[Herewith, we present more of Ed Naha on Science Fiction; this time Ed trots out his pick of the best of science fiction movies, past and present. Sci-Fi literature, TV, etc., will be dealt with in future issues. —Ed.]

The science fiction film is a hard animal to pin down in that a lot of well known "monster" films have had a firm

Ed Naha is the author of Horrors— From Screen To Scream (Avon Books), and the producer of a record, Gene Roddenberry: Inside Star Trek (CBS). foundation in abberated science (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, King Kong). So, avoiding all the accepted horror films, here's a crash course in sci-fi moviedom with the accent on the sci.

From the early silent days of Georges (A Trip To The Moon) Melies to the upto-date dazzlement of Rollerball and Westworld, science fiction has always had a strong following on the silver screen. SF films can roughly be divided into five categories: 1) Holy Smokes! It's an invasion! 2) Science has goofed again; 3) Well, now that we're up in space, boy do we have problems! 4) Ecch! Look what the future (or the past) holds; and 5) Gee, lookit this great civilization we've found. Although these categories are fairly basic and, at times, dated (ecologists now have us invaded from outer space, under water, behind the drainpipe and inside spray cans and often what the future holds pales when compared to the present), they generally hold true.

The following dozen films are not necessarily the BEST sci-fi flicks ever to grace the screen (although they are right up there in the running) but, for the uninitiated, they are the most accessible. All are well written, illustrating ideas inherent to the sci-fi school of thought. Here, then, is a brief glance at futuristic filmdom.

THE DAYTHE EARTH STOOD STILL (20th Century, 1951) A classic screen adaptation of Harry Bates'"Farewell To The Master, " directed by Robert (West Side Story, Sound of Music) Wise. A pacifist alien (Michael Rennie) and his robot straight-man Gort land on earth to warn of the dangers of nuclear noodling. They are met with something less than a ticker-tape reaction, highlighted by an assassination attempt. In order to prove his potential might, the alien suspends all non-vital electrical power for a single day. Impressed, world leaders are torn between compliance and revenge. A fine cold waresque morality play ensues.

FORBIDDEN PLANET (MGM, 1956) Shakespeare's The Tempest gets an out-of-this-world update in this epic. When a group of astronauts land on Altair IV (a desolate planet inhabited by scientist Walter Pidgeon and miniskirted daughter Anne Francis), they find themselves stalked by an unseen beast of genius intellect. It turns out the creature is the product of over-protective pop's nasty subconscious...a Freudian murderer from the Id. Robby the Robot and Leslie Nielsen are understandably upset.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (Universal, 1957) A fine science-gone-bonkers film, scripted by fantasy great Richard Matheson. After encountering a cloud of radioactive insecticide, Scott Carey (Grant Williams) begins to .shrink. His logical attempts to adjust to his ever-changing environment form the core of the film. Nice special effects and action-adventure pacing are icing on the cake.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Allied Artists, 1956) Brilliantly directed by Don Siegel, Invasion presents the plight of a small California community whose inhabitants are slowly being replaced, one by one, by totally unemotional alien look-alikes. The invaders arrive in the form of large plant pods, gradually assuming the

shape of their victims. It's emotional humanity vs. the plotting plants in a taut game of cat and mulch. Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter lead the fight for independence.

PLANET OF THE APES (20th Century Fox, 1968) Rod Serling's fine adaptation of Pierre Boules' monkeyshines found astronaut Charleton Heston marooned in a land where talking apes hunt animalistic, mute humans. Top notch adventure and armchair philosophy abounds as simians Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowell try to keep grimacing Heston from the sloppy stitching of the museum taxidermist.

THEM (Warners, 1954) When nuclear experiment-created gi-ants turn up in the New Mexico desert, police and FBI, led by James Whitmore and James Arness, are dispatched to track 'em down without the benefit of D.D.T. A super-suspenseful monster on the loose chase results in the ants' titantic

catacombs.

THE THING (RKO, 1951) THE invader film, based on John Campbell's astounding tale "Who Goes There?" After a space ship crashes near an isolated Arctic outpost, its frozen humanoid survivor is taken back to the air force camp. As it turns Out, the visitor is decidedly UNhuman and enjoys chomping regularly on human flesh. Howard Hawks makes the following manhunt a tremendously spooky brunch. James Arness is the intergalactic gourmet, Kenneth Tobey and Margaret Sheridon two of the prospective hors d'oeuvres.

THINGS TO COME (United Artists, 1936) H.G. Wells' fantasy (brought to life by Alexander Korda and William Cameron Menzies) presents a world of the not-too-distant future where war is avoided through pacifist gas. Raymond Massey leads the heavy goings.

THE TIME MACHINE (MGM, 1960) It's Wells again in George Pal's dazzling technicolor tale of time traveler Rod Taylor, who sets his dials for the future and finds himself on an earthy populated by childlike Eloi and cannibalistic Morlocks in the year 802,701. Yvette Mimieux makes both Rod and the Morlocks lick their chops throughout.

2001 (MGM, 1968) One of the most publicized of all SF films, 2001 fends off boredom with mind-bending special effects. The man vs. machine plot is routine but armchair transcendentalism saves the day. Stylized to death by Stanley Kubrick, 2001 has been hailed as the ultimate trip by the Fantasia-acid-cheap-wine-and-downers crowd. And they ought to know, right?

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (MGM, 1960) Gripping adaption of John Wyndham's hair raising "Midwich Cuckoos." A small British town experiences mass black-outs and power failure. A rash of unwarranted pregnancies follow resulting in the birth of children with unlimited telepathic powers. Scientists believe they were spawned by a cosmic cloud. Noble George Sanders, professor-dad of one of the kids with the eyes that paralyze, fights to save humanity from slavery. Also noteworthy is the film's sequel, Children of the Damned.

WAR OF THE WORLDS (Para mount, 1953) No amount of superlatives can do justice to producer George Pal's adaption of Wells' classic story of Martian invasion. Gene Barry heads the. earth pep squad as California fights back, trying to keep the slimey aliens at bay, or better yet, at their saucers. This one copped an Academy Award for visual whammies.