Last Updated on 16 June 2026

The 1950s is widely regarded as the Golden Age of science fiction cinema. This era was incredibly important as it transformed sci-fi from niche, low-budget serials into a mainstream cultural staple. While the era was filled with cheap B-movies aimed at teenage audiences, major studios began investing heavily in the genre.

The following list is a compilation of the 200 best sci-fi movies of the 1950s.

I found 16 different ranked lists online of “best sci-fi movies of the 50s” and pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation.  See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including links to all 16 lists that were averaged. Below is a checklist you can print to track which ones you’ve seen, followed by the ranked list with links to IMDb.

Best 50s SciFi Movies – Viewing ChecklistDownload
  1. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
  2. Forbidden Planet (1956)
  3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
  4. Godzilla (1954)
  5. The War of the Worlds (1953)
  6. Them! (1954)
  7. The Thing from Another World (1951)
  8. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
  9. The Fly (1958)
  10. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
  11. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
  12. When Worlds Collide (1951)
  13. The Blob (1958)
  14. The Man in the White Suit (1951)
  15. It Came from Outer Space (1953)
  16. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
  17. Invaders from Mars (1953)
  18. 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
  19. Invention for Destruction (1958)
  20. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)
  21. This Island Earth (1955)
  22. I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)
  23. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
  24. The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
  25. The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
  26. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
  27. Destination Moon (1950)
  28. The Tingler (1959)
  29. Tarantula (1955)
  30. On the Beach (1959)
  31. Quatermass 2 (1957)
  32. Fiend Without a Face (1958)
  33. It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
  34. World Without End (1956)
  35. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
  36. Plan 9 from Outer Space (1958)
  37. It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
  38. The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
  39. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
  40. X the Unknown (1956)
  41. A Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955)
  42. The H-Man (1958)
  43. The Monolith Monsters (1957)
  44. The Man from Planet X (1951)
  45. The 27th Day (1957)
  46. Rodan (1956)
  47. The Mysterians (1957)
  48. Revenge of the Creature (1955)
  49. The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)
  50. 1984 (1956)
  51. The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
  52. The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)
  53. Five (1951)
  54. Kronos (1957)
  55. The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)
  56. Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
  57. The Colossus of New York (1958)
  58. Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
  59. It Conquered the World (1956)
  60. Return of the Fly (1959)
  61. The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
  62. Monkey Business (1952)
  63. The Angry Red Planet (1959)
  64. 4D Man (1959)
  65. Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
  66. Attack of the Puppet People (1958)
  67. Conquest of Space (1955)
  68. The Killer Shrews (1959)
  69. Not of This Earth (1957)
  70. The Black Sleep (1956)
  71. The Wasp Woman (1959)
  72. The Giant Behemoth (1959)
  73. Riders to the Stars (1954)
  74. Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
  75. First Man Into Space (1959)
  76. Queen of Outer Space (1958)
  77. Bride of the Monster (1955)
  78. Battle in Outer Space (1959)
  79. Donovan’s Brain (1953)
  80. The Alligator People (1959)
  81. The Black Scorpion (1957)
  82. Spaceways (1953)
  83. The Crawling Eye (1958)
  84. Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
  85. Robot Monster (1953)
  86. Four Sided Triangle (1953)
  87. Red Planet Mars (1952)
  88. The Atomic Submarine (1959)
  89. I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)
  90. War of the Satellites (1958)
  91. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)
  92. Gog (1954)
  93. How to Make a Monster (1958)
  94. Cat-Women of the Moon (1953)
  95. Target Earth (1954)
  96. The Giant Claw (1957)
  97. Flight to Mars (1951)
  98. Beginning of the End (1957)
  99. Warning from Space (1956)
  100. Tobor the Great (1954)
  101. Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)
  102. The Invisible Boy (1957)
  103. Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
  104. I’ll Never Forget You (1951)
  105. Have Rocket — Will Travel (1959)
  106. The Magnetic Monster (1953)
  107. The Maze (1953)
  108. The Gamma People (1956)
  109. Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)
  110. The Mole People (1956)
  111. Day the World Ended (1955)
  112. I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
  113. The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)
  114. Curse of the Faceless Man (1958)
  115. The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)
  116. The Space Children (1958)
  117. Frankenstein 1970 (1958)
  118. The Strange World of Planet X (1958)
  119. The Day the Sky Exploded (1958)
  120. Invisible Invaders (1959)
  121. Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
  122. Radar Men from the Moon (1952)
  123. The Werewolf (1956)
  124. The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)
  125. The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959)
  126. War of the Colossal Beast (1958)
  127. Rocketship X-M (1950)
  128. The Flying Saucer (1950)
  129. Unknown World (1951)
  130. Lost Continent (1951)
  131. The Man Without a Body (1957)
  132. Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958)
  133. Terror from the Year 5000 (1958)
  134. Phantom from Space (1953)
  135. Indestructible Man (1956)
  136. The Brain Eaters (1958)
  137. Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)
  138. The Venusian (1954)
  139. Project Moon Base (1953)
  140. The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955)
  141. The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955)
  142. From the Earth to the Moon (1958)
  143. Night of the Blood Beast (1958)
  144. The Incredible Petrified World (1959)
  145. Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954)
  146. She Devil (1957)
  147. The Unearthly (1957)
  148. The Snow Creature (1954)
  149. Invasion, U.S.A. (1952)
  150. Blood of the Vampire (1958)
  151. Mesa of Lost Women (1953)
  152. Killers from Space (1954)
  153. The Land Unknown (1957)
  154. Battle Beyond the Sun (1959)
  155. The Story of Mankind (1957)
  156. Fire Maidens of Outer Space (1956)
  157. King Dinosaur (1955)
  158. The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy (1958)
  159. She Demons (1958)
  160. Two Lost Worlds (1951)
  161. Monster on the Campus (1958)
  162. The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957)
  163. Beast from Haunted Cave (1959)
  164. The Night the World Exploded (1957)
  165. Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)
  166. Varan (1958)
  167. The Vampire (1957)
  168. Lust of the Vampire (1957)
  169. Satellite in the Sky (1956)
  170. The Twonky (1953)
  171. The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957)
  172. Superman and the Mole-Men (1951)
  173. The Deadly Mantis (1957)
  174. The Lost Missile (1958)
  175. The Unknown Terror (1957)
  176. Experiment in Evil (1959)
  177. Terror in the Midnight Sun (1959)
  178. Monster from Green Hell (1957)
  179. The Cyclops (1957)
  180. From Hell It Came (1957)
  181. Missile to the Moon (1958)
  182. The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951)
  183. The Astounding She-Monster (1957)
  184. Teenage Zombies (1959)
  185. The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)
  186. Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
  187. The Abominable Snowman (1957)
  188. Teenage Cave Man (1958)
  189. Crash of Moons (1954)
  190. Prince of Space (1959)
  191. Killer Ape (1953)
  192. Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952)
  193. Fury of the Congo (1951)
  194. Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959)
  195. The Jungle (1952)
  196. La sombra vengadora (1956)
  197. Lost Planet Airmen (1951)
  198. Unnatural (1952)
  199. Mysterious Island (1951)
  200. Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959)

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