Atomic Age Cinema: The Offbeat, the Classic and the Obscure

British author Barry Atkinson (You’re Not Old Enough Son; Indie Horrors!) plunges us into a cinematic world dominated by the atomic bomb and presents us with a buffet of delights, from the rare to the unusual. Although the classics get a deserved mention, the author concentrates mainly on the neglected lesser titles, many not seen for decades, giving them a much-needed public airing. Readers will indulge in chapters devoted to: Key actors, companies, directors and composers! Comparisons between Japanese monster movies and their Americanized counterparts! Scarce, unseen American, British and foreign horror, sci-fi, fantasy features! Stone Age women of the “B” variety! A couple of out-and-out schlock classics! The Abominable Snowman in the 1950s! A reappraisal of much-maligned, but much-loved, guilty pleasures! Toho’s forgotten monsters! Dr. Jekyll’s evil offspring! British science fiction and noir thrillers of the ’50s! Jungle Jim! Chaney, Karloff and Lugosi in the 1950s! Best entrant in Universal’s Creature trilogy!

Does colorization enhance a black-and-white favorite? How do monster special effects rate before CGI? Do Regal International’s widescreen program fillers really add up to that much? Which scenes constitute the decade’s most memorable fantasy moments? Does dialogue matter? What impact did New Age science have on the vampire and werewolf myths of old? All this and much, much more in a fresh evaluation of what most fans and critics now recognize as the pivotal decade for horror, sci-fi and fantasy.