Top Ten Science Fiction Movies of The 20's & 30's

Filmmaking was just coming into it's own in the 1920's and 1930's. But Science Fiction had long been popular in literary form. It was only natural the two would come together. Some of those early Science Fiction films formed the basis of all that followed--even to this very day.

Following, in chronological order, are ten of the best Science Fiction movies from that early era, with a little about each one.

1) The Lost World (1925)
The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's
classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures
still roam.

Directed by:
Harry O. Hoyt

Starring:
Wallace Beery as "Prof. Challenger"

2) Metropolis (1927)
It is the future, and humans are divided into two groups:
the thinkers, who make plans (but don't know how anything
works), and the workers, who achieve goals (but don't have
the vision).

Directed by:
Fritz Lang

Starring:
Alfred Abel as "Joh Fredersen"

3) Woman in the Moon(aka By Rocket to the Moon) (1929)
A scientist discovers that there's gold on the moon,
he builds a rocket to fly there, but there's too much
rivalry among the crew to have a successful expedition.

Directed by:
Fritz Lang

Starring:
Willy Fritsch as "Wolf Helius"

4) Just Imagine (1930)
In 1980 a man from 1930 is brought back to from the dead. He
is taken on a tour of the magical wonders of 1980. He travels to
Mars where he discovers even more unbelievable things

Directed by:
David Butler

Starring:
El Brendel as "Single O"
Maureen O'Sullivan as "LN-18"

5) Frankenstein (1931)
--It can be said that Frankenstein is Horror. But it is considered
by many to be the first true United States Science Fiction film.

Classic in which an obsessed scientist assembles
a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.

Directed by:
James Whale

Starring:
Boris Karloff as "Frankenstein's Monster"
Colin Clive as "Dr. Henry Frankenstein"

6) The Invisible Man (1933)
Finding a way to become invisible pushes a scientist to
murderous insanity.

Directed by:
James Whale

Starring:
Claude Rains as "The Invisible Man"
Henry Travers as "Dr. Cranley"

7) Things to Come (1936)
A second world war spanning several leaves the world
in devastation. Civilization is rebuilt and humans attempt
space travel.

Directed by:
William Cameron Menzies

Starring:
Raymond Massey as "John Cabal" / "Oswald Cabal"
Sir Cedric Hardwicke as "Theotocopulos"

8) The Invisible Ray (1936)
Visionary scientist Janos Rukh convinces a group of
scientists and supporters to mount an expedition to
the African continent to locate and study an ancient
meteorite of great significance.

Directed by:
Lambert Hillyer

Starring:
Boris Karloff as "Dr. Janos Rukh"
Bela Lugosi as "Dr. Felix Benet"

9) The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
An ordinary man suddenly finds that anything he says
comes true. Except he can't change the opinions or
feelings of other people.

Directed by:
Lothar Mendes

Starring:
Roland Young as "George McWhirter Fotheringay"

10) Lost Horizon (1937)
After a plane crash crash, a group trying to get away
from upheaval in China, is rescued and taken to Shangri-La.
But is this mythical utopia all it's been made out to be?

Directed by:
Frank Capra

Starring:
Sam Jaffe as "High Lama"
Jane Wyatt as "Sondra Bizet"