Coming Next Weekend: The Palm Springs Classic Science Fiction Film Festival

The first annual Palm Springs Classic Science Fiction Film Festival is coming next weekend!

This inaugural sci-fi festival opens on Friday evening, October 23rd, and runs through Sunday, October 25th.

The festival is being produced and hosted by Alan K. Rode for the Palm Springs Cultural Center. It will be held at the Camelot Theatres, which is also the venue where the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival which Rode produces is held each spring.

The festival kicks off Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. screening of THE FLY (1958) with star David Hedison in attendance.

Although I'm unable to be there Friday evening, I'll be heading to Palm Springs bright and early next Saturday and cover the other seven films being shown during the weekend.

Saturday starts off with INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956), followed by CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954) with star Julie Adams there for a Q&A!

Saturday continues with THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) and THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957), which has been highly recommended to me by several longtime readers of this blog.

Sunday morning I'm especially pleased at the prospect of seeing THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) on a big screen. It's especially serendipitous, as that film is on my list of 10 Classics to see for the first time in 2015.

Sunday will also feature IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953) with star Kathleen Hughes the scheduled guest, and the festival closes out with THEM! (1954).

As I've shared in the past, science fiction films of this type used to irrationally frighten me, but I've come to enjoy '50s sci-fi in a big way in the last few years, including titles such as WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (1951), THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953), and EARTH VERSUS THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956), to name just a few! Thanks to this festival, I'm going to dive into classic '50s sci-fi in a big way, with five of the seven films being brand-new to me.

The Camelot, located at 2300 East Baristo Road in Palm Springs, is a beautiful venue, a large theater with ample leg room. And as those who have attended Noir City Festivals know, Alan Rode is an enthusiastic and exceptionally knowledgeable host. If you're a classic film fan, why not consider spending next weekend in Palm Springs enjoying the best of the sci-fi genre?!

For more background on the festival, visit an interview with Alan Rode by Richard Harland Smith, posted at the TCM Movie Morlocks site.

For schedule and ticket information, please visit the official Palm Springs Classic Science Fiction Film Festival website.

Update: Here's more information, including plans for future festivals, from Will McKinley.

Update: More coverage here coming soon!

Update: The Palm Springs Classic Science Fiction Film Festival in Review.