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I Married a Monster from Outer Space: Gender expectations in 1958

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

Release Date: 03/30/2025

On the Beach: Atomic Apocalypse in 1959 show art On the Beach: Atomic Apocalypse in 1959

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As always there are spoilers ahead! Trigger warning for a lot of discussion of suicide with analysis of the plot along with a side of dark humour. If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at  You can follow the podcast on ,  and . If you want to watch the film before you listen you can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region. On the Beach is available online to buy and rent from Apple and other sources in many places. I can’t believe I am almost done and dusted with this...

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Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

 

You can follow the podcast on social media: Instagram, Threads and BlueSky.


You can support the podcast and get ad-free episodes on info_outline The Fabulous World of Jules Verne: Czechoslovakia, Steampunk and Zeman in 1958 show art The Fabulous World of Jules Verne: Czechoslovakia, Steampunk and Zeman in 1958

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

 

You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and <

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Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

You can find the podcast on ThreadsInstagram and Bluesky


In 1992 Ishiro Honda sat down for his info_outline I Married a Monster from Outer Space: Gender expectations in 1958 show art I Married a Monster from Outer Space: Gender expectations in 1958

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky

I Married a Monster from Outer Space was released as part of a double bill (with The Blob) in 1958. The story focuses on newlywed couple Marge and Bill Farrell but unbeknownst to his new bride and the whole town Bill has been replaced by an alien on the eve of th

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Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

Somewhere in the late 1950s society began to come to terms with the idea of the teenager. Teens were heading to the cinema leaving younger siblings and parents at home. The Blob (1958) isn‘t a tale of rebellion or film warning about teenage delinquency but a thoroughly enjoyable time with a catchy theme tune. 

I have two wonderful guests to help us unravel this classic 1950s sci-fi. 

The Experts 

Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Bi

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Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

For this bonus episode I’ve teamed up with the excellent History Daily podcast. 

Very exciting! 

History Daily tells fascinating stories of what happened “on this day” in history with a new episode every weekday.

The early 1950s in the USA stand out as not just a time of economic prosperity but also one of paranoia. The country faced the fear of the atomic bomb, the Red Scare and a moral panic around juvenile delinquency. (Teenagers were new and unpredictable!)

During this

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Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky

The Worst Film of All Time by The Worst Director of All Time. So claimed the 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards by Michael and Harry Medved regarding the film Plan 9 from Outer Space and director Edward Wood Jr AKA Ed Wood. 

But this very title is one of the

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Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 


I would love to know what you make of the ending of this film if you watched it. Best place to do that is on social media. Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.&nb

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Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 


Forbidden Planet (1956) is a somewhat overlooked 50s classic. Although it often fails to make lists of the greatest sci-fi films of all time it has come across often in my written research and when

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More Episodes

You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky

I Married a Monster from Outer Space was released as part of a double bill (with The Blob) in 1958. The story focuses on newlywed couple Marge and Bill Farrell but unbeknownst to his new bride and the whole town Bill has been replaced by an alien on the eve of their wedding. 

Themes of marriage, resentments and gendered expectations are as rife as can be expected in the 1950s. We have two insightful experts help shine a light on these themes. 

The Experts 

Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively. 

Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

01:58 Science fiction golden age and the marriage melodrama 

05:27 The female led sci-fi film and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique 

08:40 Patriarchal expectations of 1950s men 

13:24 Changes in post war America 

16:33 The Hays production code and the scandalous double bed 

21:19 The Alien: looking good and learning to love 

26:14 Marge’s dilemma

30:42 Romantic, sexual and gendered anxiety 

39:20 Devil Girl from Mars: Aliens are coming to take our men! 

41:36 Legacy 

45:59 Recommendations for the listeners


NEXT EPISODE! 

Next episode we will be hopping slightly back in time and discussing The Mysterians from 1957. The film was made in Japan by Toho studios. It is quite difficult to buy or rent a copy but is available in some regions on FlixFling, The Criterion Channel and some other internet sites. 


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