List of horror films of the 1950s explained

This is a list of horror films released in the 1950s. At the beginning of the 1950s, horror films were described by Kim Newman as being "out of fashion". Among the most influential horror films of the 1950s was The Thing From Another World, with Newman stating that countless science fiction horror films of the 1950s would follow in its style, while a film made just the year before, The Man from Planet X was still in debt to the Universal horror style of filming, with a bearded scientist and foggy sets. For five years following the release of The Thing From Another World, nearly every film involving aliens, dinosaurs or radioactive mutants would be dealt with matter-of-fact characters as seen in The Thing From Another World. Even films that adapted older characters had science fiction leanings, such as The Vampire, The Werewolf and Frankenstein 1970 being influenced by the atomic-inspired monsters of the era. Films with a Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde theme also appeared with The Neanderthal Man, The Fly, Monster on the Campus and Hideous Sun Demon.

While studies suggest that gothic horror had fallen out of fashion between the release of House of Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, small glimpses of the genre appeared in films such as The Son of Dr. Jekyll, The Strange Door, The Black Castle and House of Wax. Several of these films were also shot in 3D such as The Mad Magician, Phantom of the Rue Morgue, and The Maze. Universal-International produced the film 'Cult of the Cobra which created a short lived wave of horror films featuring Pin-up model like mutants such as The Leech Woman and The Wasp Woman. Prior to the release of Hammer Film Productions's gothic films, the last gothic horror films of the 1950s often featured aged stars like Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., and Boris Karloff in films made by low budget indie film directors like Ed Wood or Reginald LeBorg or producers like Howard W. Koch. Hammer originally began developing American-styled science fiction films in the early 1950s but later branched into horror with their colour films The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula. These films would birth two horror film stars: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Along with Hammer's more science fiction oriented series Quatermass, both the gothic and science fiction films of Hammer would develop many similar films within the years.

Horror films aimed a young audience featuring teenage monsters grew popular in the 1950s with several productions from American International Pictures (AIP) and productions of Herman Cohen with I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein. This led to later productions like Daughter of Dr. Jekyll and Frankenstein's Daughter. Director William Castle also attracted horror audiences with his gimmick-themed horror films such as The Tingler and House on Haunted Hill. Horror films also expanded further into international productions in the 1950s such as Mexican production El vampiro. In Italy, Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava developed early Italian horror films with I Vampiri and Caltiki – The Immortal Monster. Productions also extended into the Philippines (Terror Is a Man), Germany (The Head and Horrors of Spider Island) and France (Eyes Without a Face).

