Tobor The Great (1954)

Starring Charles Drake, Karin Booth, Billy Chapin, Taylor Holmes, Steven Geray
Directed by Lee Sholem
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A scientist creates a robot to replace the men being subjected to dangers preparing for spaceflight, but its powerful abilities attract the attention of a foreign spy ring.

A real charmer, this production may have been the first "boy and his robot" picture and is a lot of fun. Although the premise is a fine starting-off point, the rest is pure fantasy, as "Tobor," (robot spelled backwards), not only has the ability to react to human emotions, but can be controlled by thought and a tiny device containing micro-circuitry, in reality decades from the film's 1950s setting.  However, it's not too difficult to leave realism behind in embracing the story, enlivened by a wonderful cast of characters, including Holmes' kindly scientist and Chapin as his earnest grandson.  Although there's no ground-breaking effects work, Tobor comes to life convincingly, and the robot would later return in a television pilot, Here Comes Tobor.

It Came From Outer Space (1953)

Starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Joe Sawyer, Russell Johnson
Directed by Jack Arnold
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An astronomer witnesses an alien spaceship landing on Earth, but after it's buried in an avalanche, no one will believe him, even after he encounters the aliens themselves.

The first of many forays into science fiction by Universal Pictures in the 1950s, this film gets that series of pictures off to a spectacular start, tapping into the fear of the unknown that was prevalent then with a quality story from sci-fi great Ray Bradbury.  Featuring grotesque alien makeups, a wonderfully eerie music score, and a strong lead performance by Carlson, it's a durable classic intelligently directed by Arnold, and still relevant today.