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Films with theme "Space opera", sorted by production date
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Warning from Space (1956)
, 1h27Directed by Kōji Shima
Genres Science fiction, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Seafaring films, Transport films, Space opera
Actors Isao Yamagata, Fumiko Okamura
A small ship travels to a rotating space station. Aboard the station, a group of starfish-like beings discuss how to warn humans of an impending disaster, deciding on contacting Japanese scientist Dr. Kumara. Meanwhile, flying saucers are spotted over the skies of Tokyo, baffling scientists. A journalist tries to get a statement from Dr. Kumara about the sightings, but Kumara replies that there is not enough evidence to formulate a hypothesis. At an observatory, Professor Isobe spots an object in his telescope apparently releasing smaller objects.
Conquest of Space (1955)
, 1h21Directed by Byron Haskin
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction
Themes Space adventure films, Mars in film, Films based on science fiction novels, Space opera
Actors Walter Brooke, Eric Fleming, Mickey Shaughnessy, William Redfield, Phil Foster, William Hopper
Mankind has achieved space flight capability and built "The Wheel" space station in orbit 1,075 miles above Earth. It is commanded by its designer, Colonel Samuel T. Merritt (Walter Brooke). His son, Captain Barney (Eric Fleming), having been aboard for a year, wants to return to Earth.
Manhunt in Space (1954)
, 1h18Directed by John Hollingsworth Morse
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Space opera
Actors Richard Crane, Scotty Beckett, Maurice Cass, Charles Meredith, Patsy Parsons, Henry Brandon
Rocky Jones attempts to solve the mystery of space ships that have disappeared.
Riders to the Stars (1954)
, 1h21Directed by Richard Carlson, Herbert L. Strock
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Space opera
Actors William Lundigan, Martha Hyer, Herbert Marshall, Richard Carlson, Dawn Addams, Robert Karnes
A group of highly qualified single men, including Dr. Richard Stanton (William Lundigan) and Dr. Jerry Lockwood (Richard Carlson), are recruited for a top secret project. They undergo a series of rigorous physical and psychological tests, during which Stanton becomes attracted to the beautiful Dr. Jane Flynn (Martha Hyer), one of the scientists testing the candidates. After most of the candidates have been eliminated from consideration, the four remaining are told about the purpose of the project.
Target Earth (1954)
, 1h15Origin USA
Genres Science fiction
Themes Space adventure films, Space opera, Venus in film, Films about extraterrestrial life, Alien invasions in films, Robot films, Disaster films
Actors Richard Denning, Kathleen Crowley, Virginia Grey, Whit Bissell, Arthur Space, Steve Pendleton
After a botched attempt at suicide, Nora King (Kathleen Crowley) revives and discovers that her building has no electricity or water. She soon realizes that Chicago is deserted when she wanders out into the empty, quiet streets. Stumbling over the body of a dead woman, she encounters Frank Brooks (Richard Denning), another person who has just recently revived after being beaten in a robbery.
Crash of Moons (1954)
, 1h18Directed by John Hollingsworth Morse
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Action, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Space opera
Actors Richard Crane, Scotty Beckett, Charles Meredith, Maurice Cass, John Banner, Patsy Parsons
Rocky Jones attempts to save the inhabitants of a planet about to collide with a moon. The empress of the planet, however, is suspicious. While Rocky and his crew finally succeed in evacuating the planet in time, Cleolanthe's pride and vanity are a major hindrance. Finally, however, as the last of the planet's population leaves, Cleolanthe arrogantly declares that she will stay behind. Her assistant, however, refuses to allow this, and literally picks her up and carries her on board Rocky's own ship. She watches in despair as the moon crashes into her planet, the two bodies destroying one another instantly. As the ship heads for the new home that has been chosen for her people, Cleolanthe finally realizes that she had been wrong, and that, as one of her underlings has stated, it is the people that make a nation, not the land itself. She finally reconciles with Rocky and his crew, and sincerely thanks them for their efforts in her behalf and that of her people. This marks the end of the character Cleolanthe in the Rocky Jones series. Succeeding episodes contain a new villain.
Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
, 1h16Directed by David MacDonald
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction
Themes Space adventure films, Mars in film, Films about extraterrestrial life, Martiens, Space opera, Films about extraterrestrial life, Robot films
Actors Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Adrienne Corri, Hazel Court, Joseph Tomelty, John Laurie
Nyah, a female alien commander from Mars, dressed in shiny black vinyl, heads for London in her flying saucer. She is part of the advanced alien team that is looking for Earth men to replace the dying male population on her world. Because of damage to her saucer, caused by entering Earth's atmosphere and then colliding with an aircraft, she is forced to land her damaged flying saucer in the remote Scottish moors, near a local village. She is armed with a raygun that can paralyze or kill, and she also has a tall, menacing robot named Chani.
The War of the Worlds (1953)
, 1h21Directed by Byron Haskin
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Action, Horror
Themes Space adventure films, Mars in film, Films based on science fiction novels, Films set in the future, Films about extraterrestrial life, Martiens, Space opera, Films about extraterrestrial life, Alien invasions in films, Arme nucléaire, Disaster films, American disaster films
Actors Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Cedric Hardwicke, Sandro Giglio, Robert O. Cornthwaite
In early 1950s southern California, Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry), a scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project, is fishing with colleagues when a large object crashes near the town of Linda Rosa. At the impact site, he meets Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) and her uncle, Pastor Matthew Collins (Lewis Martin). Van Buren was told that the meteorite came down at a low angle, while Forrester observes it appears far lighter than normal for its massive size. His Geiger counter also detects it is slightly radioactive, but the object is still too hot to examine closely. Unable to account for these anomalies, Forrester is intrigued and decides to wait in town overnight for the object to cool down.
