Best 18 Sci-Fi Movies Highly Rated Released in 1961

A defecting Soviet scientist is hit by a nuclear explosion near Yucca Flats and roams around as a beast. Learn about The Beast of Yucca Flats / IMDB / YouTube

A college professor invents an anti-gravity substance which a corrupt businessman wants for himself. Explore The Absent Minded Professor / IMDB / YouTube

During the Civil War a group of Union soldiers, a Confederate and a civilian escape the stockade using a hot-air balloon and end up on a strange Pacific island. Learn about Mysterious Island / IMDB / YouTube

When the Earth is threatened by a burning Van Allen Radiation Belt, U.S. Navy Admiral Harriman Nelson plans to shoot a nuclear missile at the Belt, using his experimental atomic submarine, the Seaview. Look into Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea / IMDB / YouTube

When the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth. More about The Day the Earth Caught Fire / IMDB / YouTube

After copper miners discover a piece of the frozen tail of a giant prehistoric reptile in Lapland, scientists inadvertently bring it back to life. Read about Reptilicus / IMDB / YouTube

Greedy sailors capture a giant lizard off the coast of Ireland and sell it to a London circus, inciting the wrath of the creature's much-larger mother. Get info on Gorgo / IMDB / YouTube

In 1868, an American scientist and his team become hostages of fanatical pacifist Robur who uses his airship Albatross to destroy military targets on Earth. Info on Master of the World / IMDB / YouTube

After an invisible asteroid draws an astronaut and his ship to its surface, he is miniaturized by the phantom planet's exotic atmosphere. See more about The Phantom Planet / IMDB / YouTube

Dr.Decker comes back from Africa. During one year, he came across a way of growing plants and animals to an enormous size. He brings back a baby chimpanzee and he decides to use his chimp, 'Konga' to 'get rid of them'. Learn about Konga / IMDB / YouTube

Welcome to Atlantis, where royal guardsmen wear uniforms that could easily be from the wardrobe of Ming the Merciless and some unfortunate slaves are turned into bovine-headed beasts. Find out about Atlantis: The Lost Continent / IMDB / YouTube

A rich rocket scientist organizes an expedition to the moon, which they discover is inhabited by nude women. Learn about Nude on the Moon / IMDB / YouTube

Mr. Joly, doctor Cordelier's lawyer, is amazed to discover that his client and friend leaves his possessions to a stranger, Opale, a sadistic criminal. He needs this man to prove that people's behavior can be adjusted at will... Info on Experiment in Evil / IMDB / YouTube

In the 22nd Century, Ray Peterson, reporter for the Interplanetary News, is assigned to write a story aboard a space station. Read about Assignment: Outer Space / IMDB / YouTube

A runaway asteroid dubbed The Outsider mysteriously begins orbiting the Earth and threatens it with lethal flying saucers. Info on Battle of the Worlds / IMDB / YouTube

People are mysteriously disappearing near a remote Cornish village, where a scientist is experimenting; reviving the dead. Get info on Doctor Blood's Coffin / IMDB / YouTube

A cross-country airliner, whose passengers include a nuclear physicist, a rocket expert, and a mathematical genius, is drawn beyond radar range by an unknown, unbreakable force. More about Flight That Disappeared / IMDB / YouTube

Scientists discover that a group of meteors are hurtling on a collison course with Earth, and if they hit, the planet will be destroyed. See more about The Day the Sky Exploded / IMDB / YouTube