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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 11:26 pm Post subject: Legendary Leading Ladies of 1950s Science Fiction! |
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Here's a tribute to the leading ladies and supporting actresses who graced the screen in the 1950s and helped create the science fiction films we all adore. Proceeding alphabetically, we'll start with the lady who charmed that famous amphibious gill man right out of the water.
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JULIE ADAMS - Definitely one of the most attractive heroines in the science fiction movies of the 1950s, she was the object of many adolescent fantasies that had nothing to do with high adventure in the Amazon jungle. Publicity pictures promoting "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" showed Miss Adams in a swim suit, looking remarkably like those wonderful pin-ups from the late 1940's.
She also appears in "The Underwater City" in 1962.
MARI BLANCHARD — This attractive leading lady from several B movies in the 1950s has a memorable face and a distinctive acting style. Career-wise, her best role is undoubtedly that of the dance hall spit-fire in "Destry", the Audie Murphy remake of the Jimmy Stewart western (which, ironically, is called "Destry Rides Again", even thought it came several before the remake).
Neither of Miss Blanchard's sci-fi contributions are classics, but both are worth seeing — "Abbott and Costello go to Mars" and "She Devil".
MARGUERITE CHAPMAN — Miss Chapman appeared as the leading lady in many second features during the 1940s, and she was heroine in the popular serial, "Spy Smasher". She only made a few appearances after 1950, such as her role as Tom Ewell's attractive secretary in "The Seven Year Itch".
Her sci-fi contributions consist of "Flight to Mars" (1951), as the leggy Martian gal in the hinny-high skirts and the Hermes-style high heels, and a co-starring role in "The Amazing Transparent Man" (1961).
MARA CORDAY — This dark, Spanish beauty was undeniably one of the most luscious of the heroines in science fiction movies. Small wonder that she was Playboys' Miss October in 1958. Ironically, she remains conspicuously well-covered during all three of the sci-fi films in which she starred. She never even wears shorts or a bathing suit!
Her three sci-fi contributions are "The Black Scorpion", "The Giant Claw", and "Tarantula".
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FAITH DOMERGUE - Miss Domergue is reputedly a personal discovery of Howard Hughes. Her acting style consisted largely of doing a kind of Marilyn Monroe imitation — enunciating every word carefully while giving her leading man a lot of smoldering looks.
Miss Domergue's sci-fi films during the 1950s and 1960s are — "It Came from Beneath the Sea","This Island Earth", "The Atomic Man", and "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet" (in the scenes which were added to the original Russian film).
ANNE FRANCIS - This lovely former-model-turned-actress proved to be the perfect choice for the role of Altaira in the most ambitious sci-fi film of 1950s, "Forbidden Planet". Prior to that, she had a small role in the minor sci-fi comedy "The Rocket Man" in 1954. Ms. Francis made her movie debut in 1948 with "Summer Holiday", and she received supporting roles in approximately one film per year until 1960, after which her appearances were less frequent.
In 1964 she gained considerable public attention as a sexy private eye in the TV series "Honey West", although it only ran for one season. She and her partner, John Ericson, used hi-tech devices to communicate with each and solve crimes.
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BEVERLY GARLAND - With six sci-fi films to her credit, Ms Garland falls into the same category as John Agar — she's a familiar face to fans of 1950s sci-fi fans, but most of the movies she appeared in were low-budget efforts. In the 1960s she became Fred MacMurray's TV wife in "My Three Sons".
Beverly's resume lists these familiar films: "The Alligator People", "Attack of the Crab Monsters", "It Conquered the World", "Mutiny in Outer Space", "Not of this Earth", and "The Rocket Man".
ALLISON HAYES — Not a great actress and not a great beauty, but we all love "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman", and Miss Hayes gave that little no-budget movie everything she had. She was in "The Crawling Hand" and "The Unearthly", along with several grade-Z horror movies.
She also appeared in an episode of "Men Into Space" called Moon Cloud in 1960.
MARTHA HYER - She was never a big star and never promoted as a sex symbol, but I think the potential for both were there. And she came close to the sex symbol status in "The Carpetbaggers", as the pictures below illustrates.
In the world of science fiction, her films include "Abbott and Costello go to Mars", "First Men in the Moon", "Mistress of the World", and "Riders to the Stars".
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JANET MUNRO — Janet is probably best remembered as the lovely Katie from "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", but she's also magically delicious in two sci-fi classics as well — "The Crawling Eye" and "The Day the Earth Caught Fire".