List

Horror films released in the 1950s

Title	Director	Cast	Country	Notes
	1951
	Bride of the Gorilla			United States	^[1]
	The Thing from Another World			United States	^[2]
	The Son of Dr. Jekyll	Seymour Friedman		United States	^[3]
	The Strange Door			United States	^[4]
	1952
	The Black Castle			United States	^[5]
	Mother Riley Meets the Vampire		Arthur Lucan, Bela Lugosi, Dora Bryan		^[6]
	1953
	The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms			United States	Science fiction horror^[7]
	House of Wax			United States	^[8]
	Ghost of Saga Mansion			Japan
	The Maze			United States	^[9]
	The Neanderthal Man		Robert Shayne, Doris Merrick, Richard Crane	United States
	1954
	Godzilla			Japan (released in the United States in 1956 with added Raymond Burr footage)
	Creature from the Black Lagoon			United States	Science fiction horror
	La Bruja		Lilia del Valle, Ramón Gay	Mexico	^[10]
	The Mad Magician			United States	^[11]
	The Snow Creature			United States	^[12]
	Them!			United States	Science fiction horror
	1955
	Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy			United States	Horror comedy^[13]
	Bride of the Monster		Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy	United States	^[14]
	Creature with the Atom Brain			United States	Science fiction horror^[15]
	Cult of the Cobra			United States	^[16]
	Dementia			United States	^[17]
	It Came from Beneath the Sea			United States	Science fiction horror^[18]
	Les Diaboliques			France	^[19]
	Night of the Hunter			United States	^[20]
	1956
	Invasion of the Body Snatchers			United States	Science fiction horror^[21]
	The Black Sleep			United States	^[22]
	Man Beast		Rock Madison, Asa Maynor, George Skaff	United States	^[23]
	The Mole People			United States	Science fiction horror^[24]
	The She-Creature			United States	^[25]
	1957
	The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas			United Kingdom United States	^[26]
	Attack of the Crab Monsters			United States	^[27]
	Back from the Dead			United States	^[28]
	The Black Scorpion			United States	^[29]
	Blood of Dracula			United States	^[30]
	Cat Girl			United Kingdom United States	^[31]
	The Curse of Frankenstein			United Kingdom	^[32]
	Daughter of Dr. Jekyll			United States	^[33]
	The Disembodied			United States	^[34]
	From Hell It Came	Dan Milner		United States	^[35]
	The Giant Claw			United States	^[36]
	La Maldicion de la Momia Azteca (aka Curse of the Aztec Mummy)	Rafael Lopez Portillo	Julian DeMeriche, Alejandro Cruz, Arturo Martinez Sr.	Mexico	^[37]
	La Momia Azteca (aka The Aztec Mummy)	Rafael Lopez Portillo	Emma Roldan, Jorge Mondragon, Arturo Martinez Sr.	Mexico	^[38]
	The Monster That Challenged the World				Science fiction^[39]
	Night of the Demon (aka Curse of the Demon)			United Kingdom	^[40]
	Pharaoh's Curse		Mark Dana, Ziva Rodann	United States	^[41]
	Plan 9 from Outer Space			United States	Shot in 1956, released in 1957 Science fiction horror^[42]
	The Robot vs the Aztec Mummy	Rafael Lopez Portillo	Emma Roldan, Jorge Mondragon, Arturo Martinez Sr.	Mexico
	Spook Chasers			United States	Horror comedy^[43]
	The Undead			United States	^[44]
			John Beal, Kenneth Tobey, Dabbs Greer	United States	^[45]
	I Vampiri (aka The Devil's Commandment)	Riccardo Freda, Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda		Italy
	Voodoo Island		Boris Karloff, Beverly Tyler, Murvyn Vye	United States	^[46]
	Voodoo Woman			United States	^[47]
	1958
	The Blob		Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe	United States	Science fiction horror^[48]
	Blood of the Vampire			United Kingdom	^[49]
	Black Cat Mansion		Toshio Hosokawa, Yuriko Ejima, Takashi Wada	Japan	^[50]
	The Brain Eaters	Bruno Ve Sota	Ed Nelson, Alan Frost, Jack Hill	United States	^[51]
	The Bride and the Beast	Adrian Weiss	Charlotte Austin, Lance Fuller, Johnny Roth	United States	^[52]
	The Castle of the Monsters		Antonio Espino, Evangelina Elizondo	Mexico	^[53]
	Corridors of Blood			United Kingdom	^[54]
	The Crawling Eye (aka The Trollenberg Terror)			United Kingdom
	Curse of the Faceless Man			United States	^[55]
	The Fly			United States	Science fiction horror^[56]
	Giant from the Unknown			United States	^[57]
	The Haunted Strangler (aka Grip of the Strangler)		Boris Karloff, Jean Kent	United Kingdom	^[58]
	The Hideous Sun Demon		Robert Clarke, Patricia Manning, Nan Peterson		Science fiction horror^[59]
	El hombre y el monstruo (The Man and the Monster)		Abel Salazar	Mexico	^[60]
	The Horror of Dracula			United Kingdom	^[61]
	I Bury the Living		Richard Boone, Theodore Bikel, Peggy Maurer	United States	^[62]
	It! The Terror from Beyond Space		Marshall Thompson, Shirley Patterson, Kim Spaldin		^[63]
	Macabre			United States	^[64]
	Monster on the Campus			United States	^[65]
	The Return of Dracula		Francis Lederer	United States	^[66]
	The Screaming Skull		John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Toni Johnson	United States	^[67]
	Terror in the Haunted House (aka My World Dies Screaming)			United States	^[68]
	The Thing That Couldn't Die	Will Cowan	William Reynolds, Andra Martin, Jeffrey Stone	United States	^[69]
	The Vampire's Coffin	Fernando Mendez		Mexico	^[70]
	The Woman Eater			United Kingdom	^[71]
	1959
Attack of the Giant Leeches	Bernard Kowalski		United States	^[72]
	Beast from Haunted Cave			United States	^[73]
	A Bucket of Blood		Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Anthony Carbone	United States	^[74]
	Caltiki – The Immortal Monster	Riccardo Freda, Mario Bava		Italy France	^[75]
	The Head	Victor Trivas		West Germany	^[76] ^[77]
	La Casa del Terror			Mexico	^[78]
	Curse of the Undead	Edward Dein		United States	^[79]
	The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake			United States	^[80]
	Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow	William J. Hole Jr.	Jody Fair, Martin Braddock, Russ Bender	United States	^[81]
	Tokaido Yotsuya kaidan (aka The Ghost of Yotsuya)		Shigeru Amachi, Noriko Kitazawa	Japan	^[82]
	The Giant Gila Monster			United States	^[83]
	House on Haunted Hill			United States	^[84]
	Jack the Ripper			United Kingdom
	La Llorona (a.k.a. The Crying Woman)	René Cardona, Sr.		Mexico
	The Man Who Could Cheat Death			United Kingdom United States	^[85]
	The Mummy			United Kingdom	^[86]
	Teenagers from Outer Space		David Love, Dawn Bender, Bryan Grant		Science fiction horror^[87]
	Terror Is a Man			Philippines United States	^[88]
	The Tingler			United States	Science fiction horror^[89]
	Uncle Was a Vampire (aka Hard Times for Vampires)			Italy	^[90]

