b movie monsters!

Coming Soon! The B Movie Monsters Coloring Activity Book!
See the most astonishing monstrosities and mutations of the atomic age!
See ghastly and unnerving terrific terrors invade the human world from land, sea, air and outer space!

1950s cinema produced an avalanche of bizarre biological brutes that shocked audiences across America.
We're making a fun coloring activity book all about these wild, unwieldy weirdos -
sure to amuse monster lovers of all ages!

Sample pages from The B-Movie Monsters Coloring Book

The term B Movie comes from the second half of a double feature -
often referred to as the B-Movie.

B Movies were often good movies - but just as often - not so good.
What they all had in common were low-budgets and rushed production schedules.
Thus, these types of movies garnered a well-earned reputation for shoddiness.
Notorious was the B Movie, for being a sorry excuse for a movie.

As Cinematic output exploded during the 1950s, teenagers were treated to gobs of double features.
Often both of them were low-budget, hurried productions.
A popular joke at the time was that both features were B-Movies! This is how the term gained popularity.
“B-Movie” became a short-hand to describe teen-targeted, far-fetched, low-budget, drive-in party-flicks!

In the 1970s and 1980s, “B-Movies”became so ubiquitous that new terms were being coined
such as“grindhouse” and “exploitation”.
It was during this time that the term“B-Movie”was most often used to describe, specifically,
the old 1950s monster movies.

Technically speaking, not all 1950s monster movies are B Movies,
but as the term gained popularity, they all got lumped together.
Many people consider all 1950s monster movies to be lacking production values compared to
modern monster movies, therefore they are all B Movies.

Most people who use the term “B Movie” do so affectionately, with a nostalgic fondness for those simpler times
when monsters and outrageous dramas flickered on the old-timey matinee screens and the price of admission was not more than 50 cents, including popcorn and soda!

Our B-Movie Monsters Coloring Book will be completed soon!
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy learning a little about the strange, the bizarre, the harrowing horrors and terrific terrors of...

B-Movie Monsters!

Monster movies are as old as film itself,
but it wasn't until the age of rock 'n roll, cruisin' and teenage rebels
that cantankerous creatures of all kinds turned up in theaters so frequently.

In with the new...

If we take a peek at the 1940s, we find famous monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy appearing together in the famous "Monster-Mash" movies and comedic romps that ended their popularity.

These continuing-adventure serial-style movies were great fun in their own right, but it was increasingly obvious that spooky, supernatural monsters were being marketed more and more to youngsters until 1951, when The Thing From Another World invaded theaters.

The Thing was a totally new concept. Superficially similar to Frankenstein's Monster, but with an astonishing new twist - it was an alien from outer space and it was positively void of human sympathies.

With this murderous, inhuman beast on the loose at a U.S. Air Command base,
The Thing From Another World set a new precedence,
thrilling audiences with its blend of contemporary adventure and far-out horror!
Science-Fiction-Monsters have been all the rage ever since.

Also in 1951, movie goers witnessed The Day The Earth Stood Still
featuring the mysterious Gort, a metallic, bio-mechanical organism
from a far away planet.
A remarkable character in its time, Gort's menace was implied, rather than depicted on-screen with shots of him rampaging through the city.
The Day The Earth Stood Still was a sobering existential drama featuring cosmic visitors who challenge humankind's place in the universe, delivering a fearful ultimatum that we strive to end warfare amongst ourselves.

Technically, neither of these films are B Movies.
They were, however, very much unlike other movies of their time, ushering a new wave of thrills,
shocks and horror tropes.
The release of these two films in 1951 set the scene for a B Movie Monster Invasion!

Surprisingly, 1952 was a peaceful year.
No hulking, otherworldly things or mechanized monstrosities landed in American theatres that year.
But as the dust was settling, it turned out that many more unusual creatures were plotting against us.

Invaders From Mars hit theaters in the Spring of 1953, telling the story of a small-town boy who learns of strange happenings in and around his home.
He manages to alert the U.S. military about a race of insidious creatures planning on the demise of humanity.

Invaders From Mars was a comic book adventure in full color (most movies were still shot black and white at this time), tame enough for kids in theory, but with a directorial style sure to give anyone the heebie-geebies!

Aside from the color film stock, the film was shot cheaply and quickly, the quintessential B-movie. But Invaders From Mars delivered the goods with a nightmarish atmosphere that overshadowed its shortcomings and left audiences wanting to see more outlandish spectacles on their local big screens.

The B Movie Monsters kept coming - this time "Coming Right At You!"
via the spectacle of 3rd Dimension - when an unwanted stranger's arrival
in a small town foreshadows the coming of even stranger visitors.

It Came From Outer Space was a marvelous 3D feature.
The first (and some would argue, the only) film to use the process
appropriately and to great affect!

The 3D inovation and excellent set design gave the film an "A-Movie" flavor,
while the compelling drama and Lovecraftian overtones were the stuff
of ultimate science fiction horror.

more b movie monsters
Coming soon...

Next up, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms!

Early stages
B movie monsters coloring book

Sketches for The B Movie Monsters Coloring Activity Book!

We had to make a list of all the fun 1950s monsters -
but a simple list isn't really our style.
Here's the page of quick sketches we made featuring
most of the crazy creeps that we plan to include in the coloring book.