made one of the biggest influences on science fiction cinema with Planet of the Vampires. The story involves a spaceship crew responding to a distress call on an unexplored planet, where they end up finding the remains of a long-dead giant an alien species.
Sure sounds like another sci-fi horror movie you might know, doesn’t it? Planet of the Vampires certainly inspired An alien but it’s more of an alien zombie movie than a vampire movie. Mario Bava’s usual colorful design and poppy tone make it a fun and important piece of sci-fi movie history.
The First Men on the Moon (1964)
Shortly before men landed on the moon and learned what it was really like, Hollywood produced this H.G. Wells adaptation, which uses a wonderful framing device to hold it all together.
Imagine if Neil Armstrong took his one small step and then found a note written by someone from 1899 saying he wasn’t the first.
The first people on the moon soon returns to that original secret mission of 1899 and explores what it would have been like if a man had gone to the moon in the Victorian era. The answer is that they could have gone underground and stumbled upon the secret interior of the moon, full of wonderful Ray Harryhausen monsters. Ah, who doesn’t love Ray Harryhausen’s monsters?
The film was never a box office hit, but soon became something of a cult success. It is now considered one of the best adaptations of the works of H.G. Wells. George Paul Time machine gets a ton of well-deserved love and attention, but The first people on the moon is another adaptation of a 60s sci-fi classic that you won’t want to miss.
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Long before Mrs. Frizzle boarded the magical school bus at one of her students’ and Futurama the crew went into the bowels of Fry, A fantastic journey explored the inside of a Soviet defector. The film has won numerous awards, has an all-star cast, and provides a visual language for every movie or TV show you’ve seen that takes place in the circulatory system.
Released in 1966. A fantastic journey is a technical marvel of its time. The film’s original trailer heralded it as “a new kind of moviegoing,” and this time it wasn’t hyperbole. It was a fact.
Isaac Asimov, one of the the greatest writers of science fiction of all time wrote a novelization of a film that came out before the film.
today, A fantastic journey stands out as the turning point of the science fiction films, exploring an entirely new setting that had never been done on such a scale before. It’s still a technological advancement and a wonderful adventure.
Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)
Think Matt Damon Martian if only it had been filmed in the 1960s and teamed him with a monkey in a space suit. You would Robinson Crusoe on Mars.
The movie’s main character isn’t named Robinson Crusoe, but other than that, it’s a pretty straight-forward adaptation of Daniel Dafoe’s classic novel, as long as it’s set in space.
Most of Robinson Crusoe on Mars was filmed in Death Valley, but you’d never know it. The production design is excellent for the era and does its best to find a level of realism that matches the very limited scientific knowledge of what might be on Mars. And even the unrealistic parts are actually funny.
Watch the video to see how wild these alien ships are. I love it.
As a bonus, Adam West makes a brief appearance in the film as a dashing astronaut. He’s there long enough to make you wonder why he wasn’t cast as the lead in the movie. However, Robinson Crusoe on Mars was notable enough to be restored and released by the Criterion Collection. That should tell you it’s worth a watch.
Seconds (1966)
U Secondsscreen icon rock hudson gives one of the best performances of his career as an aging stoic lured by a secret company that can change his personality and make him younger to find happiness without obligations.
In his new identity, he soon falls in with a bunch of naked hippies and finds himself entangled with a troubled woman who has also escaped her boring life. And he’s still not happy.
Seconds was adapted from David Ely’s novel and directed by legendary Hollywood luminary John Frankenheimer, who decided to use messy compositions to give his film an unsettling feel, and he definitely succeeded.
Seconds plays out as a particularly good episode Dark zoneand it’s always worth watching Dark zone. Seconds no different.
X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes (1963)
Roger Corman is responsible for many sci-fi films over the years, and one of his best films of all time X: The man with X-ray eyes. Ray Milland plays a scientist who wants to experiment with the extension of human vision. He develops eye drops that give him x-ray vision, which he can initially control. But soon he can’t sleep because he can see through his eyelids, and that makes things worse.
Thanks to Milland’s total commitment and the nightmarish descent into which the film unfolds, X: The man with X-ray eyes takes what could have been a terrible gag and treats it with serious sci-fi and horror.
The Mad Professor (1963)
Steve Urkel tried to copy it.
Eddie Murphy tried to block.
But Jerry Lewis’ original 1963 version of the classic nerd tale that turns into cool, mad science is still the best version.
Lewis plays a geek who does everything he can to stop being a geek. He even tries to exercise. Things are going so badly that the doctor tells him to give it up.
But a man of science never gives up. He finds a chemical formula that turns him into the confident man he always wanted to be. Unfortunately, all this confidence quickly turns him into a complete jerk.
Jerry Lewis co-wrote and directed the film. He used video playback after each scene to carefully assess what he had done. This is commonly used now, but he was one of the first to do it back in 1963.
The result was an immediate blow. Crazy professor is now considered one of Lewis’ best films and one of the greatest comedies of the decade. Not a bad way to spend less than two hours.
Quatermass and pit (1967)
Released as Five million years before Earth in the usa Quatermass and pit is actually part of a series of sci-fi classic horror films related to the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass, but this is the best of them all.
An ancient Martian spaceship has been found in London, with insect corpses inside aliens. Revelations are revealed about the history of human evolution, and at the end, a Martian specter of psychic energy sends civilization into an apocalyptic frenzy. It’s one of the most incredible and impactful sci-fi stories ever put on screen, and if it’s more heartbreaking than you might be used to, just wait until that stunning finale. You won’t regret it.
Do you have any favorite sci-fi movies from the 1960s? Leave your picks in the comments and make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel for even more videos from us here at Giant Freakin Robot.
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