See also

• Lists of horror films

References

Bibliography

• Book: Curti , Roberto . Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker . McFarland . 978-1476628387 . 2017 .
• Book: Derrey, Charles . 2009 . Dark dreams 2.0: a psychological history of the modern horror film . Jefferson, NC . McFarland . 978-0-7864-3397-1 .
• Book: Harwell, Thomas Meade . 1997 . Studies in Texan folklore – Rio Grande Valley . Lewiston . Edwin Mellen Press . 0-7734-4208-1 .
• Book: Hutchings, Peter . 1993 . Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film . Manchester University Press . 0-7190-3720-4 .
• Book: Curti , Roberto . Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969 . McFarland . 978-1476619897 . 2015 .
• Book: The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies. Marriott. James. Newman. Kim. James Marriott (author). Kim Newman. 2018. 1st pub. 2006. Carlton Books. London. 9781787391390.
• Book: Weaver, Tom. Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers. McFarland. 2006. 0786428589.
• Book: Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition. McFarland. 2009. 978-0786442300. registration.

External links

• Horror films of the 1950s on Internet Movie Database

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bride of the Gorilla. Allmovie. Erickson, Hal. Hal Erickson (author). February 13, 2014.
2. Web site: The Thing(1951). Allmovie. Erickson, Hal. Hal Erickson (author). April 22, 2018.
3. Web site: The Son of Dr. Jekyll. Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Erickson, Hal. February 13, 2014.
4. Web site: The Strange Door. Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Erickson, Hal. February 13, 2014.
5. Web site: The Black Castle. Allmovie. Erickson, Hal. February 13, 2014.
6. Web site: My Son, the Vampire. Allmovie. Eder, Bruce. February 13, 2014.
7. Web site: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) - Eugene Lourie | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie.
8. Web site: House of Wax. Allmovie. Erickson, Hal. February 13, 2014.
9. Web site: The Maze. Allmovie. Erickson, Hal. February 13, 2014.
10. Web site: La Bruja –Cast and Crew. Allmovie. July 25, 2011.
11. Web site: The Mad Magician. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Legare, Patrick.
12. Web site: The Snow Creature. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
13. Web site: Bride of the Monster. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Eder, Bruce.
14. Web site: Bride of the Monster (1955) - Edward D. Wood Jr., Edward D. Wood | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie.
15. Web site: Creature with the Atom Brain. IMDb. September 28, 1955.
16. Web site: Cult of the Cobra. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Brennan, Sandra.
17. Web site: Dementia: Daughter of Horror. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
18. Web site: It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) - Robert Gordon | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie.
19. Web site: Les Diaboliques: No 19 best horror film of all time. The Guardian. June 21, 2017. O'Neill, Phelim. October 22, 2010.
20. Web site: The 100 best horror movies - the scariest films ranked by experts. TimeOut. June 21, 2017. Huddleston, Tom. etal.
21. Web site: Invasion of the Body Snatchers. AllMovie. December 30, 2020. Deming. Mark.
22. Web site: The Black Sleep. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
23. Web site: Man Beast. American Film Institute. 24 January 2018.
24. Web site: The Mole People. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
25. Web site: The She-Creature. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Brennan, Sandra.
26. Web site: The Abominable Snowman. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Firsching, Robert.
27. Web site: Attack of the Crab Monsters. Allmovie. May 1, 2023. Strider, Dave.
28. Web site: Back from the Dead. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
29. Web site: The Black Scorpion. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
30. Web site: Blood of Dracula. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
31. Web site: Cat Girl. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
32. Web site: The Curse of Frankenstein. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
33. Web site: Daughter of Dr. Jekyll. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
34. Web site: The Disembodied. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
35. Web site: From Hell It Came. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
36. Web site: The Giant Claw. IMDb.
37. Web site: La Maldicion de la Momia Azteca. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Brennan, Sandra.
38. Web site: La Momia Azteca. Allmovie. August 7, 2011.
