DAVENPORT, Fla. - s4story -- Coming on the heels of his first science fiction novel – Menace: An Agent Dean Cold Novel – Ray Keating takes a fresh look at 12 notable science fiction movies of the 1950s that not only influenced him, but generations of filmmakers.

Keating tackles assorted questions and issues. Were 1950s sci-fi films nothing more than B-movies schlock? Was 1950s America, and the science fiction movies made during the decade, largely about hysterical paranoia as modern observers suggest? Is there more at work in these iconic motion pictures than social distrust, cheap thrills, and bad special effects?

Tapping into his experience as a weekly newspaper columnist writing on the past, present and future, in 1950s Sci-Fi, Keating takes a fresh look at 12 classic science fiction films from the era. He disputes some of the assumptions about these movies and the overall time period. He reflects on both the strengths and weaknesses of 1950s sci-fi; and highlights the continuing value, impact and influences of these fascinating films.

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Keating said, "These are the movies that provided the foundation for what came later in terms of Hollywood and science fiction, including influencing creators such as George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and so many others. Some of these films also have a depth to them that might surprise many movie-watchers."

In 1950s Sci-Fi, Keating writes about Destination Moon (1950), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), When Worlds Collide (1951), The War of the Worlds (1953), Invaders from Mars (1953), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Them! (1954), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

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Release date: October 28, 2025