# Movies that Time forgot **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 10, 2026, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164 "2026-04-10T12:23:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/21 "2026-04-10T16:56:10Z")
By the way, it’s not just bad movies that are forgotten. Here are some good science fiction films that are getting left behind: **The Lost Missile** – written by Jerome Bixby (who rewrote Fantastic Voyage, wrote three episodes of Star Trek: TOS, the story “It’s a _Good_ Life!” and the movie _It! The Terror from Beyond Space_, from which _Alien_ was solen). A weapon of war missile gets launched by un-named Bad Guys (pretty obviously Russia) and wreaks havoc, burning up things it passes over – and it threatens to pass over everything on Earth. They have to bring it down **The Creeping Unknown (The Quatermass Xperiment**) – this one was shown regularly on _Chiller Theater_, too, but it’s a good one. **Enemy from Space (Quatermass 2**) – well worth watching. This doesn’t seem to be very well known. I hope that **Quatermass and the Pit (Five Million Years to Earth)** is not obscure - it’s one of the best science fiction films. **Four Sided Triangle** – A scientist hopes that the Duplicating Machine he makes will solve the problem of the love triangle he’s in. But pope aren’t mathematical entities. **The Twonky** – based on a story by Lewis Padgett (husband and wife team Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore). There have been three movies based on “Padgett’s” works, and in each case they changed the daek tone and gave it a happy ending. **Panic in Year Zero** - Ray Milland and his family try to survive an atomic attack on Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/22 "2026-04-10T17:01:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman** – People still remember thos one because it had one of the greatest movie posters of all time: The Tubes did their part in keeping Nancy Archer’s memory alive: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZG9jJ1onjdk/maxresdefault.jpg "The Tubes Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman on Vinyl with Lyrics in Description") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG9jJ1onjdk) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/23 "2026-04-10T17:25:37Z")
I have the posters for many of these in a file on my computer and they rotate as wallpaper. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/24 "2026-04-10T18:24:31Z")
Those were fun times, miss them ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/25 "2026-04-10T18:33:30Z")
I will limit myself to horror and monster films of the fifties that were cheap and bad by most objective standards, but which are not necessarily without entertainment value. _The Mole People_ (1956) _The Brain from Planet Arous_ (1957) _Fiend without a Face_ (1958) _The Hideous Sun Demon_ (1958) _The Angry Red Planet_ (1959) _Monster of Piedras Blancas_ (1959) > [@CalMeacham](#): > > But most of these flicks seem gone forever. I never saw them broadcast on cable TV, or on VHS, or on DVDs, or on current streaming. Every film mentioned in the OP is streaming on YT and/or IA. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/26 "2026-04-10T18:38:49Z")
It was probably a made for tv movie: an ocean liner sinks, and manages to land right side up with minimal damage. The people on board create their own little civilization and live happily under the sea. It was as dumb as it sounds. Dunno the name. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/27 "2026-04-10T18:43:12Z")
I must have been lucky with my local video stores. I was able to catch up with most of the above and other favorites in the 1980s on VHS. The one I could never find was _Voyage into Space_, a Japanese cheapo featuring Johnny Sokko and his giant flying robot. This movie played five nights straight on our local channel(CH5 in LA) and no one seemed to know about it. It wasn’t until the Internet that I discovered the movie was a Frankenstein constructed from several episodes of a Japanese TV show called “Giant Robo” (not to be confused with the anime _Gigantor_). As soon as EBay was a thing, I bought a bootleg DVD and was, of course, sorely disappointed. You just have to be ten years old to enjoy some things. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/28 "2026-04-10T18:51:51Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > It was probably a made for tv movie: an ocean liner sinks, and manages to land right side up with minimal damage. The people on board create their own little civilization and live happily under the sea. It was as dumb as it sounds. Dunno the name. _Goliath Awaits_ and I think it was a mini series. It was borrrrrring. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/29 "2026-04-10T19:08:54Z")
Also made for tv: [Bad Ronald](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KICmNA6Cbk). Could be redone- it had a pretty creepy premise. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/30 "2026-04-10T19:18:40Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > I will limit myself to horror and monster films of the fifties that were cheap and bad by most objective standards, but which are not necessarily without entertainment value. > > _The Mole People_ (1956) > > _The Brain from Planet Arous_ (1957) > > _Fiend without a Face_ (1958) > > _The Hideous Sun Demon_ (1958) > > _The Angry Red Planet_ (1959) > > _Monster of Piedras Blancas_ (1959) Good choices all. _Monster of Piedras Blancas_ was another regular on Chiller Theater. A sort of low-rent _Creature from the Black Lagoon_. IIRC, they re-used the hands from _The Mole People_ for this monster. I knew about most of these films from the magazine _famous Monsters of Filmland_ and other such sources. I was an older kid before I finally saw _The Mole People_ and an adult before I finally saw _Fiend without a Face_ (which has been on Svengoolie within the past year). _Angry Red Planet_ was a particularly interesting