39. Web site: The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) - Arnold Laven | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
40. Web site: Night of the Demon. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
41. Web site: Pharaoh's Curse. AllMovie. May 2, 2017. Wollstein, Hans J..
42. Web site: Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) - Edward D. Wood Jr., Edward D. Wood | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie.
43. Web site: Spook Chasers. AllMovie. May 2, 2017. Brennan, Sandra.
44. Web site: The Undead. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
45. Web site: The Vampire . Allmovie. May 2, 2017. Warren, Bill.
46. Web site: Voodoo Island. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
47. Web site: Voodoo Island. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
48. Web site: The Blob (1958) - Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., Irvin Shortess Yeaworth, Jr., Irvin S. Yeaworth | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related.
49. Web site: Blood of the Vampire. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
50. Web site: Black Cat Mansion. Allmovie. August 7, 2011.
51. Web site: The Brain Eaters. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Eder, Bruce.
52. Web site: Bride and the Beast. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
53. Web site: El Castillo de los Monstruos. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erlewine, Iotis.
54. Web site: Corridors of Blood. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
55. Web site: Curse of the Faceless Man. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Eder, Bruce.
56. Web site: The Fly (1958) - Kurt Neumann | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie.
57. Web site: Giant from the Unknown. Allmovie. May 2, 2017. Erickson, Hal.
58. Web site: Corridors of Blood. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
59. Web site: The Hideous Sun Demon (1959) - Thomas Bontross, Gianbatista Cassarino, Robert Clarke | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
60. Web site: El hombre y el monstruo. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
61. Web site: Dracula. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
62. Web site: I Bury the Living. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
63. Web site: It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) - Edward L. Cahn | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
64. Web site: Macabre. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
65. Web site: Monster on the Campus. Allmovie. May 7, 2019. Erickson, Hal.
66. Web site: Return of Dracula. Allmovie. May 2, 2017. Binion, Cavett.
67. Web site: The Screaming Skull. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
68. Web site: My World Dies Screaming. American Film Institute. May 2, 2017.
69. Web site: The Thing That Couldn't Die. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Blaise, Judd.
70. Web site: El Ataud del Vampiro. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erlewine, Iotis.
71. Web site: The Woman Eater. AllMovie. May 2, 2017. Eder. Bruce.
72. Web site: Attack of the Giant Leeches. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
73. Web site: Beast from Haunted Cave. American Film Institute. May 2, 2017.
74. Web site: A Bucket of Blood. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
75. Web site: Caltiki - Il Mostro Immortale (1959) . Eder. Bruce . . 20 November 2015.
76. Web site: Caltiki - Il Mostro Immortale (1959) . Mannikka. Eleanor . . 30 December 2020.
77. Web site: Die Nackte und der Satan. Filmportal.de. December 30, 2020.
78. Web site: La Casa del Terror. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Blaise, Judd.
79. Web site: Curse of the Undead. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Eder, Bruce.
80. Web site: The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Brennan, Sandra.
81. Web site: The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
82. Web site: The Ghost of Yotsuya. Allmovie. Dorset, Jeaniff . August 7, 2011.
83. Web site: The Giant Gila Monster. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Erickson, Hal.
84. Web site: House on Haunted Hill. American Film Institute. May 13, 2019.
85. Web site: The Man Who Could Cheat Death. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Binion, Cavett.
86. Web site: The Mummy. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Bush, John.
87. Web site: Teenagers from Outer Space (1959) - Tom Graeff | Synopsis, Movie Info, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .
88. Web site: Terror Is a Man. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Deming, Mark.
89. Web site: The Tingler. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Seibert, Perry.
90. Web site: Tempi duri per i vampiri. Allmovie. August 7, 2011. Brennan, Sandra.