Chief? McLeod!

DETECTIVE STORY

1951

Directed by William Wyler

Written by Robert Wyler and Philip Yordan (based on the play by Sidney Kingsley)

Spoiler alert: moderate

I thought that you two were related

ROYAL WEDDING

1951

Directed by Stanley Donen

Written by Alan Jay Lerner

Spoiler alert: high, I guess, but also effectively inapplicable

G-d Week: Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

QUO VADIS

1951

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Written by S.N. Behrman, Sonya Levien, and John Lee Mahin (based on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz)

Spoiler alert: moderate

G-d Week: In the spring of the year, when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA

1951

Directed by Henry King

Written by Philip Dunne

Spoiler alert: well, the next one we're doing is Solomon and Sheba, so...

Walt Disney, part XVI: Who cares for you? You're nothing but a pack of cards

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Initially wearisome, but ultimately a fair bit of fun, Alice In Wonderland is still minor Walt Disney—as the man himself agreed.

1951

Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske

Spoiler alert: wake up, Alice

Cardboard Science: Stay off the moors!

THE MAN FROM PLANET X

To a historian, the word "important" means something different, but even by that standard, this movie, that influenced practically nobody, and is remembered now only by the likes of Joe Dante and me, still isn't anywhere close.  Not even when the calendar says it ought to be.

1951

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer

Written by Aubrey Wisberg and Jack Pollexfen

Robert Clarke (John Lawrence), Margaret Field (Enid Eliot), Raymond Bond (Prof. Eliot), William Schallert (Dr. Mears), and an unknown subject (the Man From Planet X)

Spoiler alert: high

Cardboard Science: My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts about neocons from outer space?

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Remember, if we use nuclear weapons, condescending aliens will come and kill us with weapons even worse than nuclear weapons.  I think you might've had to be there, but The Day the Earth Stood Still remains a fine allegory, and a pretty good movie, though it has a little trouble hiding its flabby middle.

1951

Directed by Robert Wise

Written by Edmund H. North (based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates)

With Michael Rennie (Klaatu), Patricia Neal (Helen Benson), Billy Gray (Bobby Benson), Sam Jaffe (Prof. Jacob Barnhardt), Hugh Marlowe (Tom Stevens), and Lock Martin ft. a fiberglass statue (Gort)

Spoiler alert: severe

Cardboard Science: Some form of super-carrot

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD

It's not often that the forerunner of a trend is actually one of its best examples, but then there's The Thing From Another World.

1951

Directed by Christian Nyby and/or Howard Hawks

Written by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht, and Howard Hawks (based on the story "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell Jr.)

With Kenneth Tobey (Capt. Patrick Hendry), Margaret Sheridan (Nikki Nicholson), Douglas Spencer (Ned Scott), Robert Cornthwaite (Dr. Arthur Carrington), and James Arness (The Thing)

Spoiler alert: moderate

Carboard Science: Now that's a deep impact!

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

George Pal teaches us that contemplating the destruction of all we know can actually be a pretty swell time.

1951

Directed by Rudolph Mate

Written by Sydney Boehm

With Richard Derr (David Randall), Barbara Rush (Joyce Hendron), Larry Keating (Dr. Cole Hendron), John Hoyt (Sydney Stanton), and Peter Hansen (Dr. Tony Drake)

Spoiler alert: moderate