This book review entry is one in a long line of quality books put out by McFarland & Company, Inc. They specialize in genre books and if you can pay out the usually high retail prices, you will almost never be disappointed (in fact, I have only been disappointed to date once with this book).
There are so many movie guides out there today that it is really difficult at times to choose which ones we should buy. They range in quality from very good (like Bill Warren’s “Keep Watching The Skies“) to dreadful (like Rob Craig’s “It Came From 1957“) but at least one thing can be said, movies from the 1950’s are getting more coverage than ever. When it comes to movies, my favorites all came from the 1950’s. No other time period has been more prolific when it comes to monster and science fictions films. Though many of these films are now considered classics, there were many stinkers as well. At least most of these stinkers have their own charm and are still fun to watch even today. The book I am reviewing today, “You Won’t Believe Your Eyes: A Front Row Look at the Sci-Fi/Horror Films of the 1950s“, by Mark Thomas McGee and R.J. Robertson, covers these movies in a way not really seen before, which is why I highly recommend it.
Let me start by saying that I really wanted to like “It Came from 1957.” It had everything going for it; it covers one of my favorite subject matters and it is put out by one of the greatest publishing houses that releases horror and science fiction movie guides, McFarland & Company, Inc. All I can say is that this book was one big disappointment despite its potential.
Recently I fished out a movie I’d nearly forgotten about. Back in 1993, my friend Suzanne gave me a call saying she wanted to go out to see a movie. This meant that, per our usual custom, SHE would pick out what we’d see and though I never complained 90% of her choices were forgettable nightmares. Of course even a broken clock is right at least twice a day and, every once in a great while, Suzanne would pick a winner. This was definitely the case when she chose FIRE IN THE SKY.
Welcome to volume 4 of my series on the very best of the alien invasion films of the 50’s. This entry is for one of the all-time best films of this type…THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD), from 1951.
