SCI-FI FILM HISTORY
Early Films to 1939
The history of science fiction films parallels that of the motion picture industry as a whole, although it took several decades before the genre was taken seriously. Since the 1960s, major science fiction films have succeeded in pulling in large audience shares, and films of this genre have become a regular staple of the film industry. Science fiction films have led the way in special effects technology, and have also been used as a vehicle for social commentary.
Science fiction films appeared very early in the silent film era. The initial attempts were short films of typically 1 to 2 minutes in duration, shot in black and white, but sometimes with colour tinting. These shorts usually had a technological theme and were often intended to be humorous.
Le Voyage dans la Lune 1902
In 1902, Georges Melies released Le Voyage dans la Lune, the best-known early science fiction film. Inspired by the novels of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, it portrayed a journey to the Moon in a spacecraft launched by a powerful gun. This movie's space travel plot, its fantastic vision of a Moon inhabited by frightening aliens, and its innovative special effects, influenced future science fiction films.
Frankenstein 1910
In 1910, Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein was adapted for the screen, in one of the earliest mergers of science fiction and horror. Although only 16 minutes long, the film produces a suitably dark mood and would be remade several times in the future. Another such horror movie, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was released in 1913.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1916
A longer science fiction film (and one which introduced underwater filming) was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1916, based on the novel by Jules Verne. This film became famous for its groundbreaking work in actual underwater photography by George M. Williamson and J. Ernest Williamson.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1920
More horror than sci-fi, though sci-fi elements are used as plot devices is John Barrymore's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde released through Paramount/Artcraft. The film is based upon Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and starring actor John Barrymore. The film was directed by John S. Robertson and co-starred Nita Naldi. John Barrymore's transformation to Mr. Hyde was contributed by his skills to contort his face without any facial prosthetics, he wore only makeup. His fingers did have prosthetic extensions.
Metropolis 1926
The 1920s saw a distinct difference between American and European science fiction. European film-makers tended to use the genre for prediction and social commentary, with films such as Metropolis 1926 from Germany. Be sure to check out SFMZ's Tribute to Metropolis for more on this sci-fi silent film classic.
Frau im Mond 1929
Frau im Mond (1929), also from Germany, shows the first countdown to launch of a rocket. Not just the first one in a movie, but the first ever: it was invented as a dramatic device for the movie. Also depicted for the first time are the use of liquid rocket fuel, a rocket with two stages, and zero gravity in space.
Hollywood used it to create action, melodramatic plots, and gadgetry. This emphasis would blossom into the serials of the 1930s, and many European films would eventually follow this trend. Echoes of this style can still be seen in science fiction and action films today, as well as in the various James Bond movies.
Frankenstein 1931
Movies during the 1930s provided an escape from the poverty of the Great Depression, and it was during this era that film-making experienced a golden age. Movies now possessed a sound-track, and the extreme physical expression of the silent era was replaced by dialogue.
When Frankenstein was released in 1931, there were reports of audience members fainting in the theater. Ken Strickfaden, who created all the electrical effects for the movie, also doubled for Boris Karloff during the sequences that showed the million volt sparks playing over his body. The same machines were later used in the comedy Young Frankenstein (1974).
King Kong 1933
Films of thirties were centered on the actors, rather than the still-primitive special effects. An exception was the 1933 release of King Kong, including scenes of the giant ape battling biplanes atop the Empire State Building. Special effects genius Willis H. O'Brien, who earlier used stop-motion animation of dinosaur models in The Lost World (1925), had created several dinosaur models for his unfinished production Creation (1931).
Producer Merian C. Cooper sold the idea for King Kong to RKO executives in New York by showing them a test sequence using O'Brien's models. The executives were stunned, never having seen anything like it, and green-lighted production of King Kong. O'Brien also used many of his "Creation" models in King Kong, including the T-Rex and the pteranodon (giant flying creature).
Most science fiction 30's films focused on human drama, instead of aliens, space travel, or disasters. The 1936 version of Lost Horizon was one of the first film entries in the 'Lost World' genre. The decade also saw the release of several horror films with science fiction elements, such as The Invisible Man (1933) and new versions of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Things to Come 1936
Influenced by Metropolis, the 1930 release 'Just Imagine' was the first feature length science fiction film by a US studio, but the film was an expensive flop and no studio would produce a feature length science fiction film until the 1950s. The British made H.G. Wells' Things to Come 1936, also influenced by Metropolis, which was one of the most influential attempts at using special effects to evoke 'spectacle', but it too was a failure at the box office.
Flash Gordon Films
This decade also saw the rise of movie serials, most notably the various Flash Gordon films, as well as the quasi-science fiction Dick Tracy and others. These were low budget, often hastily-produced efforts employing soon-to-be-stock ideas such as the mad scientist, high-tech gadgets, and plots for world domination.
Resources: imdb.com, wikipedia.org
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