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DEBRA PAGET - Born Debralee Griffin, this lovely actress gained supporting roles in several big-budget Hollywood films such as "The Ten Commandments", "Stars and Strips Forever", and "Prince Valiant" — but her only starring roles were in lesser films. Fans of Miss Paget agree that "Princess of the Nile" (1954) is a powerful showcase for the lovely actress' talents.
Her only sci-fi film was based on Jules Verne's rip-roaring tale of interplanetary travel, although it received a shoddy treatment when Hollywood made "From the Earth to the Moon". However, the cast is comprised of worthy veterans, and Debra Paget provides impressive scenery.
Fritz Lang, director of "Metropolis", made "Journey to the Lost City" in 1958, starring Paul Christian (of "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms") as the hero, and Debra Paget as the dancing girl he rescues from countless perils.
In 1961 Debra Paget starred in "The Most Dangerous Man Alive", a less than epic film.
BARBARA RUSH - This attractive and charming actress embarked on her Hollywood career right out of college, and she appeared in approximately one film per year between 1950 to 1960. She was seen even less often after this period. Her fine performances in "When Worlds Collide" (1951) and "It Came from Outer Space" (1953) earned her a honored place on the list of sci-fi heroines. Miss Rush can also be seen in "The Eyes of Charles Sand" (1972-TV).
BARBARA SHELLEY — This appealing British leading lady appeared in several English-made horror and sci-fi films during the 1960s, such as "Five Million Years to Earth" and "Village of the Damned". She always reminds me of the lovely Eleanor Parker, both in appearance and acting style.
SHAWN SMITH (aka Shirley Patterson) — Miss Smith has not only appeared in several of the best sci-fi films from the 1950s, she somehow managed to be almost unrecognizable from one movie to the next!
In "World Without End" she's a luscious redhead who struts around in a short satin dress while she charms the socks off the men in the audience and the ones in the movie.
One year later, in "The Land Unknown" she's a stunning blond with short hair, winsome ways, and the heart of an explorer, facing dinosaurs and love-crazed lunatics with equal courage.
The following year she was back — with black hair and all the "right stuff" needed to crew a rocket returning from Mars! But all the right stuff is well hidden by the drab coveralls the spaceship crew is wearing, and there's not a hint of the flirtatious redhead we saw in high heels and a mini-skirt two years earlier.
That's why Shawn/Shirley remains a personal favorite of mine.
GLORIA TALBOTT — Miss Talbot is a familiar face to sci-fi fans, and even though her acting never won any awards, she makes quite an impression in any movie she's in, include her four sci-fi outings — "Cyclops", "Daughter of Dr. Jekyll", "I Married a Monster from Outer Space", and "The Leech Woman".
JOAN TAYLOR — I was actually surprised by how lovely Joan Taylor was when I saw her in 18 episodes of "The Rifleman", because she never manages to shine quite so well in her two famous science fiction epics, "Earth versus the Flying Saucers" and "20 Million Miles to Earth". It may have had something to do with the way those two B-movies were lit and photographed.
Joan can also be seen in the television series, "Men Into Space" in the episode called Water Tank Rescue (1959).
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And there you have it, a gentlemanly tip of the hat to the ladies who competed successful for the attention of young sci-fi fans who bought their movies tickets to see monsters, aliens, rockets, and death rays — and got more than their money"s worth whenever these cinema queens were there to face the dangers of all those science experiments gone horribly wrong! _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Sep 28, 2022 11:00 am; edited 12 times in total |
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Robert (Butch) Day Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1379 Location: Arlington, WA USA
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:31 am Post subject: |
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For those members who are fairly new (id est; were not on the old board) Faith Domergue pronounced her last name 'da-mure'. _________________ Common Sense ISN'T Common |
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bulldogtrekker Space Sector Admiral
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 1022 Location: Columbia,SC
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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Nice research, Bud
Handy-dandy guide for the lovely ladies of fifties sci-fi |
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador
Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1868
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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Gee. There I was, focusing all my attention on the space ships. Of course, I was pre-adolescent. _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17558 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:50 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think I was ever young enough not to notice the ladies in these movies. I was a precocious child when it came to noticing the fair sex. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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prof.barnhardt Space Cadet
Joined: 26 Sep 2022 Posts: 1
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2022 8:53 am Post subject: Fear for reason |
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A lovely if limited list of Atomic Kittens. I feel a lengthier response coming on. lol. |
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