I have previously looked at science fiction movies that I saw well after they had been produced, but I’m getting into my adolescent years when I actually got a chance to see them first run.
The last half of the 1960s was really hit and miss, and mostly miss. Nonsensical comedies and a plethora of horror movies filled the science fiction movie dance card in the 1960s. Just a partial list of films I saw and did not see where I hope the celluloid was no preserved:
• The Navy vs the Night Monsters
• King Kong Escapes
• They came from Beyond Space
• The Eye Creatures
• Terrornauts
• Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women
• Astro Zombies
• Space Thing
• They saved Hitler’s Brain
• Destroy all Monsters
• The Valley of Gwangi
• The Blood Beast Terror
Yes, there are many more terrible choices. However, there were also some classics during this period. 1965 brought us the pilot for Star Trek, “Star Trek: The Cage” with Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike. The studio wanted more action, so they recast Captain Pike with William Shatner as Captain Kirk.
In 1966 the book “Fantastic Voyage” was turned into a great film with excellent special effect for the time, and Raquel Welch to add to the draw. We also got a much darker film, “Fahrenheit 451” I did not enjoy the film as a teenager, but it was still better than most dystopian movies of the last 20 years… much more thoughtful.
1966 also brought some repackaging of old movie serials and television shows including Flash Gordon and Dr. Who.
After a terrible 1967, 1968 rebounded with several classics. I read “The Sentinel” a short story by Arthur C. Clark and thought it was a great short story. I was excited about “2001: A Space Odyssey” based in part on that short story. Watching it, for all its special effects, was a waste for my 16-year-old brain. I was mostly bored. I do appreciate the movie as it showed how grand a scale a good science fiction movie could be. I would only rewatch it if I wanted to fall asleep. It reminds me of the more recent Disney film, “Oceans” narrated by Pierce Brosnan. Oceans has some amazing film pieces of 1-2 minutes each, but the sound of the ocean and Brosnan’s narration created an environment where I fell asleep in the theater; a first for me. I believe rewatching 2001 today would have the same outcome.
Three much more entertaining films came out in 1968: “Planet of the Apes”, “Barbarella”, and “Charly”. “Planet of the Apes” was an excellent film. My only problem with this film was the numerous sequels and remake. It did not work well as a tent pole for a movie series and television series for me. After the first film it became more of actors in monkey suits for me. “Barbarella”? I was a teenager, I loved it. Would I pick it as a favorite today? I liked “The Fifth Element”. Both films are based on French comic strips. No, not even as a guilty pleasure.
Charly doesn’t feel like a science fiction movie and I was surprised at first to see it on a list of syfy movies. But the premise is advances in science so I can go with it. It is based on the story, then book, “Flowers for Algernon”. The movie starred Cliff Robertson. It is a heart wrenching story of a mentally disabled man who is injected with a drug that allows his mind to develop greater and greater mental skills. Ultimately, Charly realizes before the scientists do that the drug has short term rather than permanent effects.
So, what of all the science fiction movies of the late 1960s did I like best? I would rather go with the film that I found both entertaining and able to impact me personally, that would be “Charly”. For pure entertainment, I would go with “Fantastic Voyage”.