Project Moon Base (1953)
, 1h3Directed by Richard Talmadge
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Spy films, Films about music and musicians, Sur la Lune, Films set in the future, Musical films, Political films, Space opera
Actors Hayden Rorke, Donna Martell, Ernestine Barrier, Robert Karnes
Set in a future 1970, the United States is considering building bases on the Moon. Colonel Briteis (Donna Martell), Major Bill Moore (Ross Ford), and Doctor Wernher (Larry Johns) are sent to orbit the Moon to survey landing sites for future lunar missions. However, Dr. Wernher is an impostor whose mission is to destroy the US's Earth-orbiting space station, which he plans to do by colliding the rocket with the station on the way back from the Moon.
Cat-Women of the Moon (1953)
, 1h4Directed by Arthur Hilton
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction
Themes Space adventure films, Sur la Lune, Space opera
Actors Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, Marie Windsor, Douglas Fowley, William Phipps, Carol Brewster
An expedition to the moon encounters a race of "Cat-Women", the last eight survivors of a 2-million-year-old civilization, deep within a cave where they have managed to maintain the remnants of a breathable atmosphere that once covered the Moon. The remaining air will soon be gone, and they must escape if they are to survive. They plan to steal the expedition's spaceship and migrate to Earth.
, 1h17Directed by Charles Lamont
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Comic science fiction
Themes Space adventure films, Comedy science fiction films, Space opera, Buddy films, Venus in film
Actors Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mari Blanchard, Dudley Dickerson, Robert Paige, Martha Hyer
Orville (Lou Costello) is the oldest orphan at the Hideaway Orphans Home. He accidentally winds up inside a truck heading to a top-secret laboratory, where he is placed under the guidance of lab worker Lester (Bud Abbott) to help load supplies onto a rocket ship. While on board with Lester, Orville hits the ignition button and the rocket blasts off, flying across the country to New Orleans, where Mardi Gras is in progress. They exit the ship and witness "hideous creatures", which are actually costumed celebrants, and conclude that they have landed on Mars.
Invaders from Mars (1953)
, 1h17Directed by William Cameron Menzies
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Horror
Themes Space adventure films, Mars in film, Films set in the future, Films about extraterrestrial life, Martiens, Space opera, Children's films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Alien invasions in films, Disaster films
Actors Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Morris Ankrum, Arthur Franz, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke
Late one night, young David MacLean (Jimmy Hunt) is awakened by a loud thunderstorm. From his bedroom window, he sees a large flying saucer descend and disappear into the sandpit area behind his home. After rushing to tell his parents, his scientist father (Leif Erickson) goes to investigate David's claim. When his father returns much later in the morning, David notices an unusual red puncture along the hairline on the back of his father's neck; his father is now behaving in a cold and hostile manner. David soon begins to realize something is very wrong: one-by-one he notices certain townsfolk are acting in exactly the same way. Through his telescope, David sees child neighbor Kathy Wilson walking in the sandpit, when she suddenly disappears underground. David flees to the police station for help, and he is eventually placed under the protection of health-department physician Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter), who slowly begins to believe his crazy story.
Spaceways (1953)
, 1h16Directed by Terence Fisher
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Adventure, Crime
Themes Space adventure films, Théâtre, Films based on plays, Space opera
Actors Howard Duff, Eva Bartok, Alan Wheatley, Michael Medwin, David Horne, Marianne Stone
The plot dealt with the first manned spaceflight (piloted co-ed by Duff and Bartok) against the backdrop of Duff's character's failing marriage, his wife's infidelity and murder (of which Duff is suspected), and his budding romance with Bartok, who plays a renowned mathematician working on the space project.
Radar Men from the Moon (1952)
Directed by Fred C. Brannon
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Action
Themes Space adventure films, Films about music and musicians, Sur la Lune, Musical films, Space opera
Actors George D. Wallace, Aline Towne, Roy Barcroft, William Bakewell, Clayton Moore, Peter Brocco
Commando Cody (George Wallace) is a civilian researcher and inventor with a number of employees. He uses a streamlined helmet and a sonic-powered rocket backpack attached to a leather flying jacket. Cody also uses a rocket ship capable of reaching the Moon. When the U. S. finds itself under attack from a mysterious force that can wipe out entire military bases and industrial complexes, Cody surmises (correctly) that the Earth is coming under attack from our own Moon. He then flies his rocket ship there and confronts the Moon's dictator, Retik (Roy Barcroft), who boldly announces his plans to both conquer Earth and then move the Moon's entire population here using spaceships.
Red Planet Mars (1952)
, 1h27Directed by Harry Horner
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction
Themes Space adventure films, Mars in film, Films based on plays, Space opera
Actors Peter Graves, Andrea King, Walter Sande, Marvin Miller, Herbert Berghof, Marvin Miller
An American astronomer obtains images of Mars suggesting large-scale environmental changes are occurring at a pace that can only be accomplished by intelligent beings with advanced technology. At the same time a colleague claims to have been contacting Mars by radio, using technology stolen from the Nazis after World War II. He communicates first through an exchange of mathematical concepts, like the value of pi, and then through answers to specific questions about Martian life. The transmissions claim that Mars is a utopia fueled by nuclear power, which has led to great technological advancement and the elimination of scarcity, but that there is no fear of nuclear war.