film. I actually saw it in a movie theater, and it’s avcailable on DVD. It was made by Moe Howard’s son-in-law Norman Maurer, who knew Moe because he was one of the artists drawing The Three Stooges comics. He was responsible for most of the movies they made after they left Columbia and found new fame from their stuff being syndicated. Maurer experimented with different filming styles, which is how he came up with the “filming real life as cartoon” scenes in _Three Stooges in Orbit_ (that was actually his process being used), and the “Cinemagic” process used for all the Mars scenes in _Angry Red Planet_. This seems to have been a combination of solarization plus use of an orange filter. It definitely added something to the film – you get a real sense of “otherness” from the Mars scenes. The movie also features a REAL scientific solution to a problem posed near the end. And the female doctor comes up with it. Pretty good for 1959. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/31 "2026-04-10T19:18:55Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > _Goliath Awaits_ and I think it was a mini series. It was borrrrrring. Beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/32 "2026-04-10T19:19:28Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Every film mentioned in the OP is streaming on YT and/or IA. What are YT and IA? ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/33 "2026-04-10T19:45:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Maurer experimented with different filming styles, which is how he came up with the “filming real life as cartoon” scenes in _Three Stooges in Orbit_ (that was actually his process being used), and the “Cinemagic” process used for all the Mars scenes in _Angry Red Planet_. On IMDB, the story on Cinemagic is a bit murky: “The much-touted Cinemagic process which was used for the scenes set on Mars was actually the result of a film-developing mistake. The budget was slashed mid-production so the producers considered turning the film into black and white to keep costs down. However, one reel became accidentally double-exposed which produced a shimmering, vaguely psychedelic glare that director [Ib Melchior](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0577477/?ref_=tttrv_tr) latched onto, thinking it would suit his purposes for the Mars scenes. (It also helped to camouflage the cheap Martian monsters and scenery.)” “The “Cinemagic” process, used for all scenes on the surface of Mars, was the result of an attempt by producer [Norman Maurer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0560816/?ref_=tttrv_tr) to turn live-action footage directly into hand-drawn animation - or to simulate that. This would enable hand-drawn backgrounds to look as real (or as unreal) as the live action footage.” The production does have a unique look and monsters. However, Gerald Moor is (as usual) intolerable and a major taint on the film. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > What are YT and IA? YouTube and Internet Archive. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/34 "2026-04-11T00:22:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I hope that **Quatermass and the Pit (Five Million Years to Earth)** is not obscure - it’s one of the best science fiction films. 🦗 * * * I’ve got one you should already know, 1970’s _Equinox_. Featuring a cameo from Fritz Leiber, a voice over from Forrest J. Ackerman, (for _WKRP_ fans) the first film appearance of Frank Bonner, and some Ray Harryhausen inspired special effects not done by [Jim Danforth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Danforth) despite his participation in the film. * * * ETA Since Mars has been mentioned I’ll add _Robinson Crusoe on Mars_. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/35 "2026-04-11T01:53:36Z")
Most likely, there’s a copyright or estate issue in there somewhere, and that’s why it’s not available on streaming. For some years in the 1990s, “The Music Man” was not able to be shown or performed, because of an issue with Meredith Willson’s estate. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/36 "2026-04-11T01:55:11Z")
Now that you mention it, it’s probably a music rights issue, seeing as most of the movie takes place at a radio station. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/37 "2026-04-11T02:14:43Z")
I stumbled on this winner last night, and managed to sit through it to the end: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SlnRFVecdr0/hqdefault.jpg "Cat Women Of The Moon (1953) full length sci fi movie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlnRFVecdr0) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/38 "2026-04-11T03:02:56Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Isn’t Tim Burton trying to do a re-make of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, with Margot Robbie? Was Helena Bonham Carter not available? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/39 "2026-04-11T14:30:05Z")
CBS in Dallas didn’t have a hosted creature feature, but it did recurringly save a Saturday afternoon slot for those movies. Tarantula of course, everyone saw that, but one that also ran a lot was [Gargoyles](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068622/), which featured Cornel Wilde skidding frenetically down the downslope of his career, and Scott Glenn going in the opposite direction. I must’ve watched that a couple dozen times. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164/40 "2026-04-11T15:02:39Z")
The Queen Of Outer Space probably deserves a mention here. It was my introduction to the Gabors, for what it’s worth. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Queen_of_Outer_Space_ad_-_26_August_1958.jpg/250px-Queen_of_Outer_Space_ad_-_26_August_1958.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Queen_of_Outer_Space_ad_-_26_August_1958.jpg/250px-Queen_of_Outer_Space_ad_-_26_August_1958.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-time-forgot/1029164.md?page=3)