It Came from 1957: A Critical Guide to the Year's Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films

America in the 1950s was a cauldron of contradictions. Advances in technology chafed against a grimly conservative political landscape; the military-industrial complex ceaselessly promoted the "Communist menace"; young marrieds fled crumbling cities for artificial communities known as suburbs; and the corporate cipher known as "The Organization Man" was created, along with stifling images of women.

The decade, huddled under the fear of nuclear holocaust, was also dedicated to